Wembli

WEMbli's Free Padre's Tickets

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:01 -0700

Hey Guys!

WEMbli is giving away 4 tickets to the Padres vs. Blue Jays game on Saturday June 1st! Click the link to sign up all four, yes FOUR, different ways! *hint, hint* One of the ways you can do every day ;-)

The giveaway runs until midnight THIS Tuesday, May 28, so get all your entries in NOW to make sure you don’t miss out!

Good Luck!

Ashley

FirstEnergy Stadium

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:12:00 -0700

Address: 100 Alfred Lerner Way, Cleveland, OH Phone Number: (440) 891-5001 Year Opened: 1999

Waddup Y’all

FirstEnergy Stadium, home to the Cleveland Browns. Browns fans have had nothing to cheer about for the past decade, nonetheless they show up and cheer loud and hard. The 73,000 capacity stadium is almost always packed out with diehard browns fans. Let’s check it out.

Pic from http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/stadium/about-the-stadium.html

SEATING

Best Seats

The best are found five rows up in sections 132-135. They’re the sideline seats on the browns side. They’ll give you a great view of the field overall while staying close enough to the field that you can hear coaches screaming after a bad call.

Dawg Pound

Located behind the East endzone in sections 118-122, the Dawg Pound is a wild, fun place for Browns fans. Filled with bleacher seats, the Pound is where you’ll find the blue-collar, diehard fans that live and breathe Browns football. If you ain’t a Dawg, don’t bother showin’ up!

Photo taken from www.nfl.com

PARKING

Here’s a site for all of your parking needs. Whether you’re wanting to park at the stadium, or at a lot around the corner, you’ll find it all here.

http://cleveland.about.com/od/clevelandbrowns/a/Parking-Near-Cleveland-Browns-Stadium.htm

TAILGATING

Here’s a site with all the tailgating info you need. Tailgating at Browns games is awesome. Lots of great fans, and looooots of great food.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tailgating-cleveland-browns-stadium-155000570—nfl.html

FOOD

There’s a solid selection of different foods you can find at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Dawg Pound Deli offers different types of deli sandwiches that are perfect on a cold night a game. Here you’ll find roast beef, pastrami, and corned beef sandwiches among others. There’s also the Grill at the Gridiron, which offers a bunch of different beers, hot dogs, brats, and burgers… you know, the classics. Also, there’s the Browns Bistro that offers pizza, deep dish style.

There’s also a bunch of restaurants near the stadium if you want to grab some food before or after the game. Here’s a list of places to check out:

Food from Cowell and Hubbard

Mallorca - Spanish/Portuguese/Seafood - 1390 W 9th St, Cleveland, OH 44113

Great Lakes Brewing Co - Brewpub - 2516 Market Ave Cleveland, OH 44113

Slymans - Deli/Diner - 3106 St Clair Ave NE Cleveland, OH 44114

Cowell and Hubbard - French - 1305 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH 44115

OTHER INFO

The Browns are THE most loyal fanbase in the NFL. Literally. A study in 2006 showed that Browns fans filled 99.8% of seats during the last 7 seasons. During those 7 seasons, the Browns record was 36-76. That’s dedication.

The atmosphere at games is usually great. Because of the diehard fans it really is a fun place to watch a game.

The Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame located in level 100 is a cool place to check out.

That’s it for FirstEnergy Stadium. If you have any comments make sure to hit me up.

Later,

Venumaster

Toyota Center (Houston Rockets)

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:27:00 -0700

Waddup Y’all

Located right downtown in Houston, Toyota Center is the home of the Rockets. It’s a newer stadium, opened in 2003 and boasts plenty of attractions, and amenities. With the young talent that the Rockets have on their roster, it’s only going to get more fun to go to a game at Toyota Center in the coming years. Let’s check it out.

Photo from downtownhouston.org

SEATS

Best Seats

The best seats are found in sections 106-108, and in 119-121. They’re sideline seats that give you a great view of the court. Sections 101, 125, and 113,114 are right under the basket. If you like the view from right behind the basket more than the overview of the whole court, these seats are for you. There honestly isn’t a bad seat in the whole place. The way the seats are set up, even the Upper Level seats give you a pretty good view for the price.

PARKING

You can either pay $20 to park at the stadium, or you can park in one of the lots close to the stadium. There are some lots closest to the stadium that are $15, lots that are one or two blocks away for $10 and lots three to five blocks away for $5. Here’s a map showing just a few of the lots close to Toyota Center

http://houston.centralparking.com/Sports-Venues/Houston-Toyota-Center-Parking.html

THE RED ROWDIES

The Red Rowdies are the wild, rabid, half-man half-animal (ok maybe I made that up) group of fans located in Section 114. The Rockets literally HOLD AUDITIONS to sit in this section. They scream, they shout, they cheer, and they love the Rockets. They bleed red and white. From the ups to the downs, the Rowdies are there cheering. It makes for a fun atmosphere to go watch a game. You’ll never have to worry about snoozing durning a game at Toyota Center.

Photo from houstonist.com

FOOD

Since the Toyota Center is located in downtown Houston, there is plenty of amazing food options to check out before or after a game. I’ll just list a few that you should consider checking out.

The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation - 2704 Navigation Blvd, Houston, 77003. Awesome Tex Mex food.

Becks - 919 Milam Street, Houston, 77002. Big juicy burgers.

Treebeards - 801 Louisiana Street, Houston, 77002. The place to get your Cajun fix.

Goode Company BBQ - 5109 Kirby Drive, Houston, 77098. Texas BBQ at its finest.

Photo from www.29-95.com - This is the Fajita Burger from Ninfa’s

You can also pick up food at the stadium. There’s tons of BBQ places, Tex Mex, gourmet hot dogs (Texas and Chicago style) among others. There really is a bunch of options inside, even places to satisfy your sweet tooth. Eat up.

OTHER INFO

Photo from andrewsmyers.com

One of the cool things about Toyota Center is ticket prices. Tickets, on average, are $7 dollars under the NBA average.

Location, location, location. Located right downtown in Houston, there are a ton of things you can do before and after the game. Take some time to explore the city if you’re not from there.

They have the largest video scoreboard in America. It’s 25 feet tall by 58 feet wide. It’s honestly massive.

Clutch is the Rockets mascot. Clutch could singlehandedly entertain the audience if the game turned out to be a snoozer. He interacts with the audience and loves to play pranks on people.

That’s it for Toyota Center. Hit me up with some comments if you have any

Later,

Venumaster

Arrowhead Stadium

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:40:00 -0700

Waddup ya’ll

In honor of the NFL Draft, we’re gonna take a look at the Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, who had the first pick in the draft this year and picked up Eric Fisher. Arrowhead is a classic stadium, with a classic football atmosphere. It’s not a brand new, (although they did do some serious renovations in 2009) stadium filled with gadgets and gizmos-a-plenty, but what it lacks in comfort and aesthetics it certainly makes up for in atmosphere. Let’s take a look at how Arrowhead fares.

Photo from Kcchiefs.com

SEATING

Best Seats

The best seats in the house for a Chiefs fan are any seats in sections 117-120. They’re right behind the Chiefs bench. Make sure if you get them that you’re sitting a few rows up though. If you’re too close to the field it can be hard to see over the players on the sidelines, the cameracrew, coaches etc. I’d say rows 10 and up would be your best bet.

