So for those of you that have been.... how would you rate the Toyota Center on first impressions? Personally I thought it was top notch (from Saturday night). Maybe a few kinks that need to be worked out here and there, but overall Id say the Rockets brass did a damn fine job with the arena. Hopefully some cool bars and restaurants will pop up around it soon.
I liked the arena itself..very nice... I dont really like the parking. Downtown is like a maze, they should put up some signs, arrows, etc...pointing to parking for the arena.. And I almost stepped on some homeless guy sleeping on the corner, scared the crap out of me
Hell at least you didnt back into a pole while pulling out of the garage like I did..... So basically my $5 parking spot probably cost me more like $300 after the body work Im going to have to get done. People are afraid to walk around downtown at night. They need well lit walkways and easy to read signs. Id freak out a bit if I had to walk back to my car alone. Im pretty sure they have at least started to address the homeless situation.
I agree with you. Its was bad walking to the arena with homeless people all over the sidewalks but atleast there were alot of other people on the street but walking back is really bad. Police officers only ride their horses, walk around, etc...close to the arena but I parked in the city garage (Dallas and Caroline I think) and the worst part is that at night the only entrance they leave open is on Lamar so you have to walk around the whole building and it was really scary...no cops at all. Homeless people everywhere and some other ones that didnt look too friendly or too happy. They should spread out the police force further out next time. Didnt crash into any poles though...there werent any
Anybody else notice this....it really ticks me off. Tonight was my first game at TC. I went to buy a 3.75 "plain jane" hot dog that tasted something out of a school cafeteria and a 5 dollar "souvenier" soda. Well what was so "souvenier" about it when they give you a disbosable cup instead of a cool plastic collectible one, like they do at Reliant and Minute Maid (and for a quarter less!). It's a very minor complaint....but when you're already getting screwed w/ inflated prices on concessions, the LEAST they could do is give you a cool pastic cup to take home. I always love collecting those. Other than that, TC is pretty cool, the board that warps around the arena is damn nice, especially when it's put to actual use.
Nothing could be worse than the food at the Tour Championship this past weekend. Terrible chicken "grilled" sandwich cost $6.00 and was broiled. 12 ounce drinks were $2.00 Hot dogs tasted like leftover cow dung.
Food: I'm sure it is astronomically expensive and terrible, too. In my opinion, you have to be an idiot to buy food at a sporting event. Parking: A breeze. Find a free spot at a meter a couple of blocks away. For those of you complaining about the homeless sleeping in the park - grow up and grow a pair. Come on, this is a city. The arena itself: To me, a terrible disappointment. Unlike the majority of the people sitting in the lower level, I actually buy my own tickets and thus sat in the upper level. The lack of legroom afforded spectators is sickeningly small. The seats are jammed so close together that it's significantly less comfortable than sitting in a coach class airline seat. I'm serious. I am an average sized guy, 5'8, 165-170, and there was so little room that I literally could not rest my feet on the ground beneath the seat at a normal angel, perpendicular to the row. I had to twist them one way and then another throughout the game , and by the end had shooting pains in my back and my neck. Furthermore, given the total lack of legroom, the rows are dangerously narrow, and I promise you some poor fan is going to suffer a serious injury after a fall. It is very, very difficult for anyone to pass in front of other fans. Unlike other places when people try to get by you can't remain seated and sort of slide out of the way. You must get up and hope that you and the person passing by can maintain your balance. It's precarious and simply dangerous. Meanwhile, of course, the pricks that get their tickets from their law firm or wherever sit in unbelievable comfort, watching a team they probably know next to nothing about. Which is fine with me - if you pay $200 or more for a seat, you should get some comfort in return. The thing that disappoints me so profoundly, though, is the crass, nearly criminal lack of regard, the total disparagement, shown to the true fan who has only, say, $20 to buy a ticket. It's shameful. I thought this organization was better than that, and I was wrong. I, for one, will not return to the Toyota Center.
