Requesting a little help here, please.
ESPN The Magazine compiles their Ultimate Standings: Fan Satisfaction Rankings each year, comparing 122 pro sports teams from the four major American leagues. In 2008, the Hornets made the giant leap from #44 to #3 on the list, ranking first overall in bang-for-buck and affordability. One of the categories the Hornets scored comparatively low in was stadium and game day experience, and they're expected to rank low in that category again this year.
So, in the comments of this post, we'd like to get your thoughts on what you do and don't like about New Orleans Arena and the Hornets game day experience. What can be improved? Is there anything that needs to go? Anything that needs to be brought back? What other sports arenas/stadiums do you prefer and why?
Your responses may be used by ESPN The Magazine for their Hornets spotlight in the 2009 edition of Ultimate Standings (see last year's Hornets spotlight). So, you know, spellcheck and stuff.
18 magnificent comments post your own
ticktock6
03/01/09 11:01 AM
A bunch of random thoughts on this:
1. They've increased the number of Buzzfests (this is the outdoor pre-game block party, for non-locals) this year, which has to be a good thing. Unfortunately, I've noticed the quality has gone down. It's pretty unforgivable to be running out of beer in late February; by now they ought to have the crowd numbers and planning squared away. The addition of the bracelets for beers is pointless and confusing-- half the time they enforce the beer tickets and half the time they don't. On the flipside, I doubt every team has something like the Buzzfest, where drinks and some food are free for season ticketholders (unless they run out... argh) and a dollar for everyone else, so they have to get props for even doing it.
2. Almost invariably the people I talk to say the Hornets' game experience blows the Saints' out of the water.
3. I hate hate hate hate hate the pre-game prayer. I realize Mr. Shinn is a man of faith, but not everyone is Christian and I just strongly believe it's inappropriate. I'd be more willing to let it slide if the prayers were kept general, but some of the guys they invite in there are real Jesus-thumpers.
4. In-arena concessions made a BIG jump in quality after the All Star game, when some subtle improvements were made. I was hoping against hope that they'd get to keep these improvements, and they did. Now we've got a couple of "real food" options like grilled chicken and pasta, as well as a sushi stand, and that wine and fruit place. There's also a "real" bar with a seating area, and that bar downstairs I never go to but which is nice-looking. This is something I would expect the ranking to go up in from last year, as the offerings are better.
5. There are also more local and microbrew beers available, unlike last year.
6. Unfortunately, these are now $9 instead of $7.
7. I'm not a fan of the amount of sponsored garbage that goes on during timeouts -- people running in bubbles, tricycle races, and my personal (anti-)favorite, the Capital One Show Me the Money Contest, aka the Capital One Whore Your Children Out for 100 Measly Dollars Contest, in which people basically create their own advertisements for Capital One in order to get on camera. Sometimes we'd be better served with just some plain old pump it up music.
hornetshype.com #1
Niall Doherty
03/01/09 11:40 AM
Thanks, ticktock. I can't say I'm a big fan of the pregame prayer either, but as Tony Soprano would say with a shrug, "What ya gonna do?"
Regarding the price of beer, I'm wondering if they charge more downstairs, because I'm pretty sure it's still $7 for a beer in the upper bowl. Can anyone confirm that?
www.ndoherty.com #2
Niall Doherty
03/01/09 12:06 PM
FYI: The Saints came in at #53 last year, 11th among teams in the NFL.
www.ndoherty.com #3
mW
03/01/09 12:17 PM
@ Niall: there is $7 smaller American major-domestic beers available around the Arena. The bigger cups, and Abitas are $9. As for my game time comments, ticktock6 made this pretty hard because she covered just about everything, but:
1. I think considering the games are family affairs are, the amount of contests, events, etc., they run at timeouts are fine, and a lot of family people I talk to like them. However, I think they need to control their timing a little better. That is, if there is 1:49 left in the game, I don't want to see people on the dance-cam. If the other team has just went on a 17-0 run, I don't want to see a bank's "Show Me The Money" contest. I want them to be playing that movie clip of 300 where they say: "Give them nothing but take from them everything" and then play Metallica music. I want "Shout." I want "Welcome to the Jungle." They need to not just say, well, we planned to show this clip at this minute-mark, so let's do it.
2. All the game events, though, are meticulously planned and well executed. I've been on the court for one of them, and I can say the employees who carry them out are pretty professional and run a smooth ship.