Photo from skyscrapercity.com

PARKING

Since Arrowhead is kind of in the middle of nowhere. I mean it’s near the highway, but it’s in the middle of a huge parking lot, and all restaurants bars, stores and the like are a couple miles away. Since that’s the case they stick you good with parking… real good, $27 to be exact.

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE

Tailgating at Arrowhead is honestly an experience all by itself. It’s probably the best tailgating stadium in the NFL, nicknamed “The Asphalt Jungle”. Not only is the food supply endless, but the variety and quality of food is unmatched for a tailgate. Imagine the best BBQ you’ve ever had. Ok, now double, no, tripple that and you’re starting to approach what tailgating is like at Arrowhead. From steaks, to burgers, to chili dogs, to homestyle BBQ, it’s all there.

Photo from ilovetotailgate.com

FOOD

When it comes to food, I’d go to the tailgate and eat like it was my last meal. Having said that, there are some really good local options inside as well. Gates BBQ stand for one is a great place. For $8 you get a big ol’ beef sandwich and some fries. Since Arrowhead isn’t exactly near a bunch of restaurants, and the tailgate is so good, I’d skip grabbing food beforehand and head to the tailgate. Doors open 3 1/2 hours early.

OTHER

The Hall of Honor is a cool place to check out. There’s lots of Chiefs memorabilia, history, and information. It’s like walking into the Louvre for a Chiefs fan.

The fans at Arrowhead are awesome. The atmosphere is electric. It’s usually pretty dang loud, and wild. Fans do the “Tomahawk Chop” before the kickoff and during timeouts. After the National Anthem, all the Chiefs fans yell “HOME OF THE CHIEFS!” There’s not many cities who love their team as much as Kansas City loves the Chiefs.

Did I mention tailgating? Seriously do your taste buds a favor and go. Seriously.

Chase Field

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:59:00 -0700

Waddup ya’ll

Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks! Chase Field was opened in 1998 and has been the only home in the D-Backs 16 years of existence. Chase is one of the bigger stadiums in the Majors, it looks massive when you’re standing outside. There’s a bunch of cool features at Chase, including a retractible roof, a pool that you can rent for the game, and the “Sandlot”.

SEATING

Chase is a large capacity stadium, seating over 49,000. Almost every seat in the house is solid. Limited View seats are obviously that… limited view. There’s also some really cool seats, like the pool (watching the game while chilling out in the pool… is there anything better?).

Best Seats

The best seats are found in the lettered sections. Section J is right behind home plate, with any seat giving you a great view. Sections N-Q are right on the third base line. Again, they’re all great views.

There’s also the pool. It’s technically a suite so you have to rent it out for the game; there’s no individual seating. It opens up 2 hours before the game. It costs $3,500 and can be rented out by up to 35 people. It includes food and beverage. So if you can scrounge up 34 friends who all wanna watch the game, it’s 100 bucks for a sweet seat, food and drinks. This is really cool for a place like Phoenix where it can be over 100 degrees, even durning night games (imagine a pool in Yankee Stadium where it can slip to the 30’s and 40’s during the night).

THE SANDLOT

The Sandlot is an area for kids to play around during the game. There’s a batting cage, and a few playgrounds for the kids to play in. Here’s a site that’ll give you more info on it.

http://www.azchasefield.com/sandlot-kids-area.php

PARKING

There are a bunch of parking garages around the stadium that you can park in for pretty cheap (around $10-15). Here’s a link that’ll show you a couple of parking garages close to the field

http://www.parkwhiz.com/chase-field-parking/map/

FOOD

There’s a bunch of options to eat at Chase Field. They have a wide variety of options including Panda Express, Fatburger, Macayo’s, TCBY Yogurt, Streets of New York Pizza, Subway, along with the typical concessions options common to all stadiums. They also have Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill. There are also a plethora of restaurants within a mile of the park:

Pizzeria Bianco - 623 E Adams St, Phoenix.

Duck and Decanter - 1 N Central Ave, Phoenix.

Lo-Lo’s Chicken and Waffles - 10 W Yuma St, Phoenix.

The Breadfruit - 108 E Pierce St, Phoenix.

OTHER

The retractible roof is a really nice feature, considering it can get reeeaaaalllly hot in Arizona (even at nights).

There’s a huge tv called the DBTV above the outfield wall. It gives you all the info you could imagine on the batters and pitchers.

There’s three stadium tours a day, all year long (Monday - Saturday). They tour guide will give you a tour of the stadium, and and is about an hour long. It costs $7. Pretty cool.

That’s it for Chase Field. If you have any other info/experiences, let me know with a comment!

CenturyLink Field

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:12:00 -0800

Address: 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134 Phone: (206) 381-7555 Year Opened 2003

Waddup Y’all

Sunday was the end of the Seattle Seahawks surprisingly great season. They have a lot of things to hang their hats on though; a very talented rookie QB, a great defense, and one of the best, loudest stadiums in the NFL that always plays heavily in their favor. CenturyLink (knicknamed The Clink) has a lot to offer compared to most stadiums including Touchdown City, the event center attached to the South side of the stadium. Lets check out how The Clink fares.

SEATING

Seats at The Clink are more than 10% cheaper than league average. That means you can get some solid seats, a drink and a hotdog for the price of a comparable seat in another stadium.

Best Seats

Out of the 18300 seats - the best ones you’ll find are in Sections 108-110 and 134-136 if you want a really close view of the field. They are all around the 50 yard line. Make sure if you get seats in this section to get them a little higher up. If you get them too close to the field, players on the sideline, coaches, bikes and a bunch of other things will get in the way of your view. Sections 208-210 and 234-236 are also great for a larger view. They are a little higher up but they give you a great view of the entire field.

Endzone seats are also good! They’re an awesome seat to watch your teams defense come up with a big goal line stand.

TOUCHDOWN CITY

Touchdown City is a 170,000 square foot event center that any Seahawk fan is able to enter for free 3 hours prior to kickoff. It’s an adult and kid friendly area to hang out with other fans, play some games, and eat some food. They also have former players do autograph sessions once in a while. Here’s a site that’ll give you more info on it http://www.seahawks.com/gameday/touchdown-city.html

PARKING

Parking isn’t too bad at The Clink compared to other stadiums. Expect to pay $25-40 for stadium parking. If you don’t want to pay for parking or don’t want to go through the traffic jam that is getting out of an NFL Stadium, there is a free parking area here -

https://maps.google.com/maps/place?ftid=0x54906a982584300d:0xb3a2694503e7e3ce&q=airport+way+s+and+royal+brougham+way,+seattle,+wa&ved=0CA8Q-gswAA&sa=X&ei=x-v1UMu0G6aLiAK4mYGQDg

Make sure you get there early for free parking though, it fills up fast!

