Little Caesars Arena-Cramped Upper Seats, Steep Stairs-Generally Uncomfortable?

[Zacha341]

I'm reading not so favorable reviews on yelp and google regarding the cramped seating - even if you're average sized at the LCA. Complaints also about very steep steps to the upper bowl to get to the child-sized seating. I figured expensive food/ parking would be the main angst, but sounds like even the cup-holder positioning is making some yearn for the Joe. Any thoughts?

[Scottathew]

I was fine in the upper-bowl, but I'm 5'5" and 145lbs, so I would imagine I'm on the small-side of folks that would be going there.

On a positive note, SMART added a stop in front of the LCA for the 461 and 462 routes.

[dtowncitylover]

LOL I didn't think it was any more steep or cramped than the Joe when I visited in the fall. People love to bitch and moan.

[DetroitSoldier]

I've never had an issue with it. I buy the tickets and get wrapped up in what ever event I'm watching. If I want luxury comfort I'll stay at home and watch from my couch. If the seat is an inch or two too narrow it will hardly ruin my experience, and I'm a bigger guy. It is far more spacious than Michigan Stadium, which sets the standard for lousy seating.

[mikeg19]

The upper bowl seat sizes were about the same size as the Joe in my estimation, but the leg room is certainly more cramped than the Joe IMO due to that steepness. I'm 6-0 200lbs and it was tight, but not uncomfortable. I think people are just pissed because it was implied there were going to be bigger seats/more leg room/cup holders.

[EGrant]

It isn't great in the upper deck. Seats are wider than The Joe, but there is less leg room. Not great for anyone over 6 feet, plus the cupholders on the floor ensure someone will trip over your beer while trying to shuffle by you. One of my other beefs with the upper deck is that gondola, which looms over the sides, blocking the scoreboard and creating a weird disconnected feeling from the rest of the arena. It's like you are in a different room or something. It also blocks the video boards with all the stats in the ends.

While it might be no worse than The Joe, this is nearly a $1 billion state of the art arena, not some old structure made in the 70s. I'd expect better.

[Zads07]

The upper deck is steep. I typically don't mind being high up but it took me some time to actually acclimate to the height of the area. The seats were not tighter than the Joe, but they were close. I expected a little more room.

[Zacha341]

My significant other has walking issues so we have to really make certain about venue accessibility before we venture out. Steep steps can be a problem.

LOL I didn't think it was any more steep or cramped than the Joe when I visited in the fall. People love to bitch and moan.

[Zacha341]

Yeah, a friend who is petite said the seat/ armrest/ cup-holder scene was a bit odd. Even for her.

While it might be no worse than The Joe, this is nearly a $1 billion state of the art arena, not some old structure made in the 70s. I'd expect better.

[detroitbob]

IMHO the same size as the Joe...if you want deluxe fork out the $$$

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Seats aren't that comfortable, and if you're kinda tall, you don't have much leg room. I'm sure the Suites are a totally different experience.

[Atticus]

I have been in those upper seats now plenty of times. They are fine. No, they are not luxurious, but you get what you pay for.

People forget that they are the seats of an upper deck in a sports arena, not a la-z-boy recliner. Are the seats a little cramped? Sure. But if I was choosing solely based on comfort, I’d either just stay home or pay $$$ for the better seats.

If anything, the close spacing actually helps contribute to the loud and intimidating atmosphere of a sporting event. Sadly, that aspect probably has not been realized much thus far given the on-court/on-ice performance of the teams playing there.

[drjeff]

I went to a Pistons game back in January and sat in the first row of the upper level. I'm 5'10" and about 180 lbs so pretty average in size. I could barely wedge myself into the seat- the cupholder on the arm extends into the area your body has to penetrate to sit down. I have no idea how a bigger person would possibly fit. This was more uncomfortable to me than I recall ever being at the Joe or the Palace.

[emu steve]

I'm going O/T but I have a comment about seating, planes. NO not the width of the seats or the pitch [[the distance between rows) but the wide of the CENTER Aisle.

Flew a standard 737 with 6 seats across cross country.

Couldn't Boeing and Airbus add another 3" to the width of the plane so that flight attendants can navigate the center aisle even if they are not sharing it with someone else trying to pass.

OR hire petite women less than 110 lbs... Lol.

[detroitsgwenivere]

Those seats are cramped af. My friends and I stood in the walkway by the curtains the whole time we were there, and left early when we got tired. Guess Ill attend less events, and only go to the ones where I can afford to shell out the big bucks for the normal seats.

[wolverine]

It’s by design. They’ve got so many levels of suites, it pushed the upper level higher requiring a steeper incline to preserve sight lines.

[EGrant]

In 50 years, all new arenas will just be walls of corporate suites surrounding the court. Actual fans will stay home and watch in virtual reality.

[Zacha341]

That's what I'm hearing. Too much for me, I've already taken a bad fall in a theater before. I'll just not attend events unless I can do the lower level seating option.

It’s by design. They’ve got so many levels of suites, it pushed the upper level higher requiring a steeper incline to preserve sight lines.

