Intrust Bank Arena Grand Opening

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

While I also agree with much of what has been said, remember that the Coliseum capacity was also reduced considerably when an end stage concert came to town. I believe the sell-out number for those at the Coliseum was just shy of 7,500.

[MTXE]

Yes, you lose roughly 25% of the capacity when the stage is on one end of the floor. If we could get somebody to do a center stage configuration you might see something like 17k for a concert.

[ShockBand]

I went to the ROCKICT event there last night with my two year old in tow, since I didn't have a chance to see the place during open house. I was not able to go to the upper deck, but they also did not have the scoreboard in game position, so maybe that will have to wait for a basketball or hockey game to pass judgment on the upper reaches.

My take - its not a home run, but it is a solid standup double. The concourses are of course far better than the Brown Barn, but I'll need to be there for an event with a crowd to see how it goes. The concourses LOOK great, IMHO. Function, I don't know yet.

Inside the arena proper, it doesn't feel as cavernous as a lot of new arenas, and I did notice baffling way up above the low steel which I'm sure helps acoustics. The seats were comfy, but at least in the lower deck the space front to back is pretty snug. Thankfully, I'm only 5'10" on a good day, so it won't bother me too much. Since they didn't excavate the main floor or build up on the exterior, I did find it "exercising" to have to go up to come back down, but maybe they couldn't excavate much for engineering reasons.

Personally, I would rather have seen luxury boxes on one level all the way around, with an upper deck all the way around. The whole building would probably have to have been taller, but not by a lot I wouldn't think. But I'm not an architect or engineer, so what do I know.

I'll give a report after attending a hockey game or something with a more sizable crowd.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

I have missed all of the free events.

Ill probably pony up for a hockey game so I can check out things. With that said i think I may attend the globetrotty game. At least that will be pretty entertaining.

[wsushox1]

Here is a disturbing photo I took of what it feels like to be in the upper bowl (and I am sitting down):

For End Stage concerts that end of the Arena is Shut off.

That's comforting.

Moot point... the other end of the arena is identical.

I posted this thought sometime back, but I'll post it again: it's nice to know that we spent $200M for a "15K seat" arena that effectively seats less than 10K for the majority of high-demand draws (end stage concerts). That capacity issue, coupled with the low ceiling height and dark seating decor really make the place feel like Kansas Coliseum v2. The inane suite setup just compounds the problems.

I'll be honest, I would never have voted for it had I known how badly Sedgwick County and the amateurish, out-of-their-pay-grade Design Consortium would screw it up. I'm not a CAVE-r at all, just a long-time Wichita metro resident that has basically given up on the idea that this town will ever complete anything in a first-rate manner. I've all but stopped defending our community amongst the detractors. It's like arguing against the color of the sky or the shape of the Earth. This town is what it is- a blue collar manufacturing community with mostly friendly people, short commute times, a low cost of living, and honestly nothing else going for it.

No, it is not a moot point at all. IF you look careful the Ceilling literally SLOPES from West to East. I will post a acrchitectural sketch here fairly soon, to prove my point.

[SHOCKvalue]

What are you talking about? Within the arena bowl itself, the facility is basically symmetrical from east to west.

[wsushox1]

[ShockTalk]

If that's east/west, they might mean north/south. That appears to be across the width. The pic that was taken was from an end wasn't it?

[SHOCKvalue]

Yes, that plan sheet shows the roof slope from north to south, from non-suite side to suite side, that's obvious to anyone who's watched the facility go up. It doesn't have anything to do with what you're trying to say.

Not trying to be a dingleberry here, but you're mental picture in this argument has been 90 degrees off.

[NCAABound]

Wow...I'm not an architect, but any idiot can see that those trusses or ceiling beams hang too low in that plan. How did they approve this? Was saving a few dollars by lowering the roof a few feet worth it?

I've never been in it...but driving by on Kellogg I always thought the roof sloped down from west to east?

[MTXE]

I'm unhappy with a few things but it is definitely an improvement over the Britt Brown Arena. Perhaps they can make some adjustments to the sight lines with some modifications in the future. Right now we are booking premiere events and selling out the building. You couldn't ask much more out of Wichita, Kansas.

I wonder if the architecture allows for ANY possibility for expansion in the future?

[ShockerFever]

I'm unhappy with a few things but it is definitely an improvement over the Britt Brown Arena. Perhaps they can make some adjustments to the sight lines with some modifications in the future. Right now we are booking premiere events and selling out the building. You couldn't ask much more out of Wichita, Kansas.

I wonder if the architecture allows for ANY possibility for expansion in the future?