FOOD

Although stadium food isn’t usually anything special CenturyLink has some solid variety. Many of their options are locally made/grown. Here’s a list of a few of their most popular options:

Top Pot Donuts - Really good if you’re a donut lover. Located on all levels
Ivar’s Seafood Stands - Grab their fish & chips, or their clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Located in Sections 133, 208, and 311.
Rocha Thai & Asian Kitchen - Pad Thai!! Section 105.
Kidd Valley - They have great garlic fries and some good burgers too. Located in Sections 111, 147, and 311.
Viva el Dolce - A place to get your dessert cravings satisfied. Located in Section 339.

12th Man Burger sold at various concession stands - Photo Courtesy of Levy Restaurants.

OTHER INFO

Tailgating is technically illegal in Seattle but the cops let it slide as long as you’re not too crazy. It’s probably smart to er on the side of caution if you’re going to tailgate here.

If you’re into micro-brews, there’s a place called Pyramid Pub (located in Sections 315 and 330) that has a solid selection of Seattles best beers.

The Clink is called “The 12th Man” for a reason. It get’s loud! The atmosphere is electric every sunday and the fans get wild. You’ll see a bunch of fans with body and face paint, shoulder pads and helmets walking around. They consistently rack up false start penalties against their opponents because of how loud the crowd gets.

That’s it for CenturyLink Field, come back next week as we check out Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners.

Later

Venumaster

Sleep Train Arena

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:31:00 -0800

Waddup Y’all

Since the NBA Season’s in full throttle, our next stop is Sleep Train Arena, to check out the home of the Sacramento Kings. Sleep Train Arena was built in 1988… and looks like it hasn’t changed much since. I wouldn’t exactly call this place the Ritz Carlton of NBA stadiums, but it could be worse. With a capacity of 17,314, Sleep Train is the smallest capacity arena in the NBA and with a cost to build at $40 million it was the least expensive to build. There’s some perks to having a small arena though. Let’s check it out.

SEATING

Since the arena itself is pretty small all of the seats give you at least a decent view of the action. The Upper Level seats aren’t as bad as other NBA arenas. The seats are pretty hard and close together, and the arena is usually dirty. This place could definitely use an upgrade.

Best Seats
The seats that will get you the best view of the action will be any seats in the Lower Level Section. Usually you can find good seats in these sections for around $100 bucks, considerably cheaper than comparable seats at other NBA venues.

Worst Seats
The worst seats are the Upper Level corners. They’re the farthest seats from the action although they aren’t like getting Upper Level seats at Staples Center. They’re the cheapest for a reason.

Premium
Just like any other NBA arena, there are suites that basically treat you like a VIP. They are however farther from the action than Lower Level seats.

Photo taken by Steven Chea

PARKING

Parking is actually pretty cheap here. It’s $10 for parking at a Kings game and $12 for parking at any other event. It may take a few minutes to actually get out of the parking area if there was a big crowd at the game but nothing too crazy.

Here’s a website that’ll give you directions and info about parking. http://www.sleeptrainarena.com/parking/

FOOD

Sacramento has multiple solid dinner options you can try that are within 15 minutes driving distance to the arena.

Lucca - Italian/Mediterranean dining. 92% rating on Urbanspoon - 1615 J St Sacramento, CA 95814

Mulvaney’s - American/Californian dining. 91% on Urbanspoon - 1215 19th St Sacramento, CA 95814

Kru - Japanese/Sushi. 87% on Urbanspoon - 2516 J St Sacramento, CA 95816

OTHER INFO

Inflatable “bang sticks” are passed out at the game to cheer on the Kings. You’ll see fans cheering and smacking them together when Demarcus Cousins throws down a jam or Jimmer drains a deep three.

The acoustics in the arena aren’t impressive, so if you’re coming to Sleep Train for a concert don’t expect it to sound great.

Although this arena lacks quality, it is pretty nostalgic. The Kings teams of the early 2000’s with Chris Webber were a fun team to watch.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week as we check out CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks.

Later

Venumaster

Oracle Arena

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:30:00 -0800

What’s up everyone, this week we’re checking in on Oracle Arena home of the Golden State Warriors. Oracle is the oldest NBA arena that’s still in use dating back to 1966. There have been many renovations done, especially this year to keep the Oracle up to date and satisfy it’s 19,500 person capacity crowds. Let’s check it out!

SEATING

Best seats - Besides floor seats, the best seats at the Oracle are Club Level seats, (Sections 113-116 and Sections 102, 103, 127, and 128). Even the farther back rows give you a good view of the court which is pretty cool. They also have better bathrooms and concessions for club level seats. Sections 107, 108, 121, and 122 are the sections next to the locker room tunnels. They’re great places to get pictures and autographs.

Worst seats - The worst seats are Upper Level seats, specifically 207-210, and 223-226. They don’t give a great view of the game because they’re far away, and the backboard can actually make it difficult to see what’s going on on the court. Club 200 (an area to get eat, get drinks, see other games on plasma screen tv’s, as well as tons of stuff for the kids to do) is a pretty cool bonus for the Upper Level though.

PARKING

Parking costs $35.00 a pop if you park at the arena. Some people park at the BART station across the street from the game for free. I would just take the BART to the game. It’s real close and easy. Here’s a website that’ll give you the info on how to get to the stadium, and there’s a link towards the bottom that’ll bring you to the BART site http://www.warriorscentral.com/arena.php

TAILGATING

There’s no tailgating allowed at Oracle Arena for Warriors Games

FOOD

There’s not many options close to the arena if you’re wanting to get food beforehand. However, if you’re driving and you want to grab some food before the game here are a few good places within 5 miles of Oracle.

Gold Coast Grill - Good American food with many Mediterranean dishes - 1901 Park Street Alameda, CA 94501

Bocanova - Pan American food -55 Webster Street Oakland, CA 94607

Scott’s Seafood - Great seafood place with a great view of the bay -2 Broadway Oakland, CA 94607

Speisekammer - German cousine - 2424 Lincoln Ave Alameda, CA 94501

Yoshi’s Oakland - Japanese cousine -510 Embarcadero West Oakland, CA 94607

Picture of a dish at Bocanova

OTHER INFO

The Oracle has had some major upgrades this year including HD Scoreboards, IPad Kiosks, and Paperless Ticketing. Here’s all of the upgrades

http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/oracle_arena_improvements_102612

The seats are pretty darn close together. If you’re the size of some of the dudes on the court good luck, because you’re gonna be rubbing your knees on the seats in front of you.

If you’re bringing your little digital camera you should be ok, but if you have an SLR that you want to bring there’s a good chance that they won’t let it in depending on its size. Also, backpacks aren’t allowed in.

Beer at beer booths are $3 more than beer at the concessions stands but they’re like 5oz more. If you want to go to the beer booths, bring cash.

The Warriors are planning on moving their stadium to San Francisco by 2017, so Oracle Arena will only be their home for the next few years.

That’s it for this week! If you have any questions or comments let me know in the comments section. Next week come back and check us out for our review on O.Co Coliseum home of the Raiders!

Later

Venumaster

Candlestick Park (49ers Stadium)

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:56:03 -0800

What’s up y’all this is the Venumaster brining you all the info on Candlestick Park. Candlestick Park is the third oldest stadium in the NFL, being made in 1960, and can hold about 70,000 screaming fans. The stadium is known for it’s rich sports history (football and baseball) and for the cold winds that blow through the stadium. Candlestick Park has been given many nicknames including North Pole, Windlestick, and Candlestink and most notably, The Stick. Let’s see what the stadium has to offer.

