The Icehouse

Covington Gardens was a converted riverfront ice-and-cold-storage warehouse, roughly 6,200 seats. The heat never worked. Players wore sweats on the bench into the second quarter.

Management spun the failure into a weapon. Visiting teams hated the cold. The Lizards trained in it. Cold-blooded stopped being a slogan and became a home-court advantage. Half-empty most nights, deafening during the Run.