Teams sharing a facility -- playoff edition

Well, it’s official. If the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) can hold on long enough, we will have three teams (the Kings, along with NBA’s Lakers and Clippers) in the playoffs at the same time and sharing the same home facility. This is the first time this has happened in the history of the Staples Center, but the Staples Center isn’t all that old. So it got me wondering, are there other cities where this has happened (or is even possible)? I guess I should make this question apply worldwide, because I’m guessing there aren’t many places in the US where you’d have multi-sport stadiums/arenas where different sports’ playoffs would happen at the same time. I’m specifically asking about a time when you’d have THREE teams in the playoffs at once, but I’d also like to hear about times when there are just two teams sharing a facility for playoffs, particularly if it created scheduling conflicts.

Enlighten me.

I’m sure it’s happened plenty of times in 4 places:
Chicago Stadium: Blackhawks and Bulls, and I think both made the Finals in '92
New York, Madison Square Garden: Rangers and Knicks, and both made the Finals in '94
Philadelphia, The Spectrum and First Union Center (Wachovia Center now?): Flyers and 76ers
Boston Garden: Bruins and Celtics

A few others, but one of the two teams has usually been poor: Meadowlands (Devils and Nets), Washington DC (Capitols and Wizards/Bullets), Denver (Avalanche and Nuggets), and Dallas (Stars and Mavericks). It’s possible in Atlanta, but I don’t know the Thrashers playoff history, and the Hawks have been mediocre for a long time.

Calgary’s Saddledome was host to three playoffs back in 2004, although one series was over before the other two.

The Hitmen (WHL) were taken out in the first round and didn’t make it into April. The Flames(NHL) and Roughnecks (NLL) went the distance, however, with the Flames coming up one game shy of their second Stanley Cup and the Roughnecks winning their first ever Champion’s Cup.

This year, the Hitmen and Flames are once again golfing early while the Roughnecks are gearing up to take yet another run at the Big Prize.

The lesson here is that Calgary is awesome in lacrosse and sucks donkey balls in hockey.

Go Roughnecks! :slight_smile:

Well, the Kings are currently up 3-0 in their series, so hopefully they’ll close it out and get into the second round. I guess the NBA playoffs don’t start until the 28th or 29th, so the Kings are going to need to go deep in order to have all three teams around at the same time.

Well, in baseball you had the Yankees and Giants (1921) and the Cardinals and Browns (1944) both in the playoffs in the same stadium, though scheduling wasn’t an issue.

As far as scheduling is concerned, the Rangers and Knicks always had to schedule their playoffs in the 60s around the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Two teams in one stadium has also happened for the Giants and Jets several times.

The Blackhawks and Bulls moved across the street to the United Center in '94 (and the old Stadium was demolished in '95), but the scheduling issues remain. This year, both teams are in the playoffs – though, if the Hawks get knocked out in the first round, which seems very possible, if not likely, there won’t be much of a conflict.

When the New England Whalers were born they played some of their games in the Boston Garden when the Bruins were out of town, Even when they were in Hartford they would play occasional games in Boston before the leagues merged. They won the AVCO trophey in 1973, so I assume at least some of those games were played in the Garden.

I figured this article was worth sharing now that it’s a reality and coming to a head this weekend. LINK