SEATING

Best Seats - Lower Reserved Section closest to the center of the field. Any of the rows 1-10 are the best. They give you a great view of the entire field while getting as close to the field as you can. If you’re going to a day game, the West side of the stadium also better than the East because the East gets so sunny it can be hard to see the game.

Worst Seats - The worst seats are in the Upper Reserved section. Although you can see the game, it’s pretty far away and during the evening the wind really whips through this section. The North Endzone is worse than the South Endzone too.

PARKING/INFO

Straight up, parking sucks at Candlestick Park. Don’t drive there, take public transportation. Here’s a website with info on how to get to and from the park. http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mroutes/3comsvc.htm

If you want to tailgate, you are more than welcome. It’s a pretty good place to tailgate and there are a few tailgating parties like this one http://www.club49.org/

FOOD

There are a few good restaurants at Candlestick, but most of your concessions are your typical game food although they do have a few ok items like tri-tip sandwiches, polish dogs, and garlic fries at the Gordon Biersch stand. Try the fries, they’re pretty good. They also have a really good selection of beers and micro brews such as Lagunitas IPA, Sierra Nevada, and Gordon Biersch.

OTHER INFO

The neighborhood isn’t one of the best when compared to other stadiums. Just keep that in mind.

One of the biggest “wins” of the stadium is that there is a lot of history at Candlestick. From “The Catch” to the earthquake before game 3 of the ‘89 World Series there are some really great memores here.

The bathrooms are pretty gross compared to other stadiums.

Bring a jacket with you because it can get pretty dang cold, especially at night.

If you have any extra info on the Stadium hit me up with some comments, I’d love to hear em. That’s it for Candlestick Park, check back next week as we hit up another venue.

Later

Venumaster

AT&T Park

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:46:00 -0700

What’s up everyone, it’s the Venumaster here to give you the scoop on AT&T Park, home of World Series winners, The San Francisco Giants. AT&T Park is considered by many to be one of the best stadiums in the MLB because of the amazing view, the feel of the park, and the food.

SEATING

Best Seats

The best seats house are either behind home plate in sections 113 and 115, or behind the Giants dugout in sections 121-123. I prefer the behind the dugout seats because there’s nothing like chatting up a player between innings. Either way you get a great view of the entire field, and you get to hear banter between players and umpires etc.

Worst Seats

The worst seats are in the View Reserved sections (especially sections 331-336). Although it has the best view of the bay and the city, your butt might be frozen to the seat by the end of the game because of the cold winds that love to blow through there. You also won’t have to worry about you eat because you’ll burn off all those calories going from your seat to the concession stands and back. So if you get these seats eat up and get a few beers, maybe you’ll feel a little warmer.

PARKING

If you don’t feel like getting caught in traffic, worry about actually finding a spot, or just don’t feel like driving, you can take the Muni (train) this website has all you need to know. http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mroutes/pacbsvc.htm

If you want to drive, there are lots on Townsend Street, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th street. They’re all a few minute walk from the stadium.

TAILGATING

Tailgating is allowed in parking lots A and D, the bus lot, and outside of Pier 48. It’s a great place to tailgate because of the weather, and great atmosphere. Bring your little coleman, some drinks and get your tailgate on.

FOOD

There’s a few places you can grab some food at near the park, here’s a few

Pete’s Tavern - typical pub fare, but pretty darn good -128 King St (between 2nd St & 3rd St) San Francisco, CA 94107

21’s Amendment brewery - American food, lots of good beer - 563 2nd St (between Brannan St & De Boom St) San Francisco, CA 94107

Primo Patio - Good Caribbean bean food - 214 Townsend St (at Colin P Kelly Jr St) San Francisco, CA 94107

Little Skillet - “Fresh farm food” classic home cooked food. Good stuff - 360 Ritch St (at Brannan St) San Francisco, CA 94107

Menu from Little Skillet

OTHER INFO

GARLIC FRIES! One of the best part about the whole part is the garlic fries. Get them, and thank me later. Usually the line is long for them, but there’s a stand tucked away under the center field wall. It may be worth the walk.

If you bring your ticket with you, you can get $5 dollars off of Miller beer. $5 off for each ticket.

The Sheboygan brats at the concession stands do not have kraut, but the Sheboygan brats at the carts do.

Just like in Petco Park, there’s a batting area for kids behind the outfield. Awesome place to take your little Ken Griffey Jr to play some ball. They also have a “Coca-Cola” slide for kids to slide on.

Best bathrooms are the ones under the center field wall. There’s usually like no traffic there.

This is one of the best ballparks for food. Not only is the concession food good, but they have great restaurants inside like Crazy Crab’z, and Orlando’s BBQ.

That’s it for AT&T Park! Great place to catch a game. Hit me up with some comments if you have any other tid bits. Come back Tuesday for all things Candlestick Park, home of the 49ers!

Later

Venumaster

Nokia Theatre

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:44:00 -0700

What’s up everyone, Venumaster here, giving you all the ins on Nokia Theatre. Although Nokia Theatre is a new venue, built in 2007, it hosts about 120 shows a year and it has already hosted many big name events such as The 2007 American Music Awards, the American Idol seasons 7, 8, and 9 finales, and many different artists like John Mayer (who recorded Where The Light Is at Nokia, one of his most successful albums). Seating about 7,000 people, Nokia is considered a medium sized music venue.

SEATING

The feel of the seating area is so legit. It feels like some super rich dude renovated a gigantic movie theatre, decked it out with lights and ambient effects, built a big stage and popped up some huge high definition screens in front so everyone can see the action. It’s Grade A, 5 Star, state of the ar… basically whatever cliche catch-phrase you want to say about an awesome venue. The only negative to the seating area is that the rows are narrow so if you’re like 6’2 +, you might be a little crammed.

Best Seats - The best seats are gonna be any single letter row in the center orchestra section (anywhere from 228 to 428). The seats there are sweeeeeeet, they’re like movie theater seats, including cup holders (you’ll probably be standing be cause you are in fact at a concert… unless you’re going to see a jazz orchestra). You get a really great view of the stage, great sound quality and the best possible experience.

Worst Seats - The worst seats are gonna be the back seats of the Mezzanine section. Again, they aren’t bad seats, but the stage can sometimes be hard to see and you can feel a little detached from what’s going on up front. Luckily, they have some giant screens up front so you can still see and experience what’s going on up front, but watching someone sing from a screen when they’re less than a football field away from you kinda stinks.

The Pit - The Pit is the General Admission, standing only area in the very front of the venue. Warning, it’s FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, and they’re gone QUICK. Get there early if you’re looking to get a spot in the pit. Once you get there and pass security, rush straight to the line to get your pass. Once you get it they’ll hook you up with a wristband so you can go in and out of the pit. Keep it on, or you won’t be able to go back in if you had to leave to go to the bathroom or get a drink.

PARKING

Here’s a site that can help you with directions/parking http://nokiatheatrelalive.com/parking-directions/directions

You might be better off parking in a non-Nokia Theatre lot. There are a bunch of lots that are close (just about anywhere along Flower and Hope) that are much cheaper. Some non-Nokia Theatre lots can be shady though, I’m not sure I’d park there if I was driving a Benz or an Audi.

