San Antonio’s AT&T Center was named the top NBA stadium experience for the second straight year, according to Stadium Journey Magazine.
Like the team that occupies the building, Paul Swaney of Stadium Journey lauds the stadium for its simplicity and no-frills experience. You go to a Spurs game to watch basketball. And some pretty good basketball you will be watching.
For the second consecutive season, the San Antonio Spurs take the top spot in terms of overall fan experience in the NBA. The Spurs are perhaps the most understated team in NBA history, having quietly won four championships since 1999 with Tim Duncan, the least controversial star the league has ever seen. Fortunately for fans, their arena is similar in many respects: clean, smartly designed, and doing things the right way. If there were a championship for best venue in the league, it would go to the AT&T Center.
The specific review of AT&T Center, written by Sean Macdonald, gives the stadium experience a 4.7 out of 5. Macdonald lauds the stadium’s food options, stadium atmosphere and knowledgeable fans. The Spurs have a winning organization all the way through, that much has been made clear.
That energy certainly is different than most teams. The general trend among NBA arenas and fans is to go to a more corporate crowd where the lower bowl in the regular season is there to be seen rather than to watch a basketball game. Maybe that is an unfair characterization.
It is certainly not the case in San Antonio though. Like their team, their fans and their arena are often overlooked.
So who clocked in with the worst fan experience?
That honor goes to the Kings’ Sleep Train Arena.
That is no surprise though. Sacramento is getting a new arena as the state of the former Arco Arena nearly had the team packing up and moving to Seattle. There just are not many modern amenities and Sacramento is not exactly a must-see destination.
Another stadium that is on its dying legs, the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, clocked in at No. 26. Surprisingly Chicago’s United Center came it at No. 29, although the rankings praise the classic Bulls intro that still induces goosebumps every time.
What are your favorite NBA arena stadium experiences?
