Post-game reactions to the new digs and the whole "experience."

[Norm Peterson]

OK, we've talked about the game and the players.  There has also been isolated chatter about the new digs and how things went with the whole experience.  I thought I'd give people an opportunity to share their views in a consolidated format with a new thread.

 

Me first.

 

Parking.  Meh.  Crowd was about half to 2/3 of what it'll be when the season gets rolling.  If you had a problem with parking, it ain't getting any better mister.  Personally, my parking experience was fine.  Except for the walk.

 

Concessions.  OMG.  It's like they didn't expect fans would want to get anything to eat at the game.  Agree with others that you have to search to find the stuff you want rather than a consistent product at each stand.  And the prices?  Gee, they really think a lot of the Pepsi they sell inside that there new arena.

 

Layout.  Obviously, I stand corrected.  Any previous reservations I might have expressed about the place not living up to the promise of being designed for basketball have been completely put to rest.   Like what was I thinking, right?  That place is intimate.  Sorry, I can't draw colored lines on photos of the place like some people can, but just trust me on this one.  The word is intimate.  Like I could reach out and touch the back of the head of the lady in front of me.  That close.  In fact, several times during the game, I leaned forward (but only slightly) and tapped her on the shoulder to ask if I could borrow her binoculars.

 

Cheerleaders/Dance Squad.  This place is going to have a lot of appeal for the cheerleaders and the dance squad.  They have so much room to move around on the sidelines during the action.  Never have to worry about running into someone when they spin around and do a kick-in-the-air thing.  Spacious area for the cheerleaders and dance girls.  I mean, these designers thought of EVERYTHING!  And speaking of cheerleaders, I assume they cheered at some point.  I couldn't hear them from as far away as I was in the intimate environment of the PBA.

 

Student section.  Now this is the hidden gem of the place.  Where the students are situated is ideal for creating that home court hostile environment.  The Red Zone just about couldn't get any closer to the floor than where they are.  Unless they moved forward about 10 feet.  And those kids will really be rocking it to the band music they played last year when they start showing up for conference games.  In the mean time, I'm really curious to see what they do with all the open seats on the south end of the arena during the non-conference part of the schedule.

 

So, anyway, nothing but enthusiastic thumbs up on my end.

[HuskerBB]

Norm I agree with you for the most part - but as I said in the game thread, students are going to be much more noticeable and effective on the end of the court.  They only get one end now in this arena - but if I was a student (I was one long ago - we had a coach named Iba then and I NEVER missed a game) I would have been on the end not behind a scorers table.  Trust me - students behind a team's bench are not going to impact a game - players at this level are used to that and coaches are not going to let it bother them either.

 

I share your concern about the concessions as mentioned on the other thread - particularly the lack of Runza's.  But then later today someone mentioned another glaring absence - the frozen malts !!  Are they anywhere in the arena ???  Also - what's up with the popcorn.

 

I remember 40+ years ago I was a kid going to games with my parents at the Coliseum watchin Chuck Jura, Leroy Chalk and Bob Seigel.  Some of my favorite memories of those games were how the whole place would smell of freshly popped popcorn and how I always would get my dad to buy me a "frosty malt".   A generation later in the 1990's I was taking my children to games in BDSC to watch Eric Piatkowski and Bruce Chubick and they loved to get those same frosty malts.   Kids are all grown up now - but someday in the future I would like to think I could take my grandchildren to a game in Pinnacle Bank Arena - and really would love to be able to get them one of those Meadow Gold frozen malts to eat with a flat wooden "spoon" and tell them how I used to have the same thing watching Husker basketball half a century before.  Maybe I am just out of date but there are things unique to Nebraska sports that should not be lost.  Only place I ever had (or even saw) one of those frozen malts was at Husker BB games.  Is that tradition dead now?

