Hawks game

[Jdawgflow]

My family and I may be able to go to the game from out of town tomorrow night.  Any quick advice on 200 level views and best parking for family with preK and elementary age kids?

[Jdawgflow]

2 hours ago, Jdawgflow said:

My family and I may be able to go to the game from out of town tomorrow night.  Any quick advice on 200 level views and best parking for family with preK and elementary age kids?

Bump.

I am really hoping to get some insight tonight or early morning if possible.

Thank you in advance squawk family.

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, Jdawgflow said:

My family and I may be able to go to the game from out of town tomorrow night.  Any quick advice on 200 level views and best parking for family with preK and elementary age kids?

I haven't sat in the 200 section since the arena makeover, they were horrible before (especiallyfrom the middle to top). But if I remember correctly, I think they fixed it.

With preK and elementary kids and cold temps. there is parking directly across the street from The Farm (yellow).  Before I started taking Marta which takes you right to one of the gates I parked in the lot across from Centennial Park (purple) just down the street from the Arena.

Get there early, police close some streets close to game time.

 

[Jdawgflow]

1 minute ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I haven't sat in the 200 section since the arena makeover, they were horrible before (especiallyfrom the middle to top). But if I remember correctly, I think they fixed it.

With preK and elementary kids and cold temps. there is parking directly across the street from The Farm (yellow).  Before I started taking Marta which takes you right to one of the gates I parked in the lot across from Centennial Park (purple) just down the street from the Arena.

Get there early, police close some streets close to game time.

 

Thanks Jay.  I have parked near College sports hall of fame before when with only adults.  This will be my clans first ever Hawks game.  Ended up getting some upper level seats fairly close to half court.  Hopefully we make it about an hour before game time as we have a bit of a drive and I have work before.  I will check out these lots!

[JayBirdHawk]

1 minute ago, Jdawgflow said:

Thanks Jay.  I have parked near College sports hall of fame before when with only adults.  This will be my clans first ever Hawks game.  Ended up getting some upper level seats fairly close to half court.  Hopefully we make it about an hour before game time as we have a bit of a drive and I have work before.  I will check out these lots!

I think gates open an hour before tipoff, so that's good. Which direction are you coming from?

Visit the HawkShop and get something for the kiddos and GO HAWKS!!!

[Jdawgflow]

6 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I think gates open an hour before tipoff, so that's good. Which direction are you coming from?

Visit the HawkShop and get something for the kiddos and GO HAWKS!!!

Coming from the north side.  Been a few years since my last game in person.  I think my last game was the final win of our big win streak about 5 years ago.  Kids have already started making requests about gear!

I am personally hoping to find a MLK stained glass Pac-Man Tshirt.  I cannot find one online and they were always sold out last year.

[macdaddy]

13 hours ago, Jdawgflow said:

Thanks Jay.  I have parked near College sports hall of fame before when with only adults.  This will be my clans first ever Hawks game.  Ended up getting some upper level seats fairly close to half court.  Hopefully we make it about an hour before game time as we have a bit of a drive and I have work before.  I will check out these lots!

I'm sorry i'm just now seeing this but might be for the best as i have lot of opinions on the place that might or might not be helpful.   For Parking though i often park in one of those lots near the ferris wheel and walk up.  a little easier to get out of than the decks.

- 200 level is the upper level as you know.  Used to be the 300 level

- They removed about 8-10 rows of the upper level which really needed to be done but what used to be upper level Row H is now Row A. (or something like that)

- Great job getting near half court in the upper level.  when you get near the corners and ends it kind of feels like not really being there.

- Not sure which side you are on but i'm not a big fan of the 'new' upper level where the luxury suites used to be.  It seems a little higher but honestly it's probably not that much different.

- I don't really like Row A of the upper level because of the look through the glass thing and your knees are crammed against the wall in some places.   It's not that bad but i'm super picky.  I much prefer row B

- I don't know if they are doing it this year but Verizon used to have a place in the upper corner and if you have a verizon phone plan you can go in there and get free candy and snacks.   It's great if you have kids especially.   If they are still doing it you can see it from the seats.  

