Florida Panthers Tampa reviews
Awful venue with rude staff
Avoid the BB&T Center for any event. You will be treated rudely by their surly and unhelpful staff. You are not permitted to take ANY bag into the venue, even if it conforms to their stated 1x1 on the ticket. I had my eye drops queried by the door person and was told I could not take them inside. I was also told to take money out of my wallet (about 1.5 inches square) so it could be examined. We were not allowed to take a cushion for a member of our party recovering from spinal surgery even though it was smaller than 1x1. These stupid rules kill the atmosphere at the hockey - no banners are allowed either. The food was overpriced, cold and disgusting- $15 for a burger. Having paid $840 to attend two events in a week, I wish I had not bothered.
Disappoinment/Club Level - Section 26, Row 8
I can easily accept the service fee, high price on parking and food, etc., as the Panthers are my team and understand the challenges in our local market for hockey. What I cannot accept - and will keep me from attending as many games this season as previously planned - was the crowd of people hovering constantly behind me on the club level.
I always sit in row eight - last row on the club level - so that the game can be watched without distractions. More and more, people linger behind you and don't go to their seats. Yelling over your back or rattling the row of seats has been commonplace, but during the Islanders game, they also put their food and drink on the arm rests of row eight. I missed Ryan Lomberg's winning goal as a beer was adjusted on the next arm rest from the fan, whose seat in period one was in row seven, now stood behind me. I had already moved five seats - from #5 to #10 - to try and avoid the assembling crowd.
Why don't they institute a rule where you're not allowed to stand within six feet of the last row from behind? Similar to a football sideline, the usher can very politely ask people to "get back a little" when stepping over the line.
Until this issue is addressed, I will be watching the Panthers on TV rather than in person.
More then just a hockey game
Going to a Panthers game can easily be a full evening out.
We always go quite early and park at Sawgrass, sometimes for supper or a drink there, and sometimes we walk over early to the arena, and are the first 100 or so people in, avoiding any rush.
Inside we sometimes have supper first, or sometimes between periods, but always grab a drink and just wander around the different levels, and watch the pre-game warmups. Between periods we wander where we didn’t get to before the game.
After the game we always go to the Patron Lounge outside. We grab a margarita and sometimes play table hockey. After about 45 minutes to an hour, all the crowds and cars are gone and we wander back to Sawgrass and head home.
Always a nice evening and the Panthers fans are a lot of fun and knowledgeable about the game.