[uneblinstu]

My only complaint is that I thought I was on the other side of my section than I really am.  I would have been about three seats away from Norm (and across the aisle...), but, alas, I'm not and now I'm on the other side of the section and 20 seats further away...

 

I even brought extra tissues for the nosebleed.  Oh well...  

 

I haven't quite figured out how I'll be doing parking yet, I have a couple of ideas, but I haven't been able to test them out, yet...

[Huskerpapa]

I love the PBA...it is no longer new.  Concessions stink, suck, etc.  The $4 hot dog that I puchased was cold.  What the heck.  If the cost for one hot dog is the same as an entire package in a store, then at the very least, cook the darn thing for the customer.  Otherwise, a great experience.

 

* Parking was fine

* The Haymarket experience is wonderful, and it only going to get better

* My daughter finished second in the frisbie toss at half-time.  I still have no clue what that was all about.

[hhcmatt]

Note to self: Eat before the game

[Nighthawk]

Not up in the nosebleed section (200's) but yeah we are a ways up still. Thank god for the TV screen. I'm still anxious to see the place packed! Food sucks...will hit up the restaurants in the area prior to the game.

[HB]

Not up in the nosebleed section (200's) but yeah we are a ways up still. Thank god for the TV screen. I'm still anxious to see the place packed! Food sucks...will hit up the restaurants in the area prior to the game.

 

Good options there, but be early.  At 5:30 monday, for an exhibition game, the wait at Mellow Mushroom was already 25 minutes.  We then got the last table at Gate 25.  Great atmosphere and lots of fun, but we noted that if we make this a regular experience, we'll gain 20 pounds during the season, go broke, and have a perpetual buzz.  Sounds pretty good, actually.

[Cheap Seat Perspective]

I'm first row in the 300 Section and the view sucks. Seriously they couldn't put a clear barrier so people don't fall down from the 300 level!? The view is great when you're standing but sitting down there are poor sight lines. 

[hhcmatt]

I'm first row in the 300 Section and the view sucks. Seriously they couldn't put a clear barrier so people don't fall down from the 300 level!? The view is great when you're standing but sitting down there are poor sight lines. 

 

Have you thought about contacting the ticket office?  They might be able to do something for you.

BTW, this was a literal cheap seats perspective

[Jurgey]

I'm sure the food, sight lines and everything else would be fine if the would JUST SERVE BEER!!!

[Nighthawk]

I'm first row in the 300 Section and the view sucks. Seriously they couldn't put a clear barrier so people don't fall down from the 300 level!? The view is great when you're standing but sitting down there are poor sight lines. 

 

 

 

I'm first row in the 300 Section and the view sucks. Seriously they couldn't put a clear barrier so people don't fall down from the 300 level!? The view is great when you're standing but sitting down there are poor sight lines. 

 

Have you thought about contacting the ticket office?  They might be able to do something for you.

BTW, this was a literal cheap seats perspective

 

That's my problem from the 2nd row in the 200 level.the Clear Barrier would be so much better.  My dad and I went to the ticket office as there was a journal star article a while back that said they had comments about this after the open house and that there were still some tickets available for those that wanted to movie.  We went to the ticket office the day after the article was printed and were told by the guy at the ticket office 1. They had no clue about any article in the paper and 2. There were like 4 seats available and none of them were together. and 3. Due to OSHA requirements those rails can't be changed. I'm not sure why they can have the plexiglass at Memorial Stadium but can't inside the arena. Would think it would take less a beating inside than out in the elements. 

[Red Rum]

I found my overall experience to be very favorable. I've been a Haymarket go-er for a while so I have a couple parking tricks up my sleeve.

 

Concessions I can't speak of, I usually eat before I get to the game. 

 

I sit a couple rows back in the 200 section and I had no sight problems. There also wasn't a lot of people in my section for the exhibition game so my fingers are still crossed on sitting next to cool people.

 

I'm looking forward to many games, and hopefully wins, in PBA.