You can also take the Metro to the game which may be the best option. Here’s a site that has Metro info

http://nokiatheatrelalive.com/parking-directions/public-transportation

TAILGATING

Tailgating isn’t allowed at the Nokia Theatre

FOOD

If you’re hungry you can go get your average, overpriced hotdogs and bratwursts at the concession stands or you can go to local restaurant beforehand and grab a bite to eat. Here’s a few

Bottega Louie - 700 S Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Italian food

Wurskuche - 800 E 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Great hotdogs and beer

Pete’s Cafe - 400 S Main St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Meats, fish and pasta dishes.

Sugarfish - 600 W 7th St Ste 150 Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Sushi

Cole’s- 118 E 6th St Los Angeles, CA 90014 - Best French Dip around

(Pizza at Bottega Louie)

OTHER INFO

There are 2 ATM’s at Nokia, one outside, to the right of side the Main Entrance doors, and one inside, to the left of the concession stands on the south side of the Orchestra Lobby.

Apparently Ipad’s aren’t permitted. Really weird rule.

Usually doors open about an hour before the concert starts.

There is no smoking area inside.

VIP Tickets give you access to a private pre-party, private check-in area, and preferred parking.

Concession lines are abnormally long, but the lines are shorter on the higher levels (The Mezzanine and Loge sections) than at the Orchestra section. Be prepared to take the escalators back and forth.

Nokia Theatre has a page on their website for any random question you have about First Aid, Lost and Found, concessions and the like. Check it out here http://nokiatheatrelalive.com/guest-services/guest-services-a-z

That’s it for Nokia Theatre, come back next week and check out our next upcoming venue. If you have any info from your experiences at Nokia Theatre, give me some comments.

Later

Venumaster

Staples Center Part 3

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:41:31 -0700

What’s up everyone, Venumaster here to tell you all about concerts at Staples Center. There are LOADS of big name artists who play here. Staples Center is obviously a large indoor venue, so some people automatically think “Concert + large indoor venue = bad sound quality and bad view”. If that’s you, stay with me here and maybe by the end of this blog I’ll convince you otherwise.

SEATING

Yes, indoor venues don’t sound quite like an outdoor, or semi-outdoor venue, but they still can be good, and Staples Center is a good example of that.When it comes to sound quality some of it has to do with the artists and their sound crew, equipment etc. Some of it has to do with where you are seated. Nosebleeds will offer the worst view and sound quality, while seats closer to the stage will be considerably better in both departments.

Best Seats

This one is debatable. Some say it’s standing room floor seats because they want to be as close to the stage as possible. Others say they don’t want to be rubbing bodies with sweaty screaming people for multiple hours, no matter how close to the stage they are. A safe bet would be Floor seats (non standing room), or level 100 seats. They will give you a great view of the artist you are going to see, while staying somewhat comfortable. The sound quality from either of these is also great.

Worst Seats

Worst seats are the nosebleeds. They have the worst view and the worst sound. For NBA or NHL games they aren’t that bad if you’re just wanting to spend a cheap night out watching the game, because for sporting events you go to WATCH the game. At Staples Center, although people look small on the court/ice, you can still see the action well. When it comes to a concert you go not only for the experience and the visuals, but obviously for the SOUND. That’s what’s lacking in the nosebleeds and why they’d be my last choice for seats at a concert.

PARKING

Staples Center actually has a lot of parking info on their website, check it out here http://staplescenter.com/parking/parking-overview

You might be better off parking in a non-Staples Center lot. There are a bunch of lots that are close (just about anywhere along Flower and Hope) that are much cheaper. Some non-Staples Center lots can be shady though, I’m not sure I’d park there if I was driving a Benz or an Audi.

You can also take the Metro to the game which may be the best option. Here’s a site that has Metro info

http://staplescenter.com/parking/public-transportation

TAILGATING

Tailgating isn’t allowed at the Staples Center.

FOOD

If you’re looking for 5 star cuisine you definitely won’t find it here. They serve your typical overpriced, underwhelmingly average game food at their food stands. They also have a McDonalds and a California Pizza Kitchen (not a bad choice) if you want to get food there. If you’re really hungry there are a bunch of restaurants pretty close to Staples Center that are good. Here’s a few

Bottega Louie - 700 S Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Italian food

Wurskuche - 800 E 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Great hotdogs and beer

Pete’s Cafe - 400 S Main St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Meats, fish and pasta dishes.

Sugarfish - 600 W 7th St Ste 150 Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Sushi

Cole’s- 118 E 6th St Los Angeles, CA 90014 - Best French Dip around

OTHER INFO

Besides seating and sound, there isn’t much difference from a sports game when it comes to the venue. You still have the same snacks, food, stores and such. There are a few things to keep in mind though.

Sometimes the concert doesn’t start on time. Shows have been known to run up to 2 hours late. Don’t be surprised if your 7:00 PM show ends up finishing at 12:00
It’s a really big indoor venue for concerts but usually gets pretty packed out so expect some shoulder to shoulder standing/seating.
Artists generally put on a great show there. Some artists do crazy junk, like have a prop fall from the ceiling that they’ll hop on and sing a song from.

That’s it for the Staples Center! Next week we’ll look at one of Staples Center’s neighbors, Nokia Theatre. If you have any info from your concert going experiences at Staples Center, hit me up with some comments.

Later

Venumaster

Staples Center Part 2

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:32:00 -0700

Here we go for Part 2 of the Staples Center, home of the Stanley Cup champion, Los Angeles Kings!! If you’re going to the Staples Center for a Kings game, prepare yourself for some action, fun, and purple and black… everywhere. Let’s check out what the Staples Center offers at Kings games.

SEATING

Best Seats

The best seats in the stadium are debatable. Some say they’re the Premier Seats, some say they’re the Ice Box seats. Let me give you the info on both, and I’ll tell you which I think are better.

Ice Box Seats - The Ice box is the area of seats right next to the benches, making them the closest seats to the action. With them you get acces to the Wachovia Chairmans room (a fancy, VIP only lounge area located on the bottom floor), the American Express Arena Club (a special area that you can go to, to grab a nice bite to eat), and 2 parking passes. You’re treated like a King.
Premier Seats - Premier seats are seats that are in the 200 Section. They are great seats with a great view. Instead of having to go get food at concessions stands, you have waiters that get you food. You get a VIP entrance, VIP escalators, VIP parking, and VIP bathrooms.

Although both seats are great, if you have a choice between the two, grab the Ice Box seats. They’re closest to the action, the amenities are slightly better, and the atmosphere is better.

Worst Seats

There actually aren’t any bad seats at a Kings game. Some people don’t like seats in Section 100 directly behind the net because you can’t see the action on the other side of the ice as well, but they definitely aren’t bad seats.

PARKING

Staples Center actually has a lot of parking info on their website, check it out here http://staplescenter.com/parking/parking-overview

You can also take the Metro to the game which may be the best option. Here’s a site that has Metro info

http://staplescenter.com/parking/public-transportation

TAILGATING

Tailgating isn’t allowed at the Staples Center.