Too late i know but thought i'd post anyway for future reference and see if anyone has different views on it.

[Jdawgflow]

1 hour ago, macdaddy said:

I'm sorry i'm just now seeing this but might be for the best as i have lot of opinions on the place that might or might not be helpful.   For Parking though i often park in one of those lots near the ferris wheel and walk up.  a little easier to get out of than the decks.

- 200 level is the upper level as you know.  Used to be the 300 level

- They removed about 8-10 rows of the upper level which really needed to be done but what used to be upper level Row H is now Row A. (or something like that)

- Great job getting near half court in the upper level.  when you get near the corners and ends it kind of feels like not really being there.

- Not sure which side you are on but i'm not a big fan of the 'new' upper level where the luxury suites used to be.  It seems a little higher but honestly it's probably not that much different.

- I don't really like Row A of the upper level because of the look through the glass thing and your knees are crammed against the wall in some places.   It's not that bad but i'm super picky.  I much prefer row B

- I don't know if they are doing it this year but Verizon used to have a place in the upper corner and if you have a verizon phone plan you can go in there and get free candy and snacks.   It's great if you have kids especially.   If they are still doing it you can see it from the seats.  

Too late i know but thought i'd post anyway for future reference and see if anyone has different views on it.

Thanks for this!  The Verizon thing could be a boon for us as the kids are already asking about snacks (actually those were their first words this morning when woken up).  

I believe we are on the same side opposite most of the suites.  I would prefer to have done lower level seats but before spending bigger money wanted to get a feel for how they would do with the noise.  We have done 400 level Braves seats before and they seemed to like it.

I really appreciate the insight.  I will try and post a summary of our visit tomorrow if I get some down time.

[shakes]

17 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

With preK and elementary kids and cold temps. there is parking directly across the street from The Farm (yellow).  Before I started taking Marta which takes you right to one of the gates I parked in the lot across from Centennial Park (purple) just down the street from the Arena.

 

cold temps?   GTFO with that nonsense.    

It's 34 degrees here in Chicago today and I'm not wearing a coat cause it feels like summer.

[macdaddy]

1 hour ago, Jdawgflow said:

Thanks for this!  The Verizon thing could be a boon for us as the kids are already asking about snacks (actually those were their first words this morning when woken up).  

I believe we are on the same side opposite most of the suites.  I would prefer to have done lower level seats but before spending bigger money wanted to get a feel for how they would do with the noise.  We have done 400 level Braves seats before and they seemed to like it.

I really appreciate the insight.  I will try and post a summary of our visit tomorrow if I get some down time.

i looked for the verizon club online but couldn't find it but i hope it's still going.   I did see this (although the $5 beer can be hard to find....a friend told me)

An NBA-first, fan-friendly pricing is featured throughout all events hosted at State Farm Arena. Discounted options include:

• $1 Chips
• $2 Candy, Jumbo Pretzel, Bottled Water
• $3 Fries, Hot Dog, Nachos, Bottled Soda
• $4 Pizza Slice, Bottomless Popcorn, Bottomless Soda
• $5 Beer

 

 

 

[Sothron]

When Mrs. Sothron and I went to the Twolves game a couple weeks ago we parked in the lot directly across from the arena. Highly recommend. Since you have small kids you literally just have to leave that parking lot cross through the cross walk and you are right in front of the arena. 

[Spud2nique]

19 minutes ago, shakes said:

cold temps?   GTFO with that nonsense.    

It's 34 degrees here in Chicago today and I'm not wearing a coat cause it feels like summer.

Brrrr here too, only 62 degrees. 

[Sothron]

2 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Brrrr here too, only 62 degrees. 

Don't make me hate you.

[Spud2nique]

3 minutes ago, Sothron said:

Don't make me hate you.

Hey, I don’t climate control in Cali, that’s an act of God. 

[Dnice]

Wrong post.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Dnice

[macdaddy]

@Jdawgflow how'd it go?  Bummer to lose but it was a good game. 