Only time I have been thus far was during the Open House--I had to check out a $35,000 a year suite....I loved the layout and the closeness of the seats to the action. It is JUST big-enough--not TOO big like Staples, yet not as Compaq...hehehe..as The Summit.
i like it but the second level is real steep and when you walk down the steps its creepy... my knees were kinda week during the whole game. also... right next to the canadian flag, there are 2 sections of what looks like unfinished luxury boxes, but they are being used for storage and man does it look trashy. when you look across you see a whole row of nice, shiny luxury boxes then 2 spaces with all these cardboard boxes stacked up, as if someone is moving... it's just trashy. i really like the way the court looks during game time. the court lights are awesome and the court just looks so good. the screen around the stand is neat, but dang, talk about ads... i know they are necessary for revenue, but there's so many... i guess that's good when you can't fill the house. you have to have money to offset the lack of attendance.
I like the arena it self allright. Upper level seems unfinished. Food on upper level was trash compared to Pappas ect. at compaq. I agree about the cups, also cheap... and pepsi??? how is a person suppose to mix a drink with the rum the smuggle in with pepsi?
First of all I sat in section 110 row 22 seats 11 and 12 which were 95 dollars a seat. I don't think there is a bad seat to view the game from anywhere in the lower bowl. There were seats in section 111 that had virtually the same view as mine for only 65 dollars and there are baseline seats from 40 dollars to 95 dollars. In other words their are tons of seats for well under 200 dollars. Yep I know that 40 bucks is still expensive and if I lived in Houston and planned on seeing a bunch of games live then I would probably be in the upper bowl sitting in the cheap seats. Still if it is a special occasion or just want to do it on the weekends 40 bucks is probably a lot less than you would spend if you went to a bar or a club. Great seats with a great view. I thought the floor was awesome. I used to watch a lot of games at the Reunion Arena in Dallas a few years ago from almost the same area as I sat in the TC and there was a large corner of the floor that was obstructed by the back board, there is no such obstruction at the TC. It looked as if it would be hard to move into a section that you were not ticketed for since they checked my ticked every time in re-entered my section. I did not try the food since I just don't believe in being price gouged on food when I can get better food outside the TC or any other arena at a semi reasonable price. As a matter of fact I bought nothing inside the arena. I ate before the game and purchased my Rocket gear from Oshmans. For those looking for food and a ticket The Ledge was offering 85 dollar meal and game in one tickets. The seats look to be club level between the upper and lower bowl. That actually seems like a very good deal to me. I just thought that I would pass that along. Overall the atmosphere is great. Two things that I noticed is that Clutch the Bear is a lot easier to take in person, on TV he is just plane annoying. Also the drummers during the entro are pretty cool. I know I have heard a lot of people complaining about them and I never see them on TV since I don't get Rockets broadcasts in Dallas so I am assuming that it is just a different effect in person than on TV. Oh and the Power Dancers were great, I love their new uniforms. I don't know if this is normal but on Saturday the people sitting behind the back boards got tons of shirts thrown at them. I was jealous, the Power Dancers stood at the end of the court and just peppered that section with t-shirts. The parking was surprisingly easy as was entrance and exit into the TC. There was absolutely no wait at the will call window about 15 minutes before the game. Overall I can't wait until my next trip to Houston so I can pay another visit to the TC and the Rockets.
Ok, I chose 'b****in'' because that was obviously the one suggesting that it's great, BUT WHO THE HELL USES THE TERM "b****IN'" IN 2003?!?!?!?!?!
It's awesome! It would be even better if there were more fans in attendance and more energetic and crazy like the Texans fans! And...ticket prices...kinda too HIGH
Sleeping in the park? What park are you talking about. I was talking about sidewalks/streets. I am not scared of the homeless people but when you are walking down the street and almost step on the head of one sleeping in the middle of the street thats kind of freaky. I wouldnt give a crap if they just stay in the park but get the hell off the street.
Seat in the upper deck are much higher than those at Compaq - they feel like football seats. With tickets in the lower deck being so expensive, I don't plan on going to any games unless I get a discount down there or get some tixs for free.