[leonidas]

OK, we've talked about the game and the players.  There has also been isolated chatter about the new digs and how things went with the whole experience.  I thought I'd give people an opportunity to share their views in a consolidated format with a new thread.

 

Me first.

 

Parking.  Meh.  Crowd was about half to 2/3 of what it'll be when the season gets rolling.  If you had a problem with parking, it ain't getting any better mister.  Personally, my parking experience was fine.  Except for the walk.

 

Concessions.  OMG.  It's like they didn't expect fans would want to get anything to eat at the game.  Agree with others that you have to search to find the stuff you want rather than a consistent product at each stand.  And the prices?  Gee, they really think a lot of the Pepsi they sell inside that there new arena.

 

Layout.  Obviously, I stand corrected.  Any previous reservations I might have expressed about the place not living up to the promise of being designed for basketball have been completely put to rest.   Like what was I thinking, right?  That place is intimate.  Sorry, I can't draw colored lines on photos of the place like some people can, but just trust me on this one.  The word is intimate.  Like I could reach out and touch the back of the head of the lady in front of me.  That close.  In fact, several times during the game, I leaned forward (but only slightly) and tapped her on the shoulder to ask if I could borrow her binoculars.

 

Cheerleaders/Dance Squad.  This place is going to have a lot of appeal for the cheerleaders and the dance squad.  They have so much room to move around on the sidelines during the action.  Never have to worry about running into someone when they spin around and do a kick-in-the-air thing.  Spacious area for the cheerleaders and dance girls.  I mean, these designers thought of EVERYTHING!  And speaking of cheerleaders, I assume they cheered at some point.  I couldn't hear them from as far away as I was in the intimate environment of the PBA.

 

Student section.  Now this is the hidden gem of the place.  Where the students are situated is ideal for creating that home court hostile environment.  The Red Zone just about couldn't get any closer to the floor than where they are.  Unless they moved forward about 10 feet.  And those kids will really be rocking it to the band music they played last year when they start showing up for conference games.  In the mean time, I'm really curious to see what they do with all the open seats on the south end of the arena during the non-conference part of the schedule.

 

So, anyway, nothing but enthusiastic thumbs up on my end.

Norm, I know you keep mocking how intimate the PBA is but you need to quit comparing it to the Devaney.  Of course it's not as intimate as the Devaney.  Who ever said it would be.  When people say it's intimate, it's compared to the arenas like CenturyLink that the PBA should be compared to. 

[Nighthawk]

 

OK, we've talked about the game and the players.  There has also been isolated chatter about the new digs and how things went with the whole experience.  I thought I'd give people an opportunity to share their views in a consolidated format with a new thread.

 

Me first.

 

Parking.  Meh.  Crowd was about half to 2/3 of what it'll be when the season gets rolling.  If you had a problem with parking, it ain't getting any better mister.  Personally, my parking experience was fine.  Except for the walk.

 

Concessions.  OMG.  It's like they didn't expect fans would want to get anything to eat at the game.  Agree with others that you have to search to find the stuff you want rather than a consistent product at each stand.  And the prices?  Gee, they really think a lot of the Pepsi they sell inside that there new arena.

 

Layout.  Obviously, I stand corrected.  Any previous reservations I might have expressed about the place not living up to the promise of being designed for basketball have been completely put to rest.   Like what was I thinking, right?  That place is intimate.  Sorry, I can't draw colored lines on photos of the place like some people can, but just trust me on this one.  The word is intimate.  Like I could reach out and touch the back of the head of the lady in front of me.  That close.  In fact, several times during the game, I leaned forward (but only slightly) and tapped her on the shoulder to ask if I could borrow her binoculars.

 

Cheerleaders/Dance Squad.  This place is going to have a lot of appeal for the cheerleaders and the dance squad.  They have so much room to move around on the sidelines during the action.  Never have to worry about running into someone when they spin around and do a kick-in-the-air thing.  Spacious area for the cheerleaders and dance girls.  I mean, these designers thought of EVERYTHING!  And speaking of cheerleaders, I assume they cheered at some point.  I couldn't hear them from as far away as I was in the intimate environment of the PBA.

