ARCO on the Cheap

The Bee's Melody Gutierrez has a fun story about how to watch the Kings play live without forking out too much money. I buy the $10 tickets almost exclusively -- as Melody notes, they are literally no different than most $25 seats, and the sight lines are good all over the building. It's a different experience down at courtside, of course. But you get more from the game in Section 215, Row S than from the living room sofa.

We do things a bit differently than Gutierrez. I never park outside the ARCO lots. Ten bucks is steep, but I prefer to avoid playing Frogger with 1,000 drunk drivers to get back to my car. (This might not be so bad now that the barn's empty, of course.) Also, we avoid arena food for cheap eats at In 'n' Out Burger. I know, I know... the mile-long pre-game drive-thru line looks daunting. But they work fast; it speeds right by.

So really, we're giving the Maloofs $30 for two people to see a game, which isn't bad at all. The movies after 6 p.m. would $19. The typical dinner is somewhere between $25 and $60. If you plan a bit, a Kings game can be right within the affordable wheelhouse.