3. I also like the Hornets' daringness to try some different acts. By far, my favorite was the BMX stunt bikers. I mean, they had a quarterpipe and dudes doing flips a few feet from the crowd. Brave choice. I hope they try it again.
4. In the same vein, they get some awesome music acts doing the National Anthem and half-time shows. One of the benefits to being in New Orleans. That being said, Sidney Torres sits courtside, so where are Lenny Kravitz and Kid Rock? Or what about <A HREF="http://www.chrisshinn.com">Chris Shinn</A>? His son has been in several awesome bands that no one knew about, Unified Theory and Energy is Everything, he's got to know people (or he himself might play).
4. I, also, am vehemently against the pre-game prayer. I hear it's already a joke around the League. I mean, I understand that legally the Hornets are a private business and can do whatever they want. But it's something that would be illegal at schools, local government, and pretty much any public institution. Think about that. It should tell you something.
5. The Hornets also do a spat of awesome promotions with players. They always have people meet Tyson pre-game and get pictures taken with them. They had contests during All-Star voting where people could win autographed basketballs. They also allow season-ticket holders to go to events where they can talk to GM, Jeff Bower, various players, or other people in the know.
And for the record, ditto to everything else ticktock6 said.
Overall, I'd give the Hornets a B+. I really, really enjoy what they've done, but I'm a hard grader. There is room to improve (not that there isn't at every arena in the League), and hopefully they will. That's one thing I do have to credit them with, for the most part, they take what criticism is out there, and try to improve upon their few failings. That's worth something.
www.hornetshype.com #4
flowerfeeder
03/01/09 02:57 PM
The only gripe I have about the experiences I've had at Hornets games is the whole RC Cola thing. Ordering a $4 Coke thinking it will be a nice fountain drink and then watching someone pour lame RC (who knew they still even made this garbage?!) from a two liter bottle into the cup is pretty insulting and the definition of "ripoff." A 2 liter of RC costs what? Like .89 cents or something? Jeesh.
Otherwise, I always enjoy the whole experience. And I actually do like all of the corny fan-based activities during timeouts and halftime (minus the Capital One one, of course).
Buzz Fest is a nice touch.
I just think it is an all around better experience than that of Saints games.
www.myspace.com/noroomforsaints #5
ChrisTrew.com
03/01/09 03:12 PM
The used-to-bee's are worth whatever it costs you to get to the Arena. The buzzfest has questionable music, but the sheer number of people supporting the Hornets hanging out together is really heart-warming. I've heard from many many many non-Sports fans that they love watching the Hornets. BANG.
www.christrew.com #6
Diane
03/01/09 03:30 PM
TickToc- I think most of the teams have the same things. All the things you mentioned sound like OKC.
I am a person of faith (and I think so are many of the players) and don't mind the prayers - I am thinking they may be prescreened - I find them pretty simple here and am always happy to pray for the safety of the players.
Here in OKC we have Mid-First Bank who does "Show me the money" I can't believe all the creative ideas people have. The night of the Tyson Chandler trade some one held up a sign that said - "To hell with the money, show me Tyson Chandler".
Its all in fun - just take a walk if you don't like something - I do.
#7
commentcava
03/01/09 04:40 PM
My only real problem came last year when it was time to renew season tickets. We were given our seat selection date, so we were patiently waiting our turn to upgrade our seats, thinking that was when we had to do it. While at games, but before our date came up, I would hear them announcing, "this seat could be yours! All you have to do is see a season ticket agent!" etc. etc. So, out of curiosity, I went to talk to an agent at half time. Keep in mind, this is like two weeks before I was supposed to be able to pick new seats. The girl was very friendly. Asked me where we wanted to sit. Blah Blah Blah. I picked four new seats that night. When I went to our select a seat day, to see if anything better had opened up, nothing had. I took the seats I had selected two weeks earlier.
Why this pissed me off: We were season tix holders who were told we had to wait our turn to upgrade our seats. All the while, every open seat in the place was up for sale. In other words, they were selling seats out from under the current season tix holders to anyone who walked up. They said they were going to have blocks of seats reserved for the season tix renewers, but this proved to be untrue. This was pretty aggravating. I realize this isn't a "game experience" issue, but it's close enough.