 

Student section.  Now this is the hidden gem of the place.  Where the students are situated is ideal for creating that home court hostile environment.  The Red Zone just about couldn't get any closer to the floor than where they are.  Unless they moved forward about 10 feet.  And those kids will really be rocking it to the band music they played last year when they start showing up for conference games.  In the mean time, I'm really curious to see what they do with all the open seats on the south end of the arena during the non-conference part of the schedule.

 

So, anyway, nothing but enthusiastic thumbs up on my end.

Norm, I know you keep mocking how intimate the PBA is but you need to quit comparing it to the Devaney.  Of course it's not as intimate as the Devaney.  Who ever said it would be.  When people say it's intimate, it's compared to the arenas like CenturyLink that the PBA should be compared to. 

 

It's also kind of hard to make it like the bob when you have almost 6000 more seats than the Bob. Those seats have to go somewhere...unless you expected them to double up and have people sitting in your lap.

[HuskerBB]

 

It's also kind of hard to make it like the bob when you have almost 6000 more seats than the Bob. Those seats have to go somewhere...unless you expected them to double up and have people sitting in your lap.

 

 

6,000 more seats???   I think PBA capacity is a little bigger than BDSC was at the end (Isn't Pinnacle about the same as BDSC was when it was built (around 14,500) but BDSC capacity got smaller each time they changed bleacher seats to chairbacks). 

 

But certainly Pinnacle capacity is not 6,000 more people than BDSC was.  Maybe 6,000 more than it is now for volleyball - but that is a whole different animal and an apples to oranges comparison.

[Miles ahead of the rest]

I apologize if this has already been asked/answered but didn't wanna take the time to read everything... But Norm mentioned that section with very little butts in the seats behind the one basket... does anyone know if that is another part of the student section?  Or what thats about and why it was so empty?

[HuskerBB]

I apologize if this has already been asked/answered but didn't wanna take the time to read everything... But Norm mentioned that section with very little butts in the seats behind the one basket... does anyone know if that is another part of the student section?  Or what thats about and why it was so empty?

 

Yes that is a student section but there only a handful of students there.   For some reason nearly all of the students who did show up stuffed themselves behind the scorers table.   Hopefully a decent number of students show up Friday.

[ajb5856]

I apologize if this has already been asked/answered but didn't wanna take the time to read everything... But Norm mentioned that section with very little butts in the seats behind the one basket... does anyone know if that is another part of the student section? Or what thats about and why it was so empty?

Yes that is a student section but there only a handful of students there. For some reason nearly all of the students who did show up stuffed themselves behind the scorers table. Hopefully a decent number of students show up Friday.

I wonder how they plan on managing the student sections on a game by game basis. I mean, we need to have those sections filled in. I know they sold all of the student tickets, but did they oversell at all? Is the transfer of student tickets an easy process?

[lanigan123]

I'm in row 1 of 200 level section 216. The bar is annoying. The food is pricey but I didn't want just a hot dog, the carving station in the north concourse was insanely good. Sandwich chips slaw was 11. The chicken fingers were good too. I didn't try a hot dog. I was there early so maybe it was more fresh. Parking, the festival lot was 10 bucks, the salt dogs lot was 5 and it's literally just across the street. The walk over the bridge was short and that entrance was easy to get in.

[ajb5856]

OK, we've talked about the game and the players. There has also been isolated chatter about the new digs and how things went with the whole experience. I thought I'd give people an opportunity to share their views in a consolidated format with a new thread.

Me first.

Parking. Meh. Crowd was about half to 2/3 of what it'll be when the season gets rolling. If you had a problem with parking, it ain't getting any better mister. Personally, my parking experience was fine. Except for the walk.

