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| - Jobing.com arena was easily the worst stadium experience I have ever had. I attended the Coyotes vs. Blackhawks game on 01/20/13. My group arrived at the stadium an hour before the start and waited in a forty-five minute line just to get through the gate. The reason for this delay was two-fold; the metal detectors that allow only eight people to enter the stadium at a time and malfunctioning ticket scanners. I understand the metal detectors were for our safety but a more efficient implementation is severely needed.
Once we finally got into the stadium we entered a concession line to get some food and drinks. The prices were not outrageous for stadium fare, the problem was they were out of what we wanted, hot dogs. I for the life of me can't understand how a large stadium concession booth can run out of hot dogs before the game has even started. My wife very generously offered to wait in a different line for food so I could watch the start of the game, so I took her up on it. After another fifteen minutes she returned with two ice cold hot dogs and a pretzel so stale it could have been used as a hockey puck. My wife actually cut her finger trying to break a piece off to eat, it was that hard.
There was no intermission entertainment aside from five minutes of pee-wee hockey players stumbling around the ice. Coyotes fans came and went as they pleased, not waiting for a stop in the action to stand up and exit their seats. At the United Center in Chicago you are not allowed to leave your seats until there is a whistle, and if you try you are told by other fans to "wait for a whistle." When you return to your seats at the UC, ushers won't let you into your section until there is a whistle, a practice Jobing.com would be wise to adopt.
I will say that the stadium was very clean, the parking was free and the area surrounding the stadium was very nice. However, I was so soured by my overall experience that I wouldn't return, even for a Blackhawks game. I guess I'm just spoiled by Chicago stadiums, where they've got it down to a science. In the end the Hawks won, so I guess the night wasn't a total loss.
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