My suggestion: I did this on Thursday.
Meet up at DinoSaur BBQ. It's just a little north (1 1/2 blocks) of the Franklin Plaza trolley stop. That gives you a quick trip from the trolley stop to the Arena (10 minutes max).
DinoSaur had a big bar, big TVs. Of course, you can also walk from Pearl Street Brewery about 15 minutes from the arena as well.