FOOD

Bottega Louie - 700 S Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Italian food

Wurskuche - 800 E 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Great hotdogs and beer

Pete’s Cafe - 400 S Main St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Meats, fish and pasta dishes.

Sugarfish - 600 W 7th St Ste 150 Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Sushi

Cole’s- 118 E 6th St Los Angeles, CA 90014 - Best French Dip around

OTHER INFO

This one should be obvious but apparently it’s not… BRING A HOODIE OR JACKET!! I mean, it’s not like the Arctic, but seriously, some people complain and say things like “why does it have to be so freeeeezing in here” while they’re wearing a t-shirt and shorts. You’re in an ice rink, bring a jacket.
There’s a Wayne Gretzky statue outside of the arena at the Star Plaza that you stand next to and take pictures with.
The Jumbotron is excellent. You can see it well especially from the upper levels.
You can’t walk out the building and back in, once you are in, you’re in.
The bathrooms are very clean and well kept.
Employee’s are very friendly and helpful, especially when you’re looking for your seat

That’s it for part 2 of our Staples Center series. Check back next week concert goers for our Staples Center concert info. Any other tid bits of info you have can be placed in the comments section.

Later

Venumaster

Staples Center Part 1

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:38:00 -0700

What’s good everyone, this is Wembli’s Venumaster here to give you the scoop on the Staples Center, home of the Lakers, Clippers, and Kings (hockey). Since the Staples Center is so versatile we’ll be doing three parts, one for basketball, one for hockey, and one for concerts. This week it’s all about basketball, let’s check out how Staples Center fares.

SEATING

Ticket prices vary so much here. Some tickets are as low as $20, some are as high as $10,000. I went to Staples Center last year to see the Heat play the Clippers. Me and a couple of friends got some very last minute, cheap tickets up in the 300 section. Although the seats weren’t great, and Lebron looked small from where I was, the atmosphere was electric and it was a great experience. Section 200 offers solid seating. It’s a good view at a decent price. Section 100 offers the best view, but you better be willing to pay the extra cash. I have a friend who’s a season ticket holder in Section 110 and the view is unreal. Next time I go I’ll probably grab a ticket in one of the lower levels.

Best seats

The absolute best seats at the game are obviously floor seats, but unless you’re Jack Nicholson you probably can’t afford them. The next best seats are Sections 111, 101, 106, and 107, closest to the court. They’re pretty pricey, but if you’re willing to pay up, the experience is second to none. They’re so close to the action that you can sometimes hear the players trash talking each other.

Worst seats

The worst seats are gonna be the Section 300 corners that are highest up. The upper seating in Sections like 304, 305, 306 will give you the worst view. Players that are 6’9 look like they’re 5’9 from up there. The experience is still really cool, the atmosphere is still electric, but it doesn’t even sniff what the 100 Section will give you.

Premier seats

If you get Premier seating you get VIP seating, VIP entrance, VIP parking and a VIP escalator. Basically you get treated like royalty. The food is better there, you have waiters instead of waiting in line, the bathrooms are better, and the overall service is just better. The view is great, and compared to everyone else, you get pampered like you’re Richy Rich.

The view from Premier 5

PARKING

Staples Center actually has a lot of parking info on their website, check it out here http://staplescenter.com/parking/parking-overview

You can also take the Metro to the game which may be the best option. Here’s a site that has Metro info

http://staplescenter.com/parking/public-transportation

TAILGATING

Tailgating isn’t allowed at the Staples Center.

FOOD

Bottega Louie - 700 S Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Italian food

Wurskuche - 800 E 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Great hotdogs and beer

Pete’s Cafe - 400 S Main St Los Angeles, CA 90013 - Meats, fish and pasta dishes.

Sugarfish - 600 W 7th St Ste 150 Los Angeles, CA 90017 - Sushi

Cole’s - 118 E 6th St Los Angeles, CA 90014 - Best French Dip around

OTHER INFO

On the ground level of the stadium there is the Verizon Studio (free photos), the Sports Museum at Staples Center, Art of the Game Sports Art and Memorabilia Gallery, and an auction stand where you can bid on your favorite sports memorabilia.
The atmosphere is amazing. Usually you’ll see multiple famous actors, singers and the like at the game, most notably Jack Nicholson (if you’re at a Lakers game). The camera man will focus in on them once or twice a game and they’ll smile or wave. It’s pretty cool.
They sell bottomless popcorn and soda. All you have to do is show them your receipt.
The Jumbotron is excellent. You can see it well especially from the upper levels.
You can’t walk out the building and back in, once you are in, you’re in.
The bathrooms are very clean and well kept.
Employee’s are very friendly and helpful, especially when you’re looking for your seat.

That’s it for Part 1 of Staples Center. If you have any comments or extra tips, hit me up with some comments. Come back next week for Part 2, when we’ll be looking at what its like to go to a hockey game at the Staples Center.

Petco Park

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:01:29 -0700

Waddup everyone this is Josh, the Venumaster, here to give you the scoop on Petco Park, the home of the Padres. Petco was built in 2004 making it one of baseball’s newest stadiums. Let’s check out all the 42,691 capacity stadium has to offer.

SEATING

Just like any other stadium, you get what you pay for. Don’t expect your $12 dollar seat to be as good as a $50 dollar one. The cool thing about Petco however, is that there really aren’t any terrible seats.

Best seats

The absolute best seats at Petco Park are Section 102, Row 15, Seats 1 and 2. They’re right behind home plate, and they’re high enough up to see the entire field but close enough to hear managers yell at umpires after a bad call.

Worst seats

There honestly aren’t any bad seats at this stadium other than a few obstructed view seats. It almost feels like “good, better, best” when it comes to seats at Petco, not “bad, good, best”. However there are a couple of obstructed view areas that you should be aware of. sections 328, 326, 324, 322, and 320 (except the first 6 rows) have an obstructed view of right field. Sections 327, 325, 323, 321, and 319 (except the first 6 rows) have an obstructed view of left field.

Family seats

If you’re a parent and you want to take your family to the game get tickets to “Park at the Park”. Basically it’s a big field they created right outside the outfield wall. It’s legit. When games are being played, usually there’s a bunch of kids throwing around the baseball trying to emulate their favorite players. They actually made a small little league sized ball park here for them to play in. You can grab these tickets at the game for $5 (SWEEEEET deal). Lot’s of families pack some food with them and some blankets and watch the game out there.

If you check this pic out you’ll see that the Park at the Park is that grassy area behind the outfield. Pretty cool, cheap, family friendly place to bring your family.

Beach Seats

The last type of special seats are “beach seats”. Since San Diego is like the ultimate beach city, they decided to bring some of the beach to the game. They did it by making an area at the bottom of the bleachers section filled with sand. It’s also a pretty cool place for kids to hang and watch the game and bleacher tickets are always cheap.

PARKING

Here’s a map highlighting the places to park around the stadium http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/ballpark/transportation/index.jsp?content=downtownmap
Parking depends highly on how many tickets were sold. If it’s a low selling game, chances are you’ll find a real good spot to park in at one of the nearby parking lots. If the game is sold out… good luck!! You can also take the trolley to downtown and walk a couple blocks to the park. If you do, I’d park at either Old Town trolley station or Linda Vista trolley station (they’re both free parking) and take the trolley to the game and back. Walking directions from the Gaslamp trolley station - walk up 5th Ave towards K Street, take a right on K Street and follow that to the park.