Concessions. OMG. It's like they didn't expect fans would want to get anything to eat at the game. Agree with others that you have to search to find the stuff you want rather than a consistent product at each stand. And the prices? Gee, they really think a lot of the Pepsi they sell inside that there new arena.

Layout. Obviously, I stand corrected. Any previous reservations I might have expressed about the place not living up to the promise of being designed for basketball have been completely put to rest. Like what was I thinking, right? That place is intimate. Sorry, I can't draw colored lines on photos of the place like some people can, but just trust me on this one. The word is intimate. Like I could reach out and touch the back of the head of the lady in front of me. That close. In fact, several times during the game, I leaned forward (but only slightly) and tapped her on the shoulder to ask if I could borrow her binoculars.

Cheerleaders/Dance Squad. This place is going to have a lot of appeal for the cheerleaders and the dance squad. They have so much room to move around on the sidelines during the action. Never have to worry about running into someone when they spin around and do a kick-in-the-air thing. Spacious area for the cheerleaders and dance girls. I mean, these designers thought of EVERYTHING! And speaking of cheerleaders, I assume they cheered at some point. I couldn't hear them from as far away as I was in the intimate environment of the PBA.

Student section. Now this is the hidden gem of the place. Where the students are situated is ideal for creating that home court hostile environment. The Red Zone just about couldn't get any closer to the floor than where they are. Unless they moved forward about 10 feet. And those kids will really be rocking it to the band music they played last year when they start showing up for conference games. In the mean time, I'm really curious to see what they do with all the open seats on the south end of the arena during the non-conference part of the schedule.

So, anyway, nothing but enthusiastic thumbs up on my end.

Norm, I know you keep mocking how intimate the PBA is but you need to quit comparing it to the Devaney. Of course it's not as intimate as the Devaney. Who ever said it would be. When people say it's intimate, it's compared to the arenas like CenturyLink that the PBA should be compared to.

^^^^^^ This. Exactly this. ^^^^^^ We weren't getting PBA as a basketball only facility like Devaney was. We were getting a multipurpose arena or we weren't getting a new arena. Concerts and other events couldn't be done at Devaney (very few) because it was built for basketball only. So, I agree that PBA shouldn't be compared to Deaney. PBA was built as a multipurpose arena with a basketball-centric mindset. For the large arena that we got, it is very basketball friendly (sight lines, seating, architecture) compared to other large arenas. It is not intimate when compared to Devaney. I give the building an A+.

[nustudent]

Someone tell me about the hot dogs...are they still the red ones wrapped in the foil wrapper?

[Norm Peterson]

So, they could afford to upgrade to Terrazzo tile on the premium floor but they couldn't afford Plexiglas railing things for the 200 and 300 level seats, huh?  Niiiiiiice.

 

And leonidas, I keep bringing up "intimate" about the PBA because people keep saying it is when it's not.  So, if people stop calling the PBA "intimate" I'll quit making fun of them for it.

 

And NUdiehard, can you help me out here?  You keep quotes.  Can you find all the places where Marc Boehm was quoted  in the paper saying this was going to be designed with basketball in mind?

 

I guess the problem I see is that I fear PBA will be even quieter than Devaney.  With more room, more space, you have to have more noise to fill it.  I can't hear the student section.  I can't hear the cheerleaders.  

 

And one final item.  If the idea of building the PBA was to replace Pershing, then fabulous success.  Several times the seating capacity of Pershing in a gleaming, new arena.  If the idea was to replace Devaney, then not so much.  The basketball seating capacity of PBA is 14,970.¹  The basketball seating capacity of the Bob Devaney Sports Center was 13,559.²  That's a difference of fewer than 1,500 seats.

 

So, we're spending $179,000,000.00 to get fewer than 1,500 more seats?  Quick, how much is that per seat?  Oh, we also get the luxury box level, which holds something like 500 people.  So, there is that.

