Get an Aisle Seat!
Written: Mar 15 '00
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Pros: Relatively clean, good views from most places, good variety of food, good restroom facilities, easy parking exits
Cons: Expensive, tiny seating areas
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| janesbit1's Full Review: America West Arena |
When America West Arena staged its first event in 1992, I was there up in the nosebleed section 228, second row from the top. It was a Metallica concert. Since then many events have been staged in this downtown arena, including numerous concerts, arena football, WWF wrestling, hockey, and basketball. While the Phoenix Suns are the most prominent professional sports team to host games here, AWA is also home to three other professional sports: Phoenix Mercury, Arizona Rattlers, and the Phoenix Coyotes. In the winter the scheduling often calls for the AWA crew to shift overnight from basketball court to ice rink and vice versa.
America West Arena looks impressive. When it opened its doors in 1992 as the new home of the Phoenix Suns, it was promptly dubbed the best basketball arena in the NBA. You can check out a lot of information about AWA and even how the views look from the seats at http://www.americawestarena.com/ The seats are far more plentiful here with a seating capacity of 19,023.
Hallways
The lobby area is very impressive and the hallways are generally wide enough to accommodate the crowds. The same applies to the restrooms, as they generally have a sufficient number. About the only time I've seen a really long line for the ladies restrooms at AWA is for concerts and business functions.
The spacious well-stocked Team Shop continually sells souvenirs, and there are additional stands for the most popular items. A variety of fast food places are available for concessions for regular people. My personal favorite is the fruit smoothie stand-it's healthier and there's usually not much of a line. Of course, it you have a lot of money and can afford to buy a suite, you can also get high quality food catered to you…. But I'm talking about a LOT of money.
Suns games can be pretty expensive, and comfort levels vary a bit depending on your location. The two levels of suites appear to be relatively comfortable for the high rollers and businesses that have invested a minimum of $80 per seat for each game for the least desirable suites. The seats on the first level vary in price with the cheapest being $75 while the upper levels cost between $34 and $27 per game. Coyotes games are also very expensive, so you generally get fairly wealthy people attending along with a few fans who will sacrifice and go to a game or two each season. Other events all vary, according to market price.
Seating
With the prices they charge for games, you'd think that the seating would be at least semi-luxurious. Think again! The engineers who designed the general seating area must be from Monterey, since they follow sardine cannery techniques for packing humans into the arena. Even the cup holders have kept this principle in mind as they are jammed into the arm of the chair instead of being placed in back of the seats. I was "privileged" to feel the cooling sensation of my neighbor's large Coke against my leg and the outline of the cup on my left arm last night as the Suns defeated Pat Riley's Miami team.
After you have shoehorned yourself into your seat, don't expect to stretch your legs any. They have two possible positions: a 90º angle or standing up (with a little maneuvering). And I'm only a short 5'7" tall. I'm not sure what the 6' and over people do, or the guys who weigh over 300 lbs.
If you have a choice in seats, grab an aisle seat, as this will give your legs a chance to stretch out occasionally and grant you the freedom to take a few breaks during the game. Not even small children can get through a row of seated people without having everyone stand up to make sufficient passage room. So, I find that if I'm in the middle of a row, I'll do the restroom break or concession run before the event starts since it's such an embarrassing pain to climb over everyone's lap to get out and return.
Perhaps they designed the seats this way on purpose. Phoenix Suns fans are relatively laid back-the team never has won an NBA championship though they are almost always in the playoffs. By making the seats really tiny it should encourage more fans to stand up before their bodies get all cramped up, and most events last only 2 - 2½ hours. I know I always welcome a chance to stand up for something whenever I attend an event at AWA.
Last night was no exception, so I was actually a little relieved that the Heat came back in the second half to make a close game of it; otherwise, I was seriously thinking of leaving around the 3rd quarter because I felt so jammed in.
Suns Entertainment
The Suns organization does some good things to keep the crowd entertained. They play quite a bit of music-a little too pop for my tastes, but I was thankful they didn't put Ricky Martin on this time. There are a number of scoreboards that keep you up to date with other NBA scores and with stats on the games, as well as basketball history. There's always a funny segment they play on video that pokes fun of a member of the opposing team-generally a former Sun, so Dan Majerle was the chosen one last night.
Halftime provides for various types of entertainment. Sometimes it's an athletic contest like having families attempt to toss miniature America West airplanes into a giant grocery cart. Last night they had a professional hypnotist get fans to do some incredible impersonations of Michael Jackson, the Backstreet Boys, Madonna, and Elvis.
Additionally, the Suns gorilla is one of the premiere mascots in the game though he was a bit more subdued last night. He's not fully recovered from breaking his ankle a few months ago. Normally he does flips through the stands and does a standard halftime dunking thing. The gorilla did participate in a standard crowd favorite-shooting T-shirts into the upper stands. Along with the gorilla is the impressive Suns dance team that performs precision routines to pop tunes during time outs.
The opening ceremony is reminiscent of the Bulls opening -- with the same music from Alan Parsons in the darkened arena with spotlights following the players as they are announced. Then there is a burst of 5 flames complete with a mini fireworks display in the Suns purple and orange colors. This will be as fired up as the crowd will get unless there is some exciting basketball in store that evening. The Suns management does work very hard to keep the fans occupied and entertained.
Summary
Overall, America West Arena is an excellent multi-purpose facility. It is booked year round with the largest variety of big events that occur in the Valley of the Sun. For many events the ticket prices will be pretty pricey, but this all depends on the organization that is holding the event. Located in the revitalized area of downtown Phoenix, it is relatively clean and safe for families. I'd recommend talking with the person selling you a ticket at AWA to see if you can get an aisle seat. Those tickets are the best in the house.
Recommended:
Yes
Parking Availability: No Problemo
Seat Location: Upper Level
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Epinions.com ID:
janesbit1
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Member: John Nesbit
Location: Phoenix, Az.
Reviews written: 295
Trusted by: 281 members
About Me:
Watching movies and baseball, now reviewing at oldschoolreviews.com
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