Article content continued

Too much? Maybe, but then it wouldn’t be Vegas.

“There are some people who don’t like the show — but the 18,000 people inside the arena love it, which is all that matters,” Orchard said. “I compare it to a cult. If you’re in the cult, you love it. If you’re not in the cult, you think it’s really weird.”

Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images

The Golden Knights do their pregame show like no other because they play in a city that is like no other in the NHL. This isn’t Toronto or Winnipeg or even Washington.

T-Mobile Arena, which is steps from the Las Vegas strip and across the street from where singer Ricky Martin is currently performing a residency, is as a non-traditional a sports market as you will find. And the team is using that to push the boundaries of the fan experience.

Nothing is off limits. In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Monday, famed ring announcer Michael Buffer handled the player introductions. Gladys Knight sang during the first intermission. During breaks in the action, contortionists and circus performers balanced on objects.

There was no kiss cam. No one did the wave. Someone did, however, blow what looked like a ram’s horn.

“We knew it couldn’t be a traditional style,” said Jonny Greco, vice-president of entertainment production. “Being in the entertainment capital of the world, we needed to live up to that level of entertainment experience. It’s just a good time.”

Greco has worked for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Cavaliers, but it was the six years he spent at the WWE that has shaped Vegas’ in-game experience.