It's kind of a cheating answer but I think the ideal neighborhood around an arena would have a nice combination of everything. You definitely want somewhere that the fans could party at both pre and post-game, but also be accessible to families with children. Also you don't want to make it purely a party scene, that would scare off the older generations from showing up to the game. Honestly, somewhere in the middle of a downtown atmosphere would probably work best, just because you would have access to so many different types of activities. Something to keep in mind as well is the transit part of it all; keeping it deep within city limits would help out parking in the sense that everyone would be able to use public transportation instead of having to find a place to park, PLUS having to pay outrageous fees to park as well. I think Seattle has a great setup for how / where their stadiums are located.