Toyota Center To Rich for my blood I went to my first Rockets game in several years, as the rox took on the jazz and Obviously my first in the New Toyota Center. First off the New Building id beautiful. A little too beautiful. I felt like I was walking into a wedding instead of an NBA basketball game. All that was missing was the ice sculptures. I had some of my brother in law's company tickets. They were great seats 6th row, But sheesh 175 bux for a ticket is absurd. Especially since I was surronded by a bunch of rich snobs who were hardly in their seats. If they were in their seats they werent cheering just sitting and watching . It was sad. I remember when I was a kid going to the Summit during the 94 championship run and seeing that place go balistic. I was dissapointed. I could not beleive that the upper deck was filled but the lower level was not. I also had to show my ticket to 5 different people to get to my seat. Just because I wasnt in slacks and a tie they figured I didnt deserve a ticket. That pisses me off. The game was good but the place was pretty dead. The PA guy isnt that bad. He does need a lot of work and that "come on 6th man" crap has to end. As a PA announcer myself I have never seen a PA guy try to act like a DJ in an arena. It is insulting to fans to tell them to cheer. They should know when to cheer. The opening was cool but Mr. PA guy needs more entusiasm for the opening. The drummers during timeouts were lame. Going to school in Boston I have seen homeless people who are better drummers in the subway. Power Dancers. I fell in love with Miss February Susannah. They are all very talented dancer.... Best I have seen in awile. I didnt buy any conessions nor look at the prices but I heard they werent too bad. Somethings in the gift shop werent too badly priced. Tickets seem to be the thing that is way over priced. The Arena is beautiful but I feel like I am gonna break something if I take a wrong step. It was fun. But the atmosphere needs to improve... SBC center although an inferior building has a much better atmosphere. Tim I am a college student who has done professional PA before. If you ever are in need of a replacement or a backup after 2005 let me know. Al22ex@aol.com The guy you have is pretty good, I think he just needs to be a little more professional. All in all I rank the event a 6. I love my rockets but I think I enjoy the games more from home. Maybe when I take Bill Worrell's job someday after I finish school, I will like it better.
The reason he may be acting like a DJ is because that is what he is/was. His personality on a prominent radio station here in Houston was T. Gray.
It's not only too rich for your blood, but apparently a lot of folks' blood!! Look at the empty seats at the TC!! this is from the Warriors game on 01/05/04
Ice sculptures outside in Houston? I wonder if they made it to tip off. Has anyone out there been in the suites and I'm curious what people think about the restaurants and shops?
T. Gray from 97.9 the Box does the Rockets' PA??? I remember the old commercial: guy screaming: "PINK, PURPLE, BLUE, GREEN, RED.... THE ONLY COLOR YOU NEED TO KNOW IS GRAY! T.GRAY ON 97.9 THE BOX!"
Wrong, its the NHL and NBA in general. Football....same prices but only 10 games a season, doesnt pinch as much plus in 10 games you see the WHOLE SEASON. Baseball is still affordable, although still unbearable without beer. NHL and NBA lower deck tickets have priced out the common fan as far as season tickets go.
I went to the Sonics game with my daughter. We didn't have much fun. Don't think we'll go back anytime soon. We had free tickets. They were overpriced. The place is a mausoleum. You have to pay to park. It's a hassle downtown. The seats are cramped. There's just nothing exciting or fun about the experience of going. My girl fell asleep in the second half. We had a much better time when we'd go at the Summit. All the fans at the Summit were more lively. The "event" was more fun.
I went to the Sonics game last month, and I had a blast. It sucked watching Francis play like an idiot (dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, chuck), but it was a fun game. Of course, Ray Allen is one of my favorite players, so that may have had something to do with it, too. As for the arena, I enjoyed it. Didn't seem to be any "bad" seats, lots of room in the concession areas, friendly workers, a few free activities, and clean amenities. Tickets were $20, which is more than I like to spend, but still fun overall.
It's funny, when I watch a home game on TV, I watch with the sound off. It's more exciting that way. When Mo got "2 and a foul" last night, I turned the sound on to hear the crowd reaction and it was almost silent. Of course, I guess I'm contributing to the problem by not being there but it seems like you have to open up a line of credit just to go to a game these days...
I agree with many of the above assessments relating to the lack of fan enthusiasm at the Toyota Center. My first game there was on Dec. 23 against the Pacers. Despite it being considered an official "sell out," I'd say the arena as a whole was roughly 70% full, with the suites only about 15% full! And indeed, the crowd lacked enthusiasm as many have posted as well. I know there was talk before the season about the fact that many of the suites remained unsold, and it looks like many of them still are. Does anyone have the numbers on how many suites remain unsold? Heck, I know that two of them at least are own by Rockets players (Francis and Taylor, if I recall correctly). I was always under the impression that revenue from luxury suites was one of the biggest reasons for opening a new arena. At some point, you have to imagine the Rockets are taking a bath on this deal. Other observations: 1.) They need to use the color-lit scoreboard that goes around the entire middle-level of the arena more often. It is one of the most impressive effects at the new arena, but almost all of the time it is nothing but a static advertisement. 2.) If you look at the Mobely picture above, what the heck is that construction site on the suite level? Does anyone know? Are they still not done with the building? There are many factors that are possibly contributing to the lack of atmosphere at Rockets games, but let's not discount Jeff Van Gundy as one of them. Though his style of coaching has been successful, it does not often breed the most "watchable" basketball. At some point, if the wins don't outweigh the waning attendance, JVG may be JVGone.
if you guys think youre game experiences were bad, my only experience at the toyota center was the san antonio game. it was 30-25 at the half. that was the worst game ever!!
The Spurs announcer has been doing that for years. Whenever the team is struggling, he'll ask for "a little help". Of course, that tends to work a lot better when you've got more than 9,900 fans in the arena.
