Pinnacle Bank Arena: 300 Level

[Norm Peterson]

Seriously, I really don't mind my seats.  I'm in the moderate nosebleed area but at least I'm on the side so that neither end of the court is a hell of a long ways away from me.  I have a friend who shares season tickets for an NBA team and I've joined him for a game.  His seats are supposedly "really good seats" in the lower bowl in the first few rows on one of the corners.  But, the seats are pushed further from the floor, especially on the ends, and it was hard to tell what was going on when the action was at the far end of the floor.  So, I like my nosebleeds just fine.  I'm OK with them. 

 

The biggest problem I have with my seats is the physical separation from the floor.  You really do feel like you're almost in an observation room or an observation deck.  At Devaney, even though I was far from the floor, I still felt like I was involved in the crowd.  During tense parts of the game, the crowd around where I was at Devaney would all rise to their feet and cheer on the team.  Now, I've noticed the crowd in my section rarely rises to its feet.  Part of it has to be that we're sort of in the dark up there.  But, definitely, being in a balcony diminishes your attachment to what's happening on the floor.

 

I've gotten used to the fact that my "comparable" seats aren't quite comparable.  I can still see well enough to enjoy watching the games.  But if you do stand and yell, you really will feel like you're the only idiot doing so.  And the only reason for the separation is so that they can squeeze in a premium level for the guys with all the bucks.

 

So, I have to wonder what the financial benefit of that premium level really is.  Who benefits from it?  SMG Marketing?  The University?  Does it contribute significantly to paying the mortgage on the place?  I mean, where's the money going?

[Concrete]

"We need a bigger and better new arena!!!!!!"

"Oh wait, you mean you are further away from the action when the arena is bigger???"

SMH

[49r]

 

Reading this thread does not make me want to visit the arena soon. It will be interesting to see how long some of the season ticket holders decide to continue their donations and how many try to change their locations next year.

 

I really like the new arena.  I wonder if the 200 and 300 level sections seem dead most times that if there are times when they're pumping out noise that it makes any sort of difference on the floor.

 

 

Me too.

 

I don't know what y'all are talking about.  PBA is great.

[Norm Peterson]

"We need a bigger and better new arena!!!!!!"

"Oh wait, you mean you are further away from the action when the arena is bigger???"

SMH

Hmmmm.  Are you suggesting that a bigger arena means EVERYONE has to be further from the floor than where they would have been at the old place?

 

For basketball, we've added 1500 seats by moving from Devaney to PBA.  There isn't a "comparable seat" in the new arena that is as close as they were at Devaney except for the guys who sit in the black padded chairs on the floor.  Everyone else is pushed further away.  And in some cases a lot further away.

 

The entire 300 section is further away from the floor than EVERY SINGLE SEAT at Devaney.

 

The entire 200 section is barely equivalent to the upper plank seating in Devaney.

 

And all we've added is 1500 seats.

 

I'm thinking you could build a new arena and add 1500 extra chairs without having to push all the seats further away from the floor.

 

Again, I'm not trying to complain because I have gotten used to my view and I'm OK with it. 

[HB]

Seriously, I really don't mind my seats.  I'm in the moderate nosebleed area but at least I'm on the side so that neither end of the court is a hell of a long ways away from me.  I have a friend who shares season tickets for an NBA team and I've joined him for a game.  His seats are supposedly "really good seats" in the lower bowl in the first few rows on one of the corners.  But, the seats are pushed further from the floor, especially on the ends, and it was hard to tell what was going on when the action was at the far end of the floor.  So, I like my nosebleeds just fine.  I'm OK with them. 

 

The biggest problem I have with my seats is the physical separation from the floor.  You really do feel like you're almost in an observation room or an observation deck.  At Devaney, even though I was far from the floor, I still felt like I was involved in the crowd.  During tense parts of the game, the crowd around where I was at Devaney would all rise to their feet and cheer on the team.  Now, I've noticed the crowd in my section rarely rises to its feet.  Part of it has to be that we're sort of in the dark up there.  But, definitely, being in a balcony diminishes your attachment to what's happening on the floor.

 

I've gotten used to the fact that my "comparable" seats aren't quite comparable.  I can still see well enough to enjoy watching the games.  But if you do stand and yell, you really will feel like you're the only idiot doing so.  And the only reason for the separation is so that they can squeeze in a premium level for the guys with all the bucks.

 

So, I have to wonder what the financial benefit of that premium level really is.  Who benefits from it?  SMG Marketing?  The University?  Does it contribute significantly to paying the mortgage on the place?  I mean, where's the money going?

