Seattle Center Arena construction status

[Scomerica]

How has the arena held up after two games and a concert. Any reports on issues with operation or with parking etc? Being outside the area now I have not heard anything.

I haven't heard anything bad yet but will we really know till if/when Amazons employees fully go back to the office?

 

[brewski420]

I haven't heard anything bad yet but will we really know till if/when Amazons employees fully go back to the office?

I suppose not hearing is at least a good start. You are right that the real test is when normalcy returns as far as traffic and parking.

 

[periferal]

Hi guys. Long time New Yorker/Islander fan here that is also a Seahawks fan and lover of all things Seattle. The Kraken are already my 2nd favorite team and so I'll be pulling for them nightly going forward.

So much so that I flew out to Seattle for the opener and wrote this post below on the Isles board. As I'm sure you know we're about to open our new arena (UBS Arena) also built by OVG so the experience should be similar. In the post I reference the "Coliseum" which is Nassau Coliseum - The Isles home since they came into the league and which was finally retired last year. I had been going there all my life and so I knew it inside and out, and I mentioned it below as a comparison.

Anyway here's my review. Hope you enjoy...



CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA


What's up boys? So I just got back from Seattle after seeing the Kraken opener and Coldplay the night before at Climate Pledge Arena - Built by the same crew building our UBS Arena. I sat in 2 different places two get the full experience - "The Symetra Club" (equivalent to the UBS "Dime Club") as well as the upper deck.

Here's a list of some good and bad about the arena/my experiences both nights:


PROS

• CPA is really beautiful. Both the interior and exterior are modern/cool and have a good vibe to them. It doesn't feel cheesy or sterile (like Prudential Center).
• For those of you that don't know...CPA is located in Seattle it's to the north in a more residential neighborhood. Seattle is already a very walkable city, and this specific area even moreso. Lots of apartment buildings in the surrounding area along with Seattle center which is a green space where the Space Needle is.
• You'll probably forget about it once you're actually watching an event there, but about 75% of the arena is underground which is so different and cool. So essentially the upper deck is at street level and then you take elevators or escalators down if you have better seats in the suites or lower bowl.
  
• As a result of that "underground feature" and full floor to ceiling windows on each side behind the goals, you can both see out into Seattle...And some fans lined up along the windows and could see the game for free from outside. Not sure if this detail was overlooked, but if the builders left this feature in so that a few fans could see the game for free well then kudos to them. It's cool either way as not many arenas have windows like this.
• The Symestra Club is superb. I didn't even know I bought tickets for that section, but man it's like a high end bar/restaurant within the arena. I didn't realize how good it was until I sat in the upper deck the next night. Good food choices, lots of beer/drink options, and didn't wait more than like a minute for any purchase. Plus a very good bathroom situation and all because the amount of people in this section is limited to 3 sections.
• Also great about Symestra Club is that there's no wall blocking you from viewing a game or concert when you're up getting a drink so you can see/hear everything better than when you leave any typical section at an average arena.
• Sight-lines are generally very good to excellent (more on that below).
• They have TWO (2) hanging scoreboards essentially over each teams' zone, and they are triangular shaped. I had never seen this before, but I liked it very much. Aside from just being cool/unique they are not too obtrusive and I found myself checking them out more. Also they retract into the ceiling completely out of view for concerts.
• I think this is a good thing, but my friend and I were sure there would be long lines to get into the arena due to Covid checks and it just being new, but when I tell you we walked up and were in the arena in like 30 seconds. They are checking your vaccinations and you scan your own tickets, but they are much more chilled out than arenas in the NY area and still got the job done.
• The fans are Seattle fans - Excellent energy and also had great knowledge of the NHL already. Knew when to cheer, boo, and the detailed nuances of what was going on. If you closed your eyes and listened to their cheers/reactions you could've been in the arena of any team around for 40 years.
• Also I swear 95% of the fans were wearing Kraken gear. I think I only saw like 30 Canucks fans the entire night (and I was looking). The Kraken offense is obviously not great so the team is not great yet, but man...When this team is good enough to make the playoffs that place is going to be in the top 10 loudest arenas easy. Will be a superb atmosphere.

