Alright... first NBA playoff experience last night (Rockets v Warriors - Game 4), and I was in section 430. Great atmosphere, but a few things I found of great annoyance regarding the lower bowl: People weren't seated until midway through the first. Lots of empty seats where the shirts were never touched. Folks leaving before the Chris Paul free throws. This is just as bad as Astros "fans" in the playoffs watching the Texans pre-season game on their phones. </rant>
this has been going on for 2 decades. i went to too many games during yao years and it's the same story. the summit was better. this should not be a surprise. houston is a football town, because the texans are better
It was a great game, great atmosphere. The lower bowl situation will never change. Instead of looking at the negatives, look at the positives and the folks that did remain in the lower bowl were up and cheering their ass off. I was in the lower bowl and had a great time.
Those seats are bundled up and sold to corporations that they then giveaway to visitors or other business people
When season tickets down there cost 15k you can pretty much expect that. The majority of those seats are owned corporately and are given out as tokens to people who typically don't care as much. It has been and always will be this way.
The scary thing is Game 6 could be a 7 PM start time if the Bucks finish off the Celtics tomorrow night.
its not just lower bowl, its the entire arena. I don't blame other teams fans for thinking Rockets have a terrible fanbase that don't even show up to games. It's obvious when you consistently on tv.
Good news. The Trump tax changes got rid of the entertainment deduction which allowed you to claim 50% of the cost of those corporate seats. You should expect a drop in corporate owned seats soon. Tilman has talked about changing the layout of TC for a few months now.
[Premium Post] No discussion about lower bowl empty seats can take place without first addressing the long wait times for beer and alcohol and the wait times to use the bathrooms. Solutions: 1) Double the number of beer kiosks; 2) More urinals, less sinks where people waste time washing their hands (have a sani-cloth wipes dispenser); 3) Make announcements throughout the lounge areas that the game is starting in 3 minutes (but make this announcement 10 minutes before the game actually starts). Take it from me, an accomplished industrialist and leader: You cannot instantly change the habits of lower bowl patrons. But you can trick them and manage them better. GOOD DAY
Hold up, there are ppl who WENT to an Astros playoff game and decided they needed to watch a preseason game while there? Why son? Why?
A huge issue with Toyota Center is the parking garage. A lot of these people have parking included and if you leave at the very end you can expect to be stuck in the garage for about an hour. The team needs to find a solution to this and I think they know this. It's poorly designed with all exits shooting you out right into pedestrians who often are blocking the exits. The game ended around 11. A lot of these people didn't want to be stuck in a garage until midnight. The garage is also a big reason why people are late to the game. All entrances are on one side and they are constantly backed up. It's taken me an hour to get a mile before.
My mistake... it was just a regular season Astros game but in the pennant race... double checked the schedule... gotta own up to my mistakes rather than double down. Got amazing seats for the said Astros game though.
This is a long-standing issue... BUT: * it's part of being in Houston, a driving city with folks coming in from far, and not going regularly so not really understanding the amount of time required to get there early, for a big game, to be in the seat in time.... * And part of that is because the lower bowl season tickets aren't personally held by families in the majority. They are corporate owned. So every time, it's different people coming to the game, learning the process anew, etc. I drove in from Austin and went to Saturday's game 3. I was in my seat with about 10 minutes to go pre-tip. My son still wished we would have been sitting 30 minutes earlier... but even with a fairly smooth process - i found parking fairly easily, the lines moved relatively quickly, was easy to find my seats, etc... it just still takes time. Not that this is a Toyota Center only problem. All that said, it wasn't great at the start, but absolutely by midway through the first and then through the overtime, I thought the lower bowl was "fine". Again, it's not Utah, or Oracle, but it was definitely solid. If I was forced to bet, I'd say the GSW experience will change fairly drastically beginning next year. It may not happen immediately, but it will slowly become more like the Toyota Center
