I can't disagree more thoroughly. I think lighting is fine. It isnt nearly as dim as the picture you posted appears, especially down near the court. Up on the last row of the upper bowl, it may seem dim, but then, I can't imagine why it shouldn't be up there....? Music, PA, power dancers, halftime shows are the same everywhere. I mean exactly the same. The dances, skits, shows, music. You may get a PA guy somewhere better than somewhere else, but the Rockets new guy certainly doesn't stand out as really good or really bad. He's a PA guy. Plus, the Rockets have Clutch....hands-down one of the top mascots in all of professional sports today. I'm sure there are better arenas out there (Conseco, Pepsi, etc.), and worse (Meadowlands, Oakland, Portland, Boston), and that it all depends on personal opinion. But if you'd rather be at home than actually at the game, then you're crazy. And you certainy can't complain about the crowd with that attitude (the crowd, btw, is also not the best, not the worst - when important games come along, especially the playoffs, it CAN BE one of the best crowds in the league.
i concur. our crowd can represent during playoff games. i went to 2 of the games against the mavericks in the 2005 playoffs and our crowd stood up for the whole game and we were loud as heck too. i'll never forget that experience and i look forward to experiencing it again this year.
Let see, Toyota Center is my second home, but I got to say that the AT&T center is nice. The outside looks like a barn, but the inside is slick and nice. The main entrance shows the championship trophies, and I hear their team store is the best (didnt get a chance to go there). The American Airlines Arena in Miami is nice in the outside, but the inside is weird. The lower bowl is nice in the concession side, but the upper bowl concession is pretty small. They only have concessions on each ends while the walkway, is just a walkway in the sides. Their seats suck ass, its freaking plastic like it is at Minute Maid Park. Their team store is pretty small, especially as new as the place is, its almost as bad as that small team store the Compaq Center had.
Have you actually been to a game at Toyota Center...at least lately? I feel closer to the action here than I ever did a The Summit, mainly becase the upper deck is steeper so you're not so spread out; and it doesn't matter where you sit, there's a great view everywhere. I remember those obsructed view sections at the Summit that would force you to sit in weird and uncomfortable ways to actually see the court. And there's a reason they made the lower bowl bigger, so all the seats would be closer to the action. More decks mean more seats that are higher and further away from the court. The halftime show is exactly like any other halftime show so its a wash. But the music and PA is a LOT BETTER than when TC first opened. Saw the Memphis game a few months back and was blown away by how much better it was...the announcer, pregame music/player intros and in game effects took me back to the championship days; it was that good (could have done w/o Metallica as the opening song though, it just didn't fit). And the cheerleaders generally seem to be among the best in the league (not the best, but among the tops). And Clutch is definitely among the best mascots. Food sucks though and is too expensive. But TC has come a long way since it first opened.
My first ever Rockets game was the first home opener against the Nuggets. I was sitting all the way up there in section 419. That view up there is horrible and I told myself I am never going to sit up here again. Few games later I went again and sat in the same damn seats. Up there, you can't even make out the players. I'm telling you, you have a much better view at home. Then the first time I sat in the lower deck was the following year and I sat behind the backboard in the last row. Because of that experience, I made my comment. I'd rather have a second deck closer in (like SBC does it) then the larger lower bowl. It's way too spread out. Those seats are not worth 55 bucks! My friend's parents have season tickets at section 108 row 7. Whenever they couldn't make it, we would end up going. I probably went to about 11 or 12 games sitting in those seats. You can hear the players and see their expressions on their faces. You can't beat such an amazing experience. It's a whole different game! If you get up that close, then it's well worth it. This year I've only been to two games and I sat with the Red Rowdies both times. That was the most fun I've ever had at a Rockets game. The only problem is, I don't like sitting behind the backboard. Like already metioned, in those situations I'd rather be at home in the hot tub watching it on the 50 inch LCD. You can't beat that either You say you like the lighting. That's fine, I can't argue with your opinion. I personally hate it and am comparing it to the other 3 arenas I've been to. I prefer for it to be either completely dark or more festive.
