@Nick is right. My father was (is) a huge Rockets fan and back in the 45 years ago because of his background became friends with a lot of players and management around the team as they ran in similar circles. The Rockets haven’t always drawn well. There were some periods in the 70’s where they actually gave my father hundreds of tickets a game to give out free just to fill seats and help the team valuation. As long as the people showed up and the tickets were given away discreetly he could basically have as many as he wanted. There were some periods around phi slama jama when ticket sales/popularity would increase. I asked my dad about the Toyota Center experience compares to the Summit. He said the issue isn’t ticket sales or really bodies in the seats. He said that Rockets fans used to be grittier and more blue collar. He said there used to be a lot more black fans in attendance as well and a lot die hards. It wasn’t really family friendly.... but it made for a great engaged and loud crowd. The Summit was a dump but it had atmosphere. He doesn’t even go to the Toyota Center much because the experience is too sterile and there is no sense of unity. I thought I would share, because I found it interesting. He has been a Rockets fan since the last year in San Diego and used to make at least 25 games a year for over 40 years.
The summit was awesome You could park across 59 and walking the bridge to get there they made it a church cause it’s a biblical pure place @Reeko
the current location must have been a library or an old folks home before before TC was built...the atmosphere is about the same
Toyota center is in a really bad location. Noone want to fight traffic just to pay for parking to watch the Rockets lose by 10 and getting charged $15 per beer.
Dim the lights in the arena ala Staples.... switch the corporate seats opposite of TV camera. New commentary also (Bill and Bull are old and boring)
Lakewood kept the locker room in tact. I have family that work there and they took me down to see it.
It's in a great location. Houston is starting to condense and the population growth has doubled inside the loop.
Bill is washed as a commentator...Bull has about as much charisma as a smelly gym sock...no words need to be said for Clyde
I think the crowd has been better this year, in large part due to the energy Russ brings. The empty seats annoy me too, but there's a clear way to fix it ... go to the game and get loud. If it bothers you enough, do something about it!
Is it just me or did prices go up considerably this season? I know concessions and team gear has always been high, but holy ****, I paid $7.50 for a regular sized coke. I rarely get **** at the games but I was shocked that the price went up by almost $2. Shirts are now $40, I could of sworn they use to be $30 last year. Maybe I'm just crazy.
I was lucky enough to get to go to game 5 of the WCF in 2018 against the warriors. Obviously I was pumped for this so I was standing up a lot during big moments, being loud, just trying to give our guys an advantage. The dude behind me got upset with me for standing up!!! He said something like "can you sit down for one second, I can't see the game!" all aggressively towards me. I could not believe it, I mean I wasn't swearing, being obnoxious, wasn't drunk or anything. I was just excited for the team and excited to be there. I'm not a confrontational person, but I couldn't help it, so i told him "it's the west finals. If you want to see the game, YOU stand up". I kinda regret engaging with that guy, but I feel like I wasn't doing anything wrong given the circumstances. Anyways, apologies for the rant, but this was just another example of the Toyota center crowd being detached from the team, even in crucial games. That was really disappointing for me as a rox fan.
worst part about going to games is getting in and out of the garage. takes 20 minutes at least to park and if you wait until the buzzer at the end and don't stand up in a blow out and finish in the concourse, you're looking at an hour to leave that hell-scape. i wouldn't use the garage but I'm already paying as the team forces them on specific ticket sales. I don't think the crowd issue is unique to Houston. People just spend so much time staring at their phones everywhere they go now. I can usually hear everyone's personal conversations surrounding me because the arena is so quiet.