 

 

¹  http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/info/

2 http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=3534

[leonidas]

So, they could afford to upgrade to Terrazzo tile on the premium floor but they couldn't afford Plexiglas railing things for the 200 and 300 level seats, huh?  Niiiiiiice.

 

And leonidas, I keep bringing up "intimate" about the PBA because people keep saying it is when it's not.  So, if people stop calling the PBA "intimate" I'll quit making fun of them for it.

 

And NUdiehard, can you help me out here?  You keep quotes.  Can you find all the places where Marc Boehm was quoted  in the paper saying this was going to be designed with basketball in mind?

 

I guess the problem I see is that I fear PBA will be even quieter than Devaney.  With more room, more space, you have to have more noise to fill it.  I can't hear the student section.  I can't hear the cheerleaders.  

 

And one final item.  If the idea of building the PBA was to replace Pershing, then fabulous success.  Several times the seating capacity of Pershing in a gleaming, new arena.  If the idea was to replace Devaney, then not so much.  The basketball seating capacity of PBA is 14,970.¹  The basketball seating capacity of the Bob Devaney Sports Center was 13,559.²  That's a difference of fewer than 1,500 seats.

 

So, we're spending $179,000,000.00 to get fewer than 1,500 more seats?  Quick, how much is that per seat?  Oh, we also get the luxury box level, which holds something like 500 people.  So, there is that.

 

 

¹  http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/info/

2 http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=3534

Regarding Boehm's quotes, again, compared to other large arenas, this is more basketball-centric than others.  He's spot on in that regard.  He's not comparing the PBA to a high school gym, he's not comparing it to the Devaney, he's comparing it to the Century Link's of the world.

 

As someone else pointed out, the PBA is not just a basketball arena.  Everyone needs to understand that.  When it comes to large arenas, it is more basketball-centric, though.  If you want to keep comparing it to the Devaney, then feel free to keep complaining.  Did you seriously expect the PBA was going to be like the Devaney????

[hhcmatt]

I guess the problem I see is that I fear PBA will be even quieter than Devaney.  With more room, more space, you have to have more noise to fill it.  I can't hear the student section.  I can't hear the cheerleaders.  

 

 If the idea was to replace Devaney, then not so much.  The basketball seating capacity of PBA is 14,970.¹  The basketball seating capacity of the Bob Devaney Sports Center was 13,559.²  That's a difference of fewer than 1,500 seats.

 

 

These seem to be conflicting gripes.

[Cousin Mose]

So, they could afford to upgrade to Terrazzo tile on the premium floor but they couldn't afford Plexiglas railing things for the 200 and 300 level seats, huh?  Niiiiiiice.

 

And leonidas, I keep bringing up "intimate" about the PBA because people keep saying it is when it's not.  So, if people stop calling the PBA "intimate" I'll quit making fun of them for it.

 

And NUdiehard, can you help me out here?  You keep quotes.  Can you find all the places where Marc Boehm was quoted  in the paper saying this was going to be designed with basketball in mind?

 

I guess the problem I see is that I fear PBA will be even quieter than Devaney.  With more room, more space, you have to have more noise to fill it.  I can't hear the student section.  I can't hear the cheerleaders.  

 

And one final item.  If the idea of building the PBA was to replace Pershing, then fabulous success.  Several times the seating capacity of Pershing in a gleaming, new arena.  If the idea was to replace Devaney, then not so much.  The basketball seating capacity of PBA is 14,970.¹  The basketball seating capacity of the Bob Devaney Sports Center was 13,559.²  That's a difference of fewer than 1,500 seats.

 

So, we're spending $179,000,000.00 to get fewer than 1,500 more seats?  Quick, how much is that per seat?  Oh, we also get the luxury box level, which holds something like 500 people.  So, there is that.

 

 

¹  http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/info/

2 http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=3534

 

Yeah, but it is actual seats, not benches.