^^^ I really haven't thought to much about the lighting, but do agree when watching it on tv, other arenas do seem to be lit better. And I've always thought they should light up those four large support columns red; that would be pretty bad ass. I always sit up in the upper deck and have never had a problem with it. It might be a little higher than the Summit was but it still feels closer to the action because it's not as spread out because of its steep grade. I usually sit in the corner or behind the backboard and always enjoy myself; for the price its pretty good. But I would never sit in the lower bowl (on the floor) behind the backboard unless I was in the first few rows; otherwise it just doesn't seem worth it.
i dont really like the lighting, but if anybody went to the allstar game or the rookie game or anything like that and saw how it was blacked out except for the court like MSG..man that was soo tite, toyota center looked sooo much better, felt like u were sitting in a winning team's arena....but toyota center is nice, i think the atmosphere is ALOT better this year, i went to the phillips arena....nice arena, crowd aint all that, decent arena...i like toyota center tho, if only they fix the lighting
I went to Madison Square garden a while back to see Cavs vs. Knicks. The place was a dump, they need some major renovations
i miss the summit that place got LOUD(anyone remember the playoffs of 94 and 95). besides that i do like the toyota center......with one exception. when they designed the TC they did so with the intent of holding concerts there, so they wanted it to have less of an echo. to deaden the reflecting sound they hung those acoustic pannels in the rafters, this had two results. first it made it a good indoor music venu due to the fact that is is acoustically dead, which is a good thing, no echo. second when the rockets play there it basically made it quiter, in the summit all the noise bounced around, in the TC is hits the pannels and dies, bad thing. so after a long explanation basically the TC is among the best, but for sporting events they should remove those pannels in the rafters. lets get that home court advantage going!
Alamodome? Are you kidding? Marvin the Martian can see better from his home planet than I could in the upper deck seats at that place. The only reason that I like it was that it was our home away from home in 1995.
anyplace will be loud during the playoffs. i've been to so many rockets games during the regular season and pretty much, everyone sits during the whole game and isn't loud or cheering at all. i went to 2 playoffs games against the mavericks 2 years ago and the toyota center was LOUD. everyone stood up for the whole game and cheered for the whole game. it was awesome.
Of the 4 NBA arenas I have been to: 1) Toyota Center 2) Ford Center 3) Compaq Center 4) Alamodome (although it was pretty damn rocking during the playoffs).
I think Clutch is a pretty weak least common denominator mascot. I mean what does a bear have to do with Houston or the Rockets? For that matter why make him an over inflated teddy bear? Clutch strikes me as a mascot created by committee.
What does the Gorrilla have in common with the Suns, the Phanatic with the Phillies, the San Diego Chicken w/ the Padres, the Sasquatch with the Sonics, etc. Would you rather have a man in a rocket ship walking around...perhaps shaped like the pajama logo...could you imagine the lawsuits to follow that?! Rather, I actually think the creation of Clutch was done w/ a lot of marketing research in mind in trying to determine the type of mascots families would like and be entertained by...he's done a wonderful job thus far.
A gorilla or chicken doesn't have anything to do with Phoenix or SD but at least those mascots have some character and creativity and aren't the product of market research to find the least common denominator. I mean the Twins have TC the bear as a mascot that they seemed to have got him around the same time the Rox got Clutch. Nothing against bears, when they have some meaning and history like Cal and Chicago, but otherwise bears seems to be a default mascot. Turbo was a way better mascot, a lot better dunks and stunts, and had more to do with the Rockets than Clutch the Bear.
Oh, I forgot. I've been to the Alamodome, but not during a basketball game. It was during a convention, and I was down on the court. Didn't really see anything special, except the view of the stadium from the court. That place is monstrous. I still couldn't say how it was, because I didn't get a fans' experience.