TAILGATING

Tailgating at Petco isn’t nearly the party it was when the Padres played at Qualcomm, but it’ll suffice. Here’s a website for all the info/rules on tailgating http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/ballpark/transportation/index.jsp?content=tailgating

OTHER INFO

Petco Park is a great place for food surprisingly. I’m not talking about ballpark food (hotdogs, nacho’s, brats.. etc), I’m talking about legit “I would actually eat this stuff because it’s good” food. A couple notable places are Hodad’s burger place, and Randy Jones BBQ (signature Padre’s game food). Also, it’s funny that cheap beer ie: Bud Light, Budweiser, is $9.75 but premium beer like Ballast Point, Kona, Widmer, are $10. Just a little curious to me.
There’s a awesome spot to catch homerun balls that nobody really knows about (or if they do, they’re dumb and don’t take advantage of it). If you go behind the Padre’s team store, on the bottom floor of the Western Metal building take a left and go out into this small outdoor area. It’s still fair ball area so any ball hit out there should be a homer.
The Padres made Petco Park very family friendly. From the special areas for families to the wicked friendly employee’s this is one of those places that you can take your kids and don’t have to worry about wrapping them in bubble wrap and putting earplugs in their ears.
If you’re going to a Sunday game, you should check out “Breakfast at the Park”. You get to eat breakfast on the playing field before game time. Usually players are warming up on the field, and someone from the Padres usually comes over and eats with you (sometimes it’s a coach, sometimes it’s a player, sometimes it’s a mascot, sometimes it’s the CEO). It’s an awesome experience. It opens at 10:30 AM on a first come first serve basis. Also on Sunday, you have the opportunity to get a signed autograph from some players. It’s the first 8,000 kids 14 and under get a signed item from the players.
Gates open one and a half hours before the game
If your child is under 36 inches, they get in free! The only caveat is they have to sit on your lap all game.
After every homerun there’s fireworks that shoot off in the stadium, although it doesn’t happen very often ‘cause Petco Park is the most pitcher friendly park in all of baseball (for every 1 homerun hit at other parks, there’s .721 hit at Petco).

That’s the lowdown on Petco Park. Like I’ve said before, if you have any more tid bits from your personal experiences at Petco, hit me up with some comments and I’ll be sure to add them. Next week we’ll be checking out LA’s hottest venues starting with Staples Center!

Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:39:54 -0700

Waddup ya’ll this is Josh the Venumaster here to give you the scoop on Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre. This place is San Diego’s biggest, baddest concert venue so let’s check out what it has to offer.

SEATING

The best seats in the house are ones closest to the stage. Sections 101, 102, and 103 are up close and personal seats that almost make you feel like you’re kickin’ it with your favorite band… almost.
The worst tickets are probably lawn tickets. They aren’t really THAT bad; you can bring a towel, blanket, and/or folding chair and still watch the show comfortably, but if you’re used to having really good seats you’ll feel like you’re watching the show from San Fran. If you didn’t bring a chair you can always rent one for $5. Sometimes you can’t see what’s happening on the stage really well, so they have a couple of very big tv’s that show what’s going on, but it sucks that you’d have look on to the tv when you’re at the show.
If you’re in the pit (standing area at the very front for those who have no idea what that is) KEEP YOUR WRISTBAND AND TICKET. If you want to leave the pit for a bit to grab a drink or some food you’ll need your wristband and ticket to get back in!!!

PARKING

Parking and exiting is generally proportional to the fame of the band or artist. If it’s a band like One Direction, parking and exiting will be a nightmare because the venue will probably be packed to its 20,000 person capacity with screaming preteen girls. It could take you up to an hour-and-a-half to park, and two to leave. If you’re going there to see your favorite hipster band (that obviously nobody else knows about… that’s why they’re hipster) you’ll probably be in and out in less than 30 minutes.
There are 3 types of parking for this venue.

The first one is VIP parking which costs $20. I wouldn’t pay for it. It doesn’t make that much of a difference when it comes to gettin’ there and gettin’ out.
The second is a FREE parking area. Soak City is literally right across the street and if it is closed, you’re usually allowed to park there too which opens up traffic for free parking.
The third option is getting a taxi or something to that effect. If you live in San Diego or are staying in a local hotel, you can get a ride to Cricket from UBER (check them out at https://www.uber.com/). It’s especially cool if you’re going with a few friends, cause you can all grab a ride there and back, split the cost, and not have to wait a ridiculously long time to grab a parking spot and leave. Before you do it though, go to Google and search “Uber car service promo codes” or “Uber car service coupon codes”. You’re likely to find a deal that will make your trip cheaper.

FOOD/DRINKS

There really isn’t that “one spot” that serves the best food. There’s a few vendors who sell typical concert eats. Just prepare yourself to pay $10-12 for a beer, $8-12 for a burger, and $6 for fries. If you’re hungry before the concert, take a little detour to Tacos El Gordo in Chula Vista beforehand and grab some Adobada taco’s (689 H St Chula Vista, CA 91910. Trust me, they will change your life).

DIRECTIONS

If you’re North of Chula Vista
Take the 805 South to Auto Park Drive/Main Street, turn left onto Auto Park Drive, then stay on Auto Park Drive to the entrance of the Amphitheatre

If you’re South of Chula Vista
Take the 805 North to Auto Park Drive/Main Street, turn right onto Auto Park Drive, then stay on Auto Park Drive to the entrance of the Amphitheatre.

OTHER INFO

This place isn’t what I would call “kid friendly”. It isn’t a place I would take my 9 year old to see John Mayer (it’s not uncommon for people to be pretty wasted or puffin on some weed). Kids 2 and under get in for free.
If you are disabled, don’t worry, Cricket is wheelchair accessible.
Shows generally aren’t cancelled. They usually go on, rain or shine.
Gates open about an hour before the concert, sometimes a little more than an hour depending on who’s playing. Parking opens an hour before the gates open.
Bathrooms are pretty decent considering it’s a concert venue. It’s not like a luxury bathroom but it’s waaaay better than a fly infested, “I need to take a gas mask with me if I want to survive”, porta potty.
The venue shut’s down at 11:00pm.
Last but not least, there’s a bunch of stuff you can and can’t bring to the concert, like an umbrella (what the heck am I gonna do with an umbrella that would cause them to not let me bring it in?). For the full list, check out http://cricketwirelessamp.com/about/policies_faqs

This venue generally has solid sound for it being outdoors, really cool lighting, and a fun atmosphere. If you’re really concerned about parking, food, or ease of location this place might not be for you. All in all, Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre is a pretty cool spot.

That’s all things Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre. Hit me up with some comments if you have any info from your experiences at Cricket. Next up, Petco Park.

Later -

The Venumaster

Qualcomm Stadium

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:09:00 -0700

What’s up everyone this is Josh, fellow WEMBlizen and new VenuMaster! I’m here to give you the inside scoop on all things venue’s starting with Qualcomm Stadium, located sunny San Diego, California.