[Jdawgflow]

Sorry for the delayed update.  Busy work day.

 

So the trip started with us leaving late because work ran over (hard for me to say no to sick patients in need…my wife just kind of expects to add 30 minutes to whatever time I tell her this time of year even if in my mind I am going to be on time) but we still made it to our seats about 20 minutes before tip off.

Kids did great on the ride down.  We made it through the entire Encanto soundtrack (more than once).

Ended up parking in the green deck for $20 and it was not busy.  Easy walk to the front gate with fast security and ticket swipe.  Staff was kind and helpful.

Food was not the best quality on the 200 level but was sufficient and thankfully cheaper than I was expecting.  Got snacks and waters for everyone for like $25 total.

Crowd at the start was a bit sparse but quickly filled in.  By the 4th quarter the place was relatively full and got pretty loud.

We were in 224 which ended up pretty good seats although a bit farther from the action than I would have liked (but the price was right for my kids first game).

Speaking of the kids, they had a great time.  My oldest was studying the game and stats on the big screen closely.  My middle one followed along with all of the chants (and was screaming like a wild banshee by the 4th quarter).  The youngest was watching intently for most of the game and then sat in mom’s lap for the last portion of the game but still gave some good “let’s go Hawks” (which ended up getting him a Tshirt in the 4th quarter - I thought this was a nice touch that they sent team members with shirts to the upper deck patrons).  

My wife spent most of her time watching the kid’s faces as they enjoyed the game.  Overall, we determined that this was a great first game experience and the kids have made it clear that they want to go again.  My favorite part was when my middle one was screaming at the top of her lungs toward the end of the game and my wife exclaimed “you have created a monster”!  I was so proud.  

Some thoughts about the game itself:

We gave up too many 3 pointers.  Some they just made contested, others we did not defend well.

Gary Trent Jr was just silly.  

Siakam is really good.  I would trade JC for him.  He is a very creative scorer and can dribble/drive.  Came away more impressed than I was expecting.

FVV was ok, not ASG starter worthy.  

No Trae was such a bummer.  The kids (and I) were sad he wasn’t playing.

No Trae meant no penetration.  We spent most of the night on the perimeter taking contested shots.

Our defensive rebounding was suspect.

OkongWow is the nickname I came away with.  His defense was spectacular in person and infectious to the rest of the team.

3rd quarter was terrible.

The terrible fouls the refs gave Toronto on obvious flops got the crowd very into it.  Even my kids (and wife who knows only a little about Basketball) were asking how that could be a foul on multiple occasions. Some were egregious to the point that the (lack of a) foul was played on loop on the big screen.

I really felt like I was watching a soccer match with all of the Toronto flopping.  They got us completely off our game because the refs seemed to buy it every time and our guys kept getting frustrated.

I was hoping we would pull it out toward the end but they kept making dagger 3s.  Credit to Toronto for good defense, a good game plan, and some impressive shooting from deep.

Final thoughts.

The near gear in the team shop does look better in person.  

I was unable to find a stained glass Pac-Man Tshirt which made me sad (if anyone knows where to find a XL I would pay a decent price).

On our way back to the car, the kids decided to pretend to be flopping Toronto players which got my wife and I (and a lot of otherwise sad Hawks fans) to start laughing.

We saw some people riding the streets of Downtown with flashlights and roller blades.  Kids thought that was cool but the wife and I were just waiting for someone to wipe out.

This is probably my longest ever post and I am now wondering why I did this on my phone.  

Thank you to those who shared info before the game.

[Spud2nique]

2 minutes ago, Jdawgflow said:

I was so proud.  

That’s awesome sounds like you got some future ballers on your hands. 

Sounds like a great time.

[JayBirdHawk]

26 minutes ago, Jdawgflow said:

 

My wife spent most of her time watching the kid’s faces as they enjoyed the game.  Overall, we determined that this was a great first game experience and the kids have made it clear that they want to go again.  My favorite part was when my middle one was screaming at the top of her lungs toward the end of the game and my wife exclaimed “you have created a monster”!  I was so proud.  

