Last night still had elements of clusterfcuk. The scanners still aren't covered, so you have to stand in the rain with your phone scanning electronic tickets. The credit card system was down last night in the concession stand selling hard liquor -- fortunately my wife and son brought cash and all four of us (daughter included) stayed warm drinking Knob Creek during the match. The failure to install the plexiglass in the roof meant everyone from Row 13 down in Section 126 was in the rain -- again. The roof leaks haven't been addressed, the same leak was dropping water on my son's shoes, just like last season. On the positive side, they did put up the $5 a square yard black mesh in the back of the west side stands.
I was wondering if roof leaks were a problem on the West side like they were on the East. Amazing to see how much of the concourse and the covered part of the stands were wet when I got in the stadium. On a positive note, the new beer choices were welcome (Terrapin? Yes please.), and they opened up the other stairs on the East side to let people out instead of funneling EVERYONE to the main stairs like they did at the end of last season.
We normally head in from the parking lot to the stadium with about 20 minutes to go til kickoff which usually means lines - but today when that time came to start walking, there were 20 laps to go in the NASCAR race so we stayed and listened to the end of it. When we got to the stadium about 5-10 minutes into the game, no lines at all It's pathetic that rain is still beating down on people after an entire offseason. When we were leaving in about the 75th minute, I went into the little corner hole in the NW corner to watch some of the end of the game while my wife used the bathroom and that stairway has water pouring thru the center of it; either someone missed an important weld, or that's by (bad) design. Luckily Row 12 in 130 where we are is just barely under cover - but from 10 on down, it's just pouring - and 10/11 is where the huge amounts of water are coming down off what little roof there is so it's even worse for them. I'd be pissed if I was them (or folks above in the thread) and I was led to believe the roof panels would be fixed over the offseason - or at least the blatant leaks identified last year might have been mitigated. The place is a dive.
Yeah, that new concession voucher thing? It's sucks. Wasn't working last night, so the $60 of vouchers I had bought were useless. You can bet I am getting a FAM refund even though the vouchers so say no refunds. Oh, and while it may be a minor thing, the soda systems under the south stands were closed. Did they tell us that when we bought the souvenir cup at he bbq spot under the south stands? Hell no. We had to walk around the stadium just to fill up, and then only knew that by walking around and investigating on our own.
I would be going off the wall if I paid for pricey season tickets with the expectation of a roof. Has the club ever said or done anything to address it with STH that sit there? Also, the voucher stuff is so stupid. FAM should go directly to your STM card, and you should be able to put money on the card yourself to pay for things like at Nats Park.
At least we're not Atlanta United in this way yet. But I would not be surprised to see it happen soon. JUST IN: Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Falcons, Atlanta United) going cash free starting this Sunday. Joins Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field, which made their announcement in January.— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 4, 2019
We were late, as traffic for us was worse than anticipated, which had us at gate C about 20 min before kickoff, so not all bad, considering I wanted to spend as little time in the rain as possible. We are usually earlier than 20 min pre-kickoff, so the line at that point took much longer than we'd experienced and I was surprised they didn't make us open our coats like they do at CapOne. While the scanners at gate C are under cover, that tiny swath of roof was leaking right over the scanner I was using. I made some smart ass comment about it and the CSC lady there said she missed the old stadium and boy do I miss the old stadium. I was glad to see then selling warm beverages, but of course the price wast $5 which is roughly a 8.5x markup before labor based on a quick google search for bulk hot chocolate. The line at Arepa Zone moved really well and I like the automated kiosks. A fairly healthy line moved pretty well, but you still weren't getting food and a trip to the bathrooms in, in the space of halftime. Sitting in the front row, I had little expectation of the roof doing a lot to keep the rain off of us, but the larger drops coming from the open girder work are annoying and I have no expectation of the panels they're supposed to be installing, doing a whole heck of a lot for us based on how the rest of the roof leaks. I really have to wonder if the club is getting any kind of quality assurance from the construction company.
We are going the opposite way. Didn't you see the post about the liquor stand that was taking cash only?
Ugh, I could envision a time when I'd just hand the kid a 20 and send them down to the concourse in the middle of the half to get whatever thing they were asking for. I like the automated POS systems they put in at Arepa Zone, but I could see where a kid has trouble with that and obviously the no cash thing.
What we have is a smaller version of FedEx Field. Both built quickly, not that well planned and flaw in how they were put together.
I actually tried to pay for a beer with cash last night at the bar on the East side, and the guy running the register couldn't make it accept a cash payment.
So there are vendors who can't take credit and those who can't take cash. I'd bring a goat to be sure.
So I've only been to a couple of games at Jack Kent Cooke stadium in the 25 years I've lived here. Access alone is a back breaker. The times I've been for football and soccer, I've only been on the club level, which 20 some years ago was really nice, but no longer holds a candle to other premium stadium clubs I've been to the last 5-10 years. What else is wrong with it?
The biggest thing is terrible view lines from some of the seats. Someone who has been there more often could fill you in about other flaws.
Are we going to play Chivas CD this year? Yes, bring your own, yes (but row 13 is actually covered pretty well - only get wet from the rain blown sideways), yes, the leaks are all still there. Team announced during the "education" events (shades of fascists & dictators much?) in the past few weeks that the roof panels are going in after this season. Still, the panels will not ever cover the $200/game seats on the east side. I am sure the machetes just cackle mightily with glee every time they think of that. sure glad I didnt purchase on that side.
So, theoretically, I hand over my goat to get a nice tall craft beer or a Makers Mark on the rocks, and they run out and have to give me Jack Daniels or a corporate beer instead - do they give me part of the goat back ......
As a Giants fan who remembers when the Skins were good, I like Danny boy right where he is and I hope he lives a long life as a boat anchor around the neck of the Skins.
I'm pretty sure The Danny is worth multiple draft picks to the Giants. A draft pick will keep the Giants good for a few years. The Danny will keep the the Skins shitty for decades.
Yes, yes, I realize the "Fuku" stand is a part of a longtime and highly-respected restaurant group. But did no-one really not think through the name of the concession stand in a family-friendly stadium? Sheesh, my 9- and 12-year-old sons had a field day with this: 1. Hey Dad, does it have that name because of the way the machetes feel about fans? 2. Hey Dad, does the name refer to the value? 3. Hey Dad, is it named for how customers feel when they walk away? 4. Hey Dad, I wonder if they have a "jack-hole" stand on the other side? (thank you Kimmel/Corolla)
If that's about Fuku (I get an error message when trying to open your picture), they have a stand at Capital One Arena, too. The food there is really damn good.