I also think they should do more for season tix holders. We dropped like 10k on tickets and got offered one youth size cp3 jersey (only after asking, they didn't even offer on their own). No kids here, so that was pretty pointless. It's more aggravating because they run ticket specials during the season that include 2 jerseys sometimes, and the package price is only like 100 bucks. One free jersey per seat sounds pretty fair to me, seeing how they don't discount season tix in the first place.
FWIW, I do think the new rockets on a string at the beginning of the game are pretty cheesy. I liked the old pyro better.
I'm not a big fan of the prayer, but being from Louisisna, I'm not surprised or offended by it either.
All in all, I think the games and entertainment are great. Now that we're good, I pay less attention to all the peripheral stuff that goes on. When we sucked, it was nice to have distractions. Now, I just want us to win.
Oh, and hornets tix are a heck of a deal. I was in utah skiing all last week, and we attempted to get tix to the jazz/hornets game. Upper bowl, corner tix are like 50 bucks!!! Yikes. Needless to say, we didn't make it.
#8
hio1515
03/01/09 05:53 PM
I have attended games at the arena, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. Overall the Hornets experience is my favorite by far. I like the stupid things they do during timeouts (I think they need to do more baby races). The other 3 teams didn't really do anything. The time I went to Houston they didn't even have a halftime show.
#9
otherMark
03/01/09 07:46 PM
I'm very happy that the Hornets have almost exclusively had local performers for halftime and the anthem. That's a big improvement over last year. For the next step, we need to make sure that our local performers know all the words to the star-spangled banner.
I am also very impressed with the responsiveness of the arena and fan-experience people (ticket reps, etc) to fan comments. Here's a spectacular example from the most recent two games. The wonderful lady who has tickets behind mine wrote to her (and my) ticket rep to complain that the air conditioner vent blows right on our necks -- to the point that we all wear jackets during the game. At the start of the Pistons game, a man came up and introduced himself as an arena engineer, and explained that they had closed that vent for us. In the Bucks game, the air was back on, and the same engineer came out and explained that it was just to clear the pregame smoke, and that they'd be turning it off again in a few minutes. I was flabbergasted that they would make a real change to a single ticket holder's complaint, and do it so quickly! Furthermore, these are the cheap seats, so it's not like we're holding a huge financial leverage. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised (and grateful that I can now sport my hornets t-shirts) and wanted to share how great they were.
#10
mhartzold
03/01/09 08:24 PM
I've come to call my Hornets' experience 'The Cheapskates Guide to The NBA', or 'Only in New Orleans'. It began last year when early in the season, one could score uppper bowl game tix on ebay for like $5/pair or less. While those prices seem to be a thing of the past, there are still great deals to be had online this year, especially if you can stand to wait until an hour or so before game time to buy. Many brokers w/season tickets are in other states and if they don't sell them just prior to tip-off, you can get fire-sale prices on great seats and have them emailed. This doesn't work so much when the Lakers or someone similar is in town, but you'd be surprised at what you can find for so little money. If you're the planning ahead type and don't mind upper bowl behind the basket seats, the team offers a limited number of $8 tix for each home contest. Go to the box office in person to save @$5/ea. in fees that are assessed when buying online.
I live in comfortable biking distance from the Arena and have never worried too much about parking, don't have any kids in tow and normally grab a beer at Handsome Willy's (218 S. Robertson) before the game. That awesome establishment normally has free or crazy cheap food and tons of parking if one needs to drive, and it's only a five or so minute walk to The Arena. They got their hooks in me last season when they were giving away a free beer with the presentation of a ticket stub, after home games. Unfortunately they don't do that anymore, but it's still an outstanding place to meet up w/folks before and after the Hornets'.
All in all, I've missed a total of only 8 or 9 home games in the past two seasons and am not a season ticket holder. I spend on average about $10-15 total, per nite on tickets, food, drink and transportation/parking, even less if I abstain from eating or drinking beer at the game. I doubt there are many fans in NBA cities who can say that.
But, for all that I love about the games, I do have some complaints. Number one being the food. If you're lucky enough to be in the club level or near the stand that serves the good pasta on the 100 level, you can get a decent meal for a reasonable price at the games. The shrimp alfredo is my favorite; I don't mind paying $8-9 for something that actually tastes good. But, the remaining 60-75% of us are stuck with:
1. Very average, over priced, meager nachos
2. Sweaty, grey hot-dogs
3. Popcorn that tastes like it's prepared the day before a game
4. $7-9 beer (I know that's SOP for sporting events, but it doesn't make it any less ridiculous)
5. Turkey legs....seriously...could there be a more awkward, cumbersome food for a basketball game? I've never seen anyone eating one of these at a game, I can't imagine they will be available much longer.