 

Norm, that all makes some sense.  I haven't sat in the 200 or 300 seats, but I did watch the first half of a game from the skybox level or whatever they call those things.  The view of the action was indeed good.  But I felt way too disconnected, almost like watching a movie.  I went down to my lower level seats to watch the rest of the game.

 

When you say "premium level"  I assume you are talking about the skyboxes vs. the lower level club seats.  Since the University gets donations for lower level and club seats, I would think it gets at least some of the sky box revenues (not just the tickets issued for those seating locations, but the extra cost for the box lease).  This would all probalby be easily researched if I didn't have a day job.  The 2% Arena Tax on restaurants/bars goes toward paying the bonded indebtedness; I don't know about profits form operations. 

[Norm Peterson]

"We need a bigger and better new arena!!!!!!"

"Oh wait, you mean you are further away from the action when the arena is bigger???"

SMH

Let me illustrate this a different way, Concrete.  My seats for football were in the exact same spot when Memorial Stadium seated only 72,000 as they are today when the stadium holds 92,000.  You telling me you have to push everyone further from the floor in order to increase the seating capacity?  I don't think so.

 

SMH

[49r]

Norm, I think what Concrete's saying is when you have all new construction like the PBA, you have certain ADA considerations that were not in place when Devaney was built that requires a lot more room for ingress/egress...plus the demands for more creature comforts like wider concourses, escalators and etc. that places demands on how the place can be built.

 

It means that the same size arena built today is going to need to be much bigger than it did 40 years ago is all, and that nobody should be surprised by that.

[Norm Peterson]

Norm, I think what Concrete's saying is when you have all new construction like the PBA, you have certain ADA considerations that were not in place when Devaney was built that requires a lot more room for ingress/egress...plus the demands for more creature comforts like wider concourses, escalators and etc. that places demands on how the place can be built.

 

It means that the same size arena built today is going to need to be much bigger than it did 40 years ago is all, and that nobody should be surprised by that.

OK, well, when you put it that way ...

 

(But, actually, I still think they could have started the seating the same distance from the floor as at Devaney.  And the real reason everything is pushed so far away isn't because of ADA considerations but because of the extra balcony for the luxury boxes.  That's what really does it.  I think the way they handled those at C-link was probably better.)

[Nighthawk]

Reading this thread does not make me want to visit the arena soon. It will be interesting to see how long some of the season ticket holders decide to continue their donations and how many try to change their locations next year.

 

I know my dad is going to try for 100 level next year.  Not for any reason except the stupid guard rail blocking our view in the 200 level. If they had used plexi glass we wouldn't have minded.

[Nighthawk]

Seriously, I really don't mind my seats.  I'm in the moderate nosebleed area but at least I'm on the side so that neither end of the court is a hell of a long ways away from me.  I have a friend who shares season tickets for an NBA team and I've joined him for a game.  His seats are supposedly "really good seats" in the lower bowl in the first few rows on one of the corners.  But, the seats are pushed further from the floor, especially on the ends, and it was hard to tell what was going on when the action was at the far end of the floor.  So, I like my nosebleeds just fine.  I'm OK with them. 

 

The biggest problem I have with my seats is the physical separation from the floor.  You really do feel like you're almost in an observation room or an observation deck.  At Devaney, even though I was far from the floor, I still felt like I was involved in the crowd.  During tense parts of the game, the crowd around where I was at Devaney would all rise to their feet and cheer on the team.  Now, I've noticed the crowd in my section rarely rises to its feet.  Part of it has to be that we're sort of in the dark up there.  But, definitely, being in a balcony diminishes your attachment to what's happening on the floor.

 

I've gotten used to the fact that my "comparable" seats aren't quite comparable.  I can still see well enough to enjoy watching the games.  But if you do stand and yell, you really will feel like you're the only idiot doing so.  And the only reason for the separation is so that they can squeeze in a premium level for the guys with all the bucks.

 

So, I have to wonder what the financial benefit of that premium level really is.  Who benefits from it?  SMG Marketing?  The University?  Does it contribute significantly to paying the mortgage on the place?  I mean, where's the money going?

I think PimpMario addressed your comments here...since him and his dad (no disrespect intended) are the ones that have the bucks to afford the premium level seats...they are the same thing as the club level.

[jimmykc]

To me attendance at a game reaches a point of diminishing return with proximity to the action. If I find myself paying as much attention to the big screen as the real life play, I begin to question the value of my ticket purchase (plus overpriced refreshments, parking, and time spent). It would seem from comments here that eventually this will occur to some of the new season ticket holders. This also applies to some of the newly added sections at Memorial stadium which I have heard being compared to watching a game from the top of Mt. Everest. Tailgating activities and the paucity of games make this easier to tolerate however.