That would be nice, but by the look of things, I'd say.. NO.

[rjl]

Went to my first IBA event tonight (Thunder game), and came away with the following thoughts:

1. First and foremost, all the morons who blew the "there isn't any parking!" trumpet with all their might, you'll be unhappy to learn that you couldn't have been more wrong. We got there 25 minutes before the game and parked about 200 yards away. Announced attendance was in the mid 13's, so it wasn't like there wasn't anyone there. I've walked further to get groceries.

2. I agree with the idea that the luxury boxes should have been on one level around the entire arena. The upper levels appear too broken up. It would have been much more visually appealing for the ribbon LEDs to be continuous around the arena.

3. That said, it's pretty nice. The commons area is slightly reminiscent of the Sprint center, only smaller. Seats are comfortable, although have about the same legroom as the lower seats at Koch.

4. Whoever opens up a bar or a restaurant in the immediate vicinity is sitting on a goldmine. It's not like Old Town is that far away, and I've talked to several people who've gone to past events that parked in Old Town and walked, but after a Saturday hockey game, a bar right across the street would be like printing money. That's the supreme beauty of the downtown arena; there is so much more to do before and after events than there ever was or was ever going to be at Britt Brown.

[WuDrWu]

I also attended last night's game and came away with the following impressions:

Parking was much easier than I thought it would be and there were a LOT of people there.Getting in the building (walking in, scanning ticket, up the stairs or escalator) was MUCH easier than I thought taking into account my tour and expectations. I also arrived about 10 minutes before the puck was supposed to drop and there were about 1000 people in the will call line.

Going home (and I admit we planned it out a bit and left with about 5 minutes remaining) we made it from my seats in row 1 to my office in my home in East Wichita in exactly 24 minutes.

My seat was comfortable with lots of leg room (that I need).

The place looked great. Not good, but great.

I didn't sample the nachos. Forgive me, Rosewood, for I have sinned. Its been 6 weeks since my last order of nachos. These are the concessions that I can remember. The chicken burrito from Carlos O'Kellys was outstanding. The bite of my daughters BBQ sandwich left me wanting more, much more. All the concessions appeared to be reasonable. You aren't going to see 10 cent hot dog night, but I didn't feel like I needed to take out a second mortage either for my group of 6.

I don't know who Phil Stacy is....I don't watch Idol but from what I could hear, he was excellent and underappreciated. Thank you Phil.

I had friends 4 rows from the top (obviously not good friends). They said the view was great, but 1 in their party had a slight nose bleed (no joking).

All in all I thought it was a great evening. I will go back, a lot (I should probably use my season tickets once in a while). There were some negatives...the park & ride plan at LDS was muddled however I give them a big pass as it was a one time thing. The team is horrible....I can't believe the lack of talent. If they can get some talent that product will do great downtown.

I know a lot of people last night were probably watching their first hockey game, and our team is bad, but don't count on that place EVER going all CKA on you. It is not loud. They also seemed to struggle (at least from my vantage point) with the acoustics. Nothing was very loub or intelligible....perhaps it was my seat location.

The worst part, and this is a big complaint, is the large number (a minority but still a number WAY too large) of complete losers that routinely attend Thunder games. Is there a cash bonus prize of which I am unaware for uttering the most vulgar obscenities within earshot of 10 year olds? I know it's hockey and everyone is a little tougher but does the guy sitting next to my daughter have to yell at the linesman (as they are warming up before the game even starts mind you) to perform a sexual act as a punishment for being a linesman? Is it mandatory that if you are just under the age of 21 and attending the game with another couple that you have to explore your bi-curious side during intermission next to the family of 5 (ok this didn't bother me that much but you get the idea). Look, I'm no saint, far from it. If you'd spent yesterday afternoon with me you'd have added a few new words to your vocabulary and know why I have to head to Sherman Williams today for a basement project. But I wasn't surrounded by kids....I was in my own home. Please, people, enough.

[pogo]

We sat in row A which is the row right on the rail on the 2nd level. Only two rows of seats. I had been told that the fans are rude and CRUDE. The people that sat around us were more family oriented and we weren't subjected to the performances that the doctor was. By the way from that vantage point we were able to really see all the action. It took us about 5 minutes to walk to our car because of the red lights, and it cost us zero $. From there we drove home (central and rock) in 12 minutes. Makes me wish I could still drive out to the colliseum. I was wondering why they didn't make the restaurant vantage point on the east end to match the really great restaurant/eating area on the west. Had a great time and didn't cost me an arm and a leg.