In a city so well known for it's food culture it's truly disappointing to see some of the crap that gets served at the games. There are options though, I just wish one didn't have to go hunting all over the stadium to find a decent meal. It's not appreciably much harder to prepare decent food (see the New Orleans Fairgrounds for proof of this).
I don't have any interest at all in attending pre-game activities and normally don't have time. But, I will say they resemble Bourbon St. more than any other part of the city I know, and the music normally sounds very cheesy. More brass bands would be cool, but like I said the pre-game isn't even on my radar most of the time. I like the marching bands at half-time and agree with the above poster about more baby races. The karaoke thing they've been doing between plays has got to stop (anyone with me on this?). Love the kiss cam, don't like the 'show me the money' thing, and think the stakes need to be raised in the dance cam competition. I suggest Morris Bart pony up $500 cash at each game so people might forget about his shady real estate dealings that were in today's paper.
The arena is always amazingly clean, it's conveniently located and there is plenty of off-street parking available for free if you don't mind walking a few blocks to a from the game. And, even though I don't use any of the Arena garages or lots, traffic never seems to be that much of an issue, there are several roads leading away from the stadium, and I have to imagine it's way easier to get in and out of our Arena than it is for the rest of The NBA. Also, I've sat in nearly every portion of the building for games, and aside from a few areas in the 300 level where you will have a railing or one of those big spotlights in your line of vision, there really isn't a bad seat in the house.
In conclusion, I can't imagine a better fan experience for a bachelor like myself. It's got to be the best value in all of professional sports and I will hope against hope that financial concerns for the management don't screw that up for everyone who loves this team. Thanks to Ryan and Naill for giving all us fans a place to get all our Hornets news and more importantly for giving us a place to congregate, whether that be to celebrate or moan, this site is a great thing. Go Hornets!!
#11
420ftJesus
03/01/09 09:13 PM
Comments comparing to other teams:
I've heard several people in other cities commenting on how great the Arena experience is on gameday when I've been traveling (flying to NOLA on gameday from another NBA city, for instance.
I also had NYC guys who were sitting next to me at the Celtics game last year who were flabbergasted by the Hornets experience. They were actually asking me about in-timeout routines. It was pretty funny.
Lastly, I've been to some away games, and the only things I really think that are better away are that OKC gives away ALOT of money, and they have these awesome coozies that are shaped like big fists. They made my heart hurt.
Things to make us better:
My personal taste is to not have a prayer, but I do like the players that occasionally grab the mic and rile up the crowd. This is usually some planned event which they do more to get people to renew tickets, but I'd like more of that.
I'd like it if some vendors walked around (like at Saints games). I don't like missing minutes, or making my neighbors get up too much.
I like the new text messaging thing they do before the game and during halftime, but it seems a little wonky. It repeats alot of messages and doesn't put mine in the mix, for instance.
I think the cornerstones to the gameday experience for fans are being catered to (can i have / get what I want), being able to express yourself (signs, yell, bringing your own gear, etc.), and access to the team you love (hard to do).
I'm not really sure how much access we really get (other than the people that get to talk to 6 or 12), but I think having the boys get on the mic would help. I like that we have a very likable team and some personal touches, even faux-contact with players, would bolster the weakest of what I see as the 3 pillars.
#12
Niall Doherty
03/02/09 12:25 PM
Everyone, thanks so much for all the thoughtful comments. They're much appreciated. I definitely agree that there should be more baby races, and Handsome Willy's is definitely a great pit stop before/after the game.
Most of the feedback here seems positive, so I'm guessing the Hornets will do better in the game day experience category this year.