[hhcmatt]

+1 for making me google "paucity"

[HB]

+1 for making me google "paucity"

just think opposite of "plethora"...

[TheKamdyMan]

I assume a lot of you haven't been to NBA games or even a dreaded bluejays game and say up high. You just don't get the same experience up there but what can you do. I mean think about the fans at Syracuse that are like a half mile away for their games.

[HuskerActuary]

This also applies to some of the newly added sections at Memorial stadium which I have heard being compared to watching a game from the top of Mt. Everest. Tailgating activities and the paucity of games make this easier to tolerate however.

I don't want to derail the thread, but I couldn't let this go. I have seats in upper East Stadium and love them! You can see everything on the field at once and have a great view. Besides, it's not much higher than the view the suites and press boxes have on the west side.

[Stiltz Guy]

We're in 116 and yes, we donate. I am a person who enjoys spectating at a game. I yell, clap when appropriate, but i do not stand until breaks in the action. Others that have spent decent sums of money deserve to see the game without having to ask others to stop obstructing our views. If I want to engage the guy in front of me about stopping his blocking of my view of the court, then i'll go watch a game at Brewsky's or something. Every fan, particularly ones footing the bill, should be able to completely watch the game in some resemblance of peace.

[Silverbacked1]

I think that should have different sections for how you want to watch the game.

They have alcohol free sections, family sections or all you can eat sections at pro sports.

Why not standing, sitting some times and just being there sections.

I would vote for those.

And yes I am serious.

[Norm Peterson]

We're in 116 and yes, we donate. I am a person who enjoys spectating at a game. I yell, clap when appropriate, but i do not stand until breaks in the action. Others that have spent decent sums of money deserve to see the game without having to ask others to stop obstructing our views. If I want to engage the guy in front of me about stopping his blocking of my view of the court, then i'll go watch a game at Brewsky's or something. Every fan, particularly ones footing the bill, should be able to completely watch the game in some resemblance of peace.

Sounds like your man cave would be a better venue, more suitable for your particular sensibilities.  If you don't like noise and you don't like people standing in your way, Brewsky's won't be a better option.  The only time I mind people standing in my way is when they're hanging out in the aisles leaving early or arriving late.  Otherwise, if people are standing it's because there's something important happening and I am going to be just as inclined to be on my feet.  If people behind me have their view obstructed, they're more than welcome to got on their feet as well.

 

By the way, every fan who pays for a ticket, whether in section 116 or 316, is helping to foot the bill.

[throwback]

Sounds like your man cave would be a better venue, more suitable for your particular sensibilities.  If you don't like noise and you don't like people standing in your way, Brewsky's won't be a better option.  The only time I mind people standing in my way is when they're hanging out in the aisles leaving early or arriving late.  Otherwise, if people are standing it's because there's something important happening and I am going to be just as inclined to be on my feet.  If people behind me have their view obstructed, they're more than welcome to got on their feet as well.

 

By the way, every fan who pays for a ticket, whether in section 116 or 316, is helping to foot the bill.

 

Exactly - attending sporting events in person are "two-way" experiences. Players making plays, officials blowing calls, momentum swings, etc., should excite the crowd and make people react. The reaction of fans in turn should give the players extra energy. Being excited and standing on occasion is an important part of the fan experience and is part of what makes attending games special.

 

If someone wants to not be "disturbed" at a game by fans getting excited on occasion, then a "one-way" experience is probably more appropriate for that person - HDTV provides a great picture these days. 

 

Of course I'm biased - if I had my choice and wasn't too old to pull it off, I'd have season tickets in the student section. 

[Huskerpapa]

Sorry, I may block people, but I pay for my seat and a few others.  I am a fan and as a fan, I am loud and proud and/or loud and happy and/or loud and upset.  The point being is that I am at the game to immerse myself into the game.  I do not apologize.  I am not vulger and I am not mean.  I am simply cheering and yelling and doing my part. 

 

Once again, there must be a lot of people (hundreds at least) who pay good money to come, and then leave with 8 minutes left in the game. They choose to walk out of the venue in front of the 14,000 or so that are chosing to stay and cheer and/or support the program.  If someone chooses to stand in front of me, I will simply stand myself, if I wasn't already, and cheer along with him or her. 