[401don]

In 50 years, all new arenas will just be walls of corporate suites surrounding the court. Actual fans will stay home and watch in virtual reality.

I actually think the trend will be to reduce corporate boxes at ballparks, where they clearly overbuilt. Comerica Park, Rogers Centre, Progressive Field and probably many more have lots of unsold boxes. They now try to sell them as party suites on a per game basis. Arenas, including Little Caesars, still are selling out but maybe that will change eventually. Certainly for baseball and basketball the best seats are near the field and courtside.

[wolverine]

There will be some re-calibration in coming years. The generations born in the 80’s and on doesn’t have the type of disposable income to throw down on lower level seats. For basketball and hockey, I’ve opted now for one memorable game per season along the glass or floor seats at the “worst games”. It’s like $300-$400 per seat but comprable to buying a bunch of cheap seats and beer over 1 season that basically adds up to all that and isn’t memorable at all.

[swingline]

I went to a Pistons game back in January and sat in the first row of the upper level. I'm 5'10" and about 180 lbs so pretty average in size. I could barely wedge myself into the seat- the cupholder on the arm extends into the area your body has to penetrate to sit down. I have no idea how a bigger person would possibly fit. This was more uncomfortable to me than I recall ever being at the Joe or the Palace.

I've sat in both upper and lower bowl seats. The upper bowl seats seemed narrower than the lower bowl seats. I spent one whole game in the upper bowl rubbing shoulders with the person next to me and neither he nor I were/are large people. I thought the difference in seat sizes was just my imagination but some on this board and on others are claiming that there is an actual width difference. A quick Google search couldn't confirm this from an official or fact-checked source. Other than anecdotally, has anybody confirmed that the seats are actually different sizes?

[djtomt]

Went to last night's Red Wings game. Sat in the lower bowl. A GOOD experience. A good game helped that of course, but win or lose, a GOOD experience. Went and sat in the upper bowl for 1 period. I am 6'0, 270 pounds. I found nothing uncomfortable about the upper bowl seats. The cup holder thing is a problem - they don't need to be on the floor. Other than that, it's fine. People complaining now are pushing the traditional "Detroit" rethoric that everything "old" is better than everything "new". If you were ever at Olympia Arena [[I wasn't - too young), from what I understand, the upper deck was the same way. Even Joe Louis was steeper in my opinion. Had a great time at the new arena. The sightlines were everything I could hope for, and the amenities were timely and satisfying. Probably could have built it without taxpayer funding, but that's not my decision to make and it is what it is. I'm glad I went last night, and I will go again in the future.

[Zacha341]

^^^ Hah! I remember the Red Barn [[Olympia Stadium)!

Lived nearby, and attended some events as a kid and teen [[mostly roller derby) and well you don't care about seating, heights or inclines then!

[chriszke]

I've never actually measured the seats, but let me tell you what I was told when the Red Wings did their season ticket holder pitch.

The "club level" lower bowl seats are 2" wider than the seats at JLA. Those are the seats in between the white railings. Those seats come with free parking and unlimited food and drink. They also come with a price tag which varies between $240 and $330 per ticket. When you see the empty seats on TV, those are the people trying to soak up enough food and drink in their private room beneath the stands to justify the ticket cost.

Many of the JLA crowd were priced out of this area and either surrendered or relocated to a lower priced area. The lower bowl pitch matched that at JLA. All other seats in the arena were widened by 0.5".

My personal experience is that the LCA seating feels exactly the same as at the Joe. The cup holders are nice, but their location in the walk-way is unfortunate.

I'll be surrendering my season tickets this year after 32 years. I had center ice seats in the upper bowl at JLA at a ticket cost of $68 per game. My seats at the JLA were still at center ice, in the mezzanine...at a cost of $126 per game. I expected a cost bump something like $100. The center ice seats came at a cost premium over other mezzanine seats.

With the sad state of the current team and the price premium that the new arena brought...there are MANY sub-cost tickets available on the secondary ticket markets. I'll be using stub-hub and tick-pick for the foreseeable future to see my Red Wing games.

Truly, this year...after 32 years...the Wings priced me out of their market. It would be interesting to learn the season ticket renewal rates now that everyone has seen the new arena [[it IS marvelous) and watched the hockey teams descent first-hand.

[313rd]

Generally speaking for Stadiums/Arenas a majority of the seat widths are two sizes, within an inch of each other. Depending where at in the upper/lower and the row you are in could determine the sizes. When the the bowl starts to make its way around the bends. They have more room for wider seats to fill the row space, i.e if the row from aisle to aisle is 100 inches wide, you could have 5 - 20 inch seats. The higher you get up the aisle, the row could be 118 inches wide you could have 6 seats, 4 which are 20 inches and 2 which are 19 inches. You could then have the occasional oversize width of 21,22 inches to make the aisles line up.

Another example, is similar to seats at Ford Field, there are an odd number of seats in one row, 23 seats, then immediately behind that row there are 24 seats. So you will have "roomier" seats in the front row, but "tighter in the back row.