Now, forgetting for a minute what the Hornets do/don't do there, does anyone have any comments on the Arena itself? I can only really compare our building to the Toyota Center in Houston, and the Toyota Center is head and shoulders above the Arena. It's much more modern, huge concourses, and I love the way all the food and stuff us at the very top of the upper bowl, so you can still get a good view of the game while you're lining up for a refill.
www.ndoherty.com #13
Mikey
03/02/09 05:09 PM
The building itself is a bit antiquated, but is the perfect size for the New Orleans market. The concourses are a bit small, and there are limited concessions, especially in the upper level. But, if I don't spend the money to sit in the lower bowl, so I shouldn't get all the bells and whistles they get. I think the Arena has great sight-lines at pretty much every seat, even better than the Toyota Center. Parking is never a problem, and New Orleans Arena is also in a fantastic location, being that it's got good routes in and out of the Arena for those who prefer to drive, and is walking distance to most of the hot spots in the downtown area (Harrah's, the Quarter, Warehouse Dist., Lucy's, the Postgame Hornets OT show, streetcar stops to go uptown, etc.). I guess if I had to think of one thing upgrade, it would be to erect a place to have Buzzfest inside for inclimate weather if possible, and serve warming beverages at Buzzfest (coffee, hot cocoa, etc).
Overall Arena Grade: B+
#14
420ftJesus
03/02/09 11:56 PM
I'd have to agree with Mikey about the Arena. I've been to the Toyota Center for a game recently (and some other stuff), and I've been to the Ford Center, and both outclassed the Arena in the same ways.
One way the Arena could up it's game is to get another `strip' or whatever you call the the LED's that go around the top of the lower bowl. They could put it in at the bottom of the balcony. This would give additional and additional source of `instructions' to fans (e.g. chant Bee-Fence), more ad space, more `personality' when players hit a shot (and whoooooo spells who, not wooooo; it's spelled correctly on the buzzvision over the court), and would give me a place to put drinks and pasts on the rare occasions I let the vendors exploit me without having to sell a lung or perform unspeakable acts to buy club seats.
Upon reflection, there are two other comments about the experience: no fireworks trumps bad ones; they are getting better, but they need to improve or head outside (outside fireworks would be nice after big wins, e.g. playoff series completion the good way).
The ending celebration needs some work. The ribbons and streamers are vastly improved over the start of last season, but the confetti is an issue. It'd be laughable if it wasn't pathetic. The Voodoo released more confetti. It's safe to say and NBA franchise should outclass an AFL franchise in all respects with no exceptions (I look up longingly at the AFL nets during each game; le sigh . . . )
Do, or do not; there is no try.
Shinn should know his Yoda, the muppet looking mogul.
Make the trees of the Amazon forever curse the name of Shinn with your cellulose celebration, Mr. Shinn. I want to hear them scream of over Chuck announcing the final score after a victory.
And Nerdy Chuck is better.
Yes, I'm tired and at work WAY too late.
#15
mhartzold
03/03/09 12:56 AM
Last year in the playoffs when no one in the god bless-ed Arena knew how to run a mop and we had to delay a national TV broadcast for half and hour or so to clean up some fire extinguisher mess, I was pretty embarrassed for our facility. Other than that experience, I don't have much bad to say about the New Orleans Arena. It seems like a fine place to watch events to me.
Though, I have often wondered who exactly is watching the jumbo screens at either end of the upper deck. No one in the lower bowl is looking in that direction, and the center screens are right in front of you, no matter where you are in the 300 level. Think about it at the next game you attend. They appear to be completely useless.
Oh, and I've sent this along to someone who consulted for the Hornets' entertainment division in the past, and it never happened, so posting it here probably won't make any difference. But, I've always thought it would be amazing if they could convince Quintron to be the organ player for home games. He could have Hugo's Party Zone all to himself and completely rock out the entire building. A bit obscure and freakish maybe, but also just crazy enough to work; it would certainly be uniquely New Orleans.
#16
Niall Doherty
03/03/09 07:53 AM
@ mhartzold: Those screens are useful because they show stats up there that I haven't found on display anywhere else in the Arena, like FG% and a few other things. Pity they have them in such an inconvenient position though. I have to turn all the way around to see them.
www.ndoherty.com #17
commentcava
03/06/09 05:12 PM
They changed the pregame introduction last night for the Dallas game. Tyson's Godzilla yell at the end is a little silly, but overall I thought it was good. They turn the sound up too much for that crappy sound system though. Clipping is a bad thing in the audio world. Otherwise, I noticed a lot more pumping up from the announcer and such. During the first quarter, they played clips normally reserved for 4th quarter rallies. Got the ppl hyped, but it grew wearisome. Anyway, I give them kudos because it seems like they are constantly trying to improve.
Something that cracks me up: Jannero Pargo t-shirts in the arena store. A whole rack of them. Full price, to boot! Now, you can't tell me there isn't a better use for that rack space. I mean, I love Pargo and all, but come on, use some common sense.
#18