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SEATING

Compared to other NFL Stadiums Qualcomm’s capacity is about 71,000, a little above average. With 71,000 seats, there are some real good seats, some real crappy seats, and a bunch of decent seats. Just a side note, San Diego is usually sunny about 300 days a year and can get pretty hot. If you’re going to an afternoon game and don’t want to sit in the sun, grab a seat on the South side of the stadium ‘cause it’s usually more shady.

Good seats - Seats in Plaza level that aren’t obstructed are a safe bet. You can see the field well because you’re not too far away, but not close enough to the field that the players on the sidelines are blocking your view.

Best seats - Any seat that is in Field Level section 14-19. They’re right behind the endzone.

Worst seats - Obviously nosebleed seats are the worst, because they’re farthest away from the action, but the rows closest to the field in Field Level section 1-10 are pretty lame too. You’d think that seats closest to the field would be best right? Not this time. The view from these seats is sometimes blocked by players, speakers, and the like (unless you’re like 6’6).

Family seats - There’s a section of the stadium designated just for families! So if you’re a dad or mom that wants to bring your kid to the game, but doesn’t want to have him around a bunch of hooligans or craziness, hit up View Level Sections 54-58, Rows 5-26. There’s no abusive language or alcohol allowed in that area.

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PARKING

Parking and traffic can be really hectic before a game! It could take you up to 2 hours to get into the stadium and parked from the freeway. If you’re not tailgating, the smart bet is to take the trolley from the Old Town or Linda Vista trolley station. It’s $5 (a lot cheaper than parking at the stadium) and you don’t have to worry about actually parking. If you do plan on parking however, you’re gonna have to pony up $25 for a spot.

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TAILGATING/FOOD

Tailgating - Tailgating at Qualcomm is AWESOME. The weather is generally great, so you can bring your flip flops, t-shirt, shorts, your beer and your meat and set up shop. There’s no glass allowed though so remember not to bring all of your supplies in mason jars. There’s also a tailgate party called The Bud Light Chargers Power Party Tailgate located in section F2 parking which is legit. You can get beer there cheaper than you can in the stadium.

Beer - The price of beer at the stadium is $9:00 for 20oz domestic beer, and $11, 16oz for premium beer. You can also go to the Bud Light Chargers Power Party Tailgate and get a $6, 16oz domestic beer.

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OTHER INFO

If you only brought your card with you, there are ATM’s at

-Field Level near Section 19
-Plaza Level near Gate F
-Club Level near Sections 15 and 27
-View Level near Section 20

Water fountains are near every bathroom.

Lost & Found is located at the Guest Services office, located on the Plaza Level between Gates F and G.

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That’s the goods on Qualcomm. If you have any other tidbits to add - go ahead and post ‘em here. Make sure to stop by every Tuesday for new venue info. Next up is Cricket Wireless Amphitheater!

Later -

The VenueMaster

Venue Information from our VenueMaster

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:40:00 -0700

Hi fellow WEMblizens!

This week you’ll be hearing from a new member of our team. His name is Josh and we’ve dubbed him the VenueMaster. Some of you might be thinking “what the heck is THAT?”. Well, the role of the VenueMaster is to give you the inside scoop on live event venues across America so you can make the best choices for your outing.

You’ll be in-the-know on things like: best places to park, where to sit if you want to be close to premium beer, where to sit if you brought your family and don’t want to deal with any shenanigans, tailgating, best & worst seats in the house, insider info like stadium perks and more!

We’re excited to welcome our first VenueMaster, Josh to the WEMbli family (the crowd roars!). Please welcome him and let him know what kind of venue information you would find most valuable.

Happy Outings!

Private Beta, Baby!

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 17:52:27 -0700

Ok so here’s the scoop on WEMbli:

We just started our private beta this week and are excited to be getting valuable feedback. It’s far from what we envision our final product will be - but we’re proud of how far we’ve come and willing to let some choice people in to organize their live event outings - one of those people could be YOU! All you have to do is go to www.wembli.com and sign up for our beta.

If you’re in the SoCal area - shoot me a note to invite@wembli.com and we’ll get you a front of the line pass like a true VIP ;)

Here’s how WEMbli makes planning your outing a breeze:

Search for an event (Dave Matthews? Lakers? Wicked? Oh my!)
Decide if you want to split the bill or pay for the whole enchilada yourself
Invite friends along using Facebook or email
Add a few different seating options to your plan for your friends to vote on. (Don’t worry – you can always over-ride their choices – there have to be SOME perks to being the organizer)
Now that you have a plan you can send out the invite with RSVP
On the RSVP date you’ll close the voting and send a link for friends to pony up for their part of the bill
With the money collected you’ll pay for the tickets you chose
Show up to your event footloose and hassle free

Cheers!

Paying for it

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:02:17 -0700

When I decided to jump head-first into being a co-founder of a tech start up I thought “This is gonna be a great adventure!” It wasn’t my first time as an entrepreneur, so I figured it couldn’t be THAT different than what I’d done before. HA!! In future posts I’ll take you back to the start of our journey, but for today I’ll focus on an important Paypal lesson learned this week (and the feedback we got from an adviser): “Always double any estimate they give you and plan on a month for any go-live + testing. APIs have hiccups….”

For those of you who don’t know, we were planning to launch our controlled Beta this past week. The only thing left to do before launch was to change over our Paypal integration from the sandbox to the live environment. Sounds easy, right? Not so much.

I was originally told that there was a 48-72-hour turnaround to get our live app ID, so on 5/21 we submitted the required form, feeling confident that all would be well. When I called and followed up with Paypal three days later, the less than enthusiastic support person said our application hadn’t even been viewed yet and that it could take up to two weeks from the day we submitted the form. I asked if they could expedite the request since we were waiting on that one app to go live. No dice. Mr Monotone stuck to his guns: “No ma’am, your request will be processed in the order it was received.” I thanked him and promised that I’d be calling the next day and every day after until we got the help we needed. J

After hanging up, the realization that we weren’t going to make our go live deadline hit me like a brick. I dreaded having to tell our beta testers and mentors that there was a last minute delay. I felt like an idiot.

After a few hours (and a pep talk from another mentor and friend), I sent out a heads-up to our advisers letting them know that we’d hit a snag. One response that literally made me LOL and breathe a sigh of relief was from an experienced entrepreneur and VC (you know who you are - and thank you!):

“F Paypal! Thx for the heads up. Minor bump in the road…better now than when you have a million users.” (Name has been withheld to protect the innocent.)

As I write, I’m smiling because not only did Paypal contact us on day number two of my phone vigil, but I also learned three valuable lessons this week:

APIs have hiccups. Always double any estimates Paypal (or any other API provider) gives you and plan on a month for any go-live + testing.
When you choose to be transparent – good things happen. Don’t let your pride keep you from reaching out for help. I was blown away by the support we received. In fact, one of our amazing advisors made his staff available to test WEMbli next week! We would never have gotten that unexpected help if I had cowered silently in my office cursing Paypal :)
This one is really more of a reminder than a lesson but … BE PERSISTENT! Knock and keep knocking (or in my case, call and keep calling). After only two calls we were contacted by Paypal and are in the process of getting our live app ID. I’ll let you know how that goes but it’s great to be moving ahead!

Keeping it real,

Kim