CONS

• I cannot believe I have to write this in an arena that opened in 2021, but....Unless you're in a VIP area, they don't have enough bathrooms. Like not even close. Like it's literally as bad as Nassau Coliseum. I took photos as I couldn't believe it.
• Luckily I explore and up in one of the VIP areas (the Alaska Airlines Atrium) there's a "Gender Neutral Bathroom." It's literally a private bathroom and easily the nicest arena bathroom I've ever been to (and that includes suite bathrooms). To my Kraken brethren out there...Use this life hack if you sit in the 200's.
• Also just like the Coliseum, the (upper deck) concourse is too frickin' narrow. Add in lines to the bathroom swinging out into the concourse and it's even worse.
• All this on top of the fact that the team literally "declared a war on lines."
• The upper deck (200 level) is shaped like a horseshoe ("U" shaped) so you cannot walk all the way around. When you want to try another bathroom, or get a new food option, this can be anywhere from downright annoying or not an option at all if you don't want to miss any game action. Add in a narrow/crowded concourse and it's really not worth leaving your immediate area during intermissions.
• Get this...On the sides in the upper deck there's literally ONE (1) food option (chicken on 1 side and pizza on the other). Are you serious? There's a market at the bottom of the "U" shape, but lines for that were too long. Mix in just getting around and it's a lot of effort that's also time consuming when you don't want to miss any of the game.
• Also most of the staff was nice, but I bought pizza and literally think I had the rudest interaction with any employee in my arena-going history. I literally just said "hi" and asked her if they only have Sicilian slices and, already in attitude-mode, she replied with, "Well what do you see out here?" Taken aback I'm like, "Sorry. I'm just asking as I was hoping for a regular slice" and she doubled-down with, "Well if you don't want it then don't buy it." If you told me she mistook me for someone who previously assaulted her it would've made more sense then her attitude...Especially on night #1 of a new arena.
• And get this - After I bought the pizza I just wanted some napkins and guess what...There aren't any near the one food place on that side. I had to walk like 2 sections over just to get napkins. Talk about dropping the easiest of balls.
• When you sit in the upper deck the views are mostly fine in terms of distance, but on one side the press box level is hanging down obstructing other parts of the arena (just like the last few rows of the 300's at the Coliseum). Less than ideal and can feel a bit cramped/claustrophobic.
• And just like the Coliseum, they have TV's up to clue you in on anything you might be missing, but...The TV audio and visuals were not synched up with the action. I mean literally...How?
• There's also this annoying set of strobe lights that they keep shining on the crowd. In the upper deck it's very close and if you're looking up let's just say it's not pleasant when your eyes meet it. Surely they can use other lights and not ones as bright as those that close to fans' eyeballs.
• While I didn't notice anything not completed in time inside the arena you could tell they were still working some of the grounds/landscaping outside of it. Not a massive deal, but I'll assume something similar when UBS opens.
  
• Not an issue going forward, but I didn't see any pregame festivities outside the arena. How do you not have some sort of "fan fest" for the first home game ever for your franchise - That's also essentially opening up the arena!? Rain or not this should've been a must and they blew it.
• And the pregame "ceremony" for home game #1 in Kraken history...If I said it was lackluster I would be as kind as I could possibly be. What you saw on TV was essentially what we saw in the arena. You've got an awesome fanbase chomping at the bit for years and all they do is essentially bring out Bettman, Tod Leiweke, and announce the team. What the Golden Knights just did for their 3rd home opener was much better than what the Kraken did for their 1st ever home opener. People will say that the Kraken didn't have time to rehearse a bigger show because construction went on until the last moment and there were 2 concerts within days of the opening, but honestly...Either that's backtracking by the team due to plenty of disappointed fans or a lie. Either way it's not good enough. There were a handful of other game day rituals that needed to be reviewed/rehearsed that went off without a hitch (along with 2 concerts), so I refuse to believe that there wasn't a ton more they could've/should've done to make the fans not only get more excited, but feel like they were attending a once in a lifetime event - Not just a regular season opener.

OVERALL

This is a very nice arena. It feels very modern and cool, and since they built it underground underneath the old Key Arena roof it has some nice quirks as opposed to a more "cookie-cutter" arena. Those quirks also have some downside as it limited certain parts of common sense aspects like having enough bathrooms so lines don't extend well into the concourse. Doesn't feel like they cheaped out at all, but your experience of it I think will be greatly affected depending on where you sit/what level of VIP experience you decide to have. And personally it's such a difference in experience, if I can afford it I would spend the money to sit in the suite level or lower level concourse as I don't think it would ever want to sit in the upper deck again.

And the fans are just so passionate that really is going to bring a good vibe to this team. I cannot wait for them to start making the playoffs on a yearly basis and hopefully compete for the Cup. The place is already fully of energy, but when this team starts winning playoff games it's going to be a madhouse.

Overall just wonderful Seattle has a hockey team and I'd recommend seeing a game there - Again especially if you can sit in the lower levels.

 

[tank44]

I have seats in the 200s and Agree on the narrow concourses. I didnt seem to have issues with the bathroom lines but I didnt go during the period breaks. In my opinion the bathroom lines were manageable and significantly better than Lumen field where you can spend the entire half time waiting in the lines. The concession lines were super fast, and there were 2 food choices on my side: chicken and burgers (which was at the end of the horseshoe). And the horseshoe, did not know about that, and went the wrong way, and then tried to get to the other side of the horseshoe by not just going backwards in the same concourse; and ended up fully circling the suite level and needing to use elevators since all escalators were for primary direction of flow. I also tagree that since they sites added the covid test verification that east of entry has improved exponentially to all stadiums too, which is counter intuitive.

As for failures & issues, on game 1, there was at least 1 pixel that was already out in one of the overhead scoreboards.

