and I probably can never watch another sporting event with regular tickets again.
Last Sunday a buddy of mine invited me to a Penguins game in his company’s corporate suite. Own private entrance, easy parking, great food and booze. It’s like sitting in a nice hotel room and watching the game on a balcony.
God only knows how much that costs and even though He knows, He still probably cannot afford it.
That’s definitely the way to watch a game. I’ll be glad to answer any questions and hope that I get to go back.
Many years ago, when my sister was a senior in pharmacy at KU, her class had an invitation to sit in Kaufman’s box at Royals Stadium. He was probably stroking all those future drug buyers, but hey, I would not have turned it down. She was impressed at how lavish everything was.
I worked for a company HQ in Atlanta and we had a corporate box at Turner Field for every home game. This was intended for use by our large clients. Very often (like 20+ times a year) the client would cancel and the suite would be made available for a department of peons like us. The catering and drinks package was prepaid and lavish. Sometimes had to buy an SRO ticket ($5) to get into the stadium because the tickets were already in the hands of the clients.
I found it amazing that it was so hard to give away box seats to a team that had won 7-8-9 consecutive division titles.
I’ve also been in the VIP box at Arrowhead Stadium and the Verizon Center. Those were considerable swankier than the ones at Turner.
Unfortunately this was all