True Hawks Fans!!! 

[macdaddy]

16 hours ago, Jdawgflow said:

Sorry for the delayed update.  Busy work day.

 

So the trip started with us leaving late because work ran over (hard for me to say no to sick patients in need…my wife just kind of expects to add 30 minutes to whatever time I tell her this time of year even if in my mind I am going to be on time) but we still made it to our seats about 20 minutes before tip off.

Kids did great on the ride down.  We made it through the entire Encanto soundtrack (more than once).

Ended up parking in the green deck for $20 and it was not busy.  Easy walk to the front gate with fast security and ticket swipe.  Staff was kind and helpful.

Food was not the best quality on the 200 level but was sufficient and thankfully cheaper than I was expecting.  Got snacks and waters for everyone for like $25 total.

Crowd at the start was a bit sparse but quickly filled in.  By the 4th quarter the place was relatively full and got pretty loud.

We were in 224 which ended up pretty good seats although a bit farther from the action than I would have liked (but the price was right for my kids first game).

Speaking of the kids, they had a great time.  My oldest was studying the game and stats on the big screen closely.  My middle one followed along with all of the chants (and was screaming like a wild banshee by the 4th quarter).  The youngest was watching intently for most of the game and then sat in mom’s lap for the last portion of the game but still gave some good “let’s go Hawks” (which ended up getting him a Tshirt in the 4th quarter - I thought this was a nice touch that they sent team members with shirts to the upper deck patrons).  

My wife spent most of her time watching the kid’s faces as they enjoyed the game.  Overall, we determined that this was a great first game experience and the kids have made it clear that they want to go again.  My favorite part was when my middle one was screaming at the top of her lungs toward the end of the game and my wife exclaimed “you have created a monster”!  I was so proud.  

Some thoughts about the game itself:

We gave up too many 3 pointers.  Some they just made contested, others we did not defend well.

Gary Trent Jr was just silly.  

Siakam is really good.  I would trade JC for him.  He is a very creative scorer and can dribble/drive.  Came away more impressed than I was expecting.

FVV was ok, not ASG starter worthy.  

No Trae was such a bummer.  The kids (and I) were sad he wasn’t playing.

No Trae meant no penetration.  We spent most of the night on the perimeter taking contested shots.

Our defensive rebounding was suspect.

OkongWow is the nickname I came away with.  His defense was spectacular in person and infectious to the rest of the team.

3rd quarter was terrible.

The terrible fouls the refs gave Toronto on obvious flops got the crowd very into it.  Even my kids (and wife who knows only a little about Basketball) were asking how that could be a foul on multiple occasions. Some were egregious to the point that the (lack of a) foul was played on loop on the big screen.

I really felt like I was watching a soccer match with all of the Toronto flopping.  They got us completely off our game because the refs seemed to buy it every time and our guys kept getting frustrated.

I was hoping we would pull it out toward the end but they kept making dagger 3s.  Credit to Toronto for good defense, a good game plan, and some impressive shooting from deep.

Final thoughts.

The near gear in the team shop does look better in person.  

I was unable to find a stained glass Pac-Man Tshirt which made me sad (if anyone knows where to find a XL I would pay a decent price).

On our way back to the car, the kids decided to pretend to be flopping Toronto players which got my wife and I (and a lot of otherwise sad Hawks fans) to start laughing.

We saw some people riding the streets of Downtown with flashlights and roller blades.  Kids thought that was cool but the wife and I were just waiting for someone to wipe out.

This is probably my longest ever post and I am now wondering why I did this on my phone.  

Thank you to those who shared info before the game.

Thanks for sharing.   Great job with 3 kids.  Wow!   I feel ya with the seats.  You hit the nail on the head.  Upper level is just too far away and the concessions up there are meh.  And to get to better concessions takes too much time.  

But i've run into this with taking the kids too.   If i went with friends then i'll cough up bucks for a single lower level but when you are doing ticket price x4 or x5 then upper level is really the only option.  

The no Trae was a super bummer all the way around.