[Slammin1]

We're in 116 and yes, we donate. I am a person who enjoys spectating at a game. I yell, clap when appropriate, but i do not stand until breaks in the action. Others that have spent decent sums of money deserve to see the game without having to ask others to stop obstructing our views. If I want to engage the guy in front of me about stopping his blocking of my view of the court, then i'll go watch a game at Brewsky's or something. Every fan, particularly ones footing the bill, should be able to completely watch the game in some resemblance of peace.

Sounds like your man cave would be a better venue, more suitable for your particular sensibilities.  If you don't like noise and you don't like people standing in your way, Brewsky's won't be a better option.  The only time I mind people standing in my way is when they're hanging out in the aisles leaving early or arriving late.  Otherwise, if people are standing it's because there's something important happening and I am going to be just as inclined to be on my feet.  If people behind me have their view obstructed, they're more than welcome to got on their feet as well.

 

By the way, every fan who pays for a ticket, whether in section 116 or 316, is helping to foot the bill.

Spot on Norm! My feelings exactly. I would add that players and coaches feed off the fans going crazy. A home court advantage does come from fans sitting and politely applauding when good things happen on the court.

[Nighthawk]

Lol...would you all keep it quiet at the game. Stiltz is trying to enjoy the game in peace. BTW...anyone know how to get the players shoes to stop squeeking and to make the ball bounce off the court a little quieter?

Seriously... if you want sports and peace....maybe going to a golf tournament is more your style.

[jimmykc]

I think maybe we shouldn't be quite so vehement in scourging Stiltz. He is probably not referring to standing to applaud a great play or an inspiring rally which we all expect to do if we are fans in attendance. What used to rub me the wrong way are people who for some reason like to stand for most of the game just because they want to, or those who decide they should randomly stand to inspire the team and then turn around to exhort the rest of the fans to also stand up just because they think it will "inspire" the team although the players shouldn't be paying attention to the crowd at that point anyway. It is possible to cheer just as loud from a sitting position. And some people have physical reasons which may make standing and cheering for extended periods uncomfortable. Are these folks "lesser" fans? Just some points to consider.

[Nighthawk]

I think maybe we shouldn't be quite so vehement in scourging Stiltz. He is probably not referring to standing to applaud a great play or an inspiring rally which we all expect to do if we are fans in attendance. What used to rub me the wrong way are people who for some reason like to stand for most of the game just because they want to, or those who decide they should randomly stand to inspire the team and then turn around to exhort the rest of the fans to also stand up just because they think it will "inspire" the team although the players shouldn't be paying attention to the crowd at that point anyway. It is possible to cheer just as loud from a sitting position. And some people have physical reasons which may make standing and cheering for extended periods uncomfortable. Are these folks "lesser" fans? Just some points to consider.

True...but the ones that choose to sit down should be just as courteous to the ones that stand up the whole game. If you choose to sit down you may be blocked by those that choose to stand. Hopefully if there's some physical reason for sitting then the ones around you will observe and be respectful of that. However...if there is no physical reason and it's just the "we paid for these seats and we want to be able to enjoy the game" thing...then the people around who paid for those seats have the exact same feeling...and they choose to stand the entire game. feel free to ask them to sit down..if they do ok...if not...well let it go...because they have as much right to do what they want as far as sitting or standing.

[Norm Peterson]

What used to rub me the wrong way are people who ... decide they should randomly stand to inspire the team and then turn around to exhort the rest of the fans to also stand up just because they think it will "inspire" the team although the players shouldn't be paying attention to the crowd at that point anyway. It is possible to cheer just as loud from a sitting position. And some people have physical reasons which may make standing and cheering for extended periods uncomfortable. Are these folks "lesser" fans? Just some points to consider.

But, jimmy, that's me you've just described.  And experience has shown me people don't cheer loudly from a seated position.  There's something about standing that makes people noisier.  Or something about sitting that makes them quieter.  That's why the original design of the PBA had platforms so that the students could stand (or couldn't sit) the whole game.

 

Now, in my defense and the defense of others who are guilty of the same thing (CWG, I'm looking at you), we don't stand at random times.  We stand and exhort the crowd around us to stand at a point where some extra noise would help.  Like when we need a defensive stop in the latter stages of a close game.

 

Home court advantage exists.  It is an empirically proven phenomenon.  I would submit that such advantage doesn't take place simply because the home team players enjoy the creature comforts of their own locker room.  It's because the home court fans tend to cheer on their own team, the noise from which amps up the tension on the visitors making it more difficult for them to perform.

 

At a crucial moment, when they need a basket and we, the crowd, start belting out a lot of noise, we make it more likely that someone on the other team is going to make a crucial mistake.  I fervently believe the crowd can have an impact like that.  But they only do so if they're making noise.  And they typically only make a lot of noise when they're on their feet.