 

[The Marquis]

The rude person at the food vendor is par for the course in the Pacific Northwest (as one who is 7th Generation northwesterner). Northwest food service workers are #u(&ing rude as #u(&. It's not universal, but I've travelled the world and I've never seen a place with ruder food service workers on average, not just Seattle, but all of Western WA and OR.

 

[jbron]

The bathrooms are a major issue. Long lines pretty much all game that extend far out. This will hurt concession sales for sure.
Some of the walking lines are very crowded due to bathroom lines. There has to be entry ushers to keep fans from going to their seats during play. Many NHL arenas do this and it helps. Fans, most coming back late to their seats do to the bathroom issue, block your view during play.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

The bathrooms are a major issue. Long lines pretty much all game that extend far out. This will hurt concession sales for sure.
Some of the walking lines are very crowded due to bathroom lines. There has to be entry ushers to keep fans from going to their seats during play. Many NHL arenas do this and it helps. Fans, most coming back late to their seats do to the bathroom issue, block your view during play.

Was this really not the case? That is pretty bad.

Heck, when I went to the Oilers pre-season game in Everett a few weeks back, even they had entry ushers for this purpose.

 

[Scomerica]

It looks like they have started using pre-game ice projections a little. First was to give the appearance of being under water. Guessing they add to it as the season goes on.

 

[The Marquis]

People need to use the bathroom before they come to the game. I've had Timbers and Winterhawks seasons multiple times and maybe used the restroom 3-4 times. Hundreds of games attended, always went before I left home (or the bar). My bladder and intestines are LE CHAMPION. How are ya'all not more like me?

 

[Scomerica]

Game On

A lot of this makes sense. I remember people saying the horn sounded quiet, it was a recording as they couldnt install the real one at the time.

Says they should have the full pre game experience up and ready for december with lights etc.

 

[jbron]

The situation on levels 100 and 200 with the lines to the men's bathrooms is atrocious. It's a brand new facility yet had some limitations by using the existing roof. However, it's a major issue that has no immediate solution. Last night I counted over 60 people in line just waiting to get into the men's bathroom. From about the 5 minute mark in the first period to game end expect a long wait. The walkways are narrow to begin with and when you add lines for popular food and bathroom line at times its unwalkable. Fans in the sections are leaving early before period end just to get into a line. It's a real shame as there are so many good things about Climate Pledge. This will hurt concession stand sales for beer especially. Too long a wait and just not enough space to move around in the aisles outside of your seat selection.

 

[Roo Returns]

Hey all, Rangers fan who was at the October 31st game. Great experience. Very nice arena and accessible. The arena was easy to get around. I loved the Metropolitans Stanley Cup banner as well.

I'll definitely be back for future games.

 

[The Marquis]

The situation on levels 100 and 200 with the lines to the men's bathrooms is atrocious. It's a brand new facility yet had some limitations by using the existing roof. However, it's a major issue that has no immediate solution. Last night I counted over 60 people in line just waiting to get into the men's bathroom. From about the 5 minute mark in the first period to game end expect a long wait. The walkways are narrow to begin with and when you add lines for popular food and bathroom line at times its unwalkable. Fans in the sections are leaving early before period end just to get into a line. It's a real shame as there are so many good things about Climate Pledge. This will hurt concession stand sales for beer especially. Too long a wait and just not enough space to move around in the aisles outside of your seat selection.

Urinate before you leave your house, yo. No excuse.

 

[PM]

Hey fellow pacific northwesterners. I’m going to the game on Sunday against the caps after the Seahawks game. Between the time I bought the tickets and now I managed to rupture my Achilles and I’m now on crutches. Is it possible to get around the arena on crutches? I’m seating in the 300 level. I’m gonna try regardless due to no refunds but figured I’d ask to see what I’m getting myself into.

 

[tank44]

I assume you mean 300s at Lumen Field right? I dont think there's a 300 level at CPA.

At Lumen Field, you can get to the 300 level via elevator but to get to your seats you'll have to navigate up the stairs. You may want to contact the team's ticket office for any options to change due to injury. When I broke my leg I went to a Sounders game but didnt want to try to get to my seats. They swapped my tickets for ADA seats which were much easier to get to.

I'm doing the double-header this weekend too. I play to get bewteen the two stadiums by means of Lime Scotters.

 

[The Marquis]

I have news on the construction status of Seattle Center Arena...

It's done.

 

[PM]

Thanks and my bad I meant the 200 level at climate pledge. I’m in 100 for Lumen which seems like it should be okay. Going to try giving Climate Pledge a call to see if I can swap into more accessible seats though.

 

[PM]

This arena is unreal and the staff are amazing. Moved me and my friend from last row in the house (never would have made it up there with my crutches) to amazing and accessible lower bowl seats. And all with no cost and only an hour before the game. I will definitely be back. Love this place and great game so far!

 

[The Marquis]

You are good luck so far. Do not change whatever you are doing.

 

[J Corso]

Ya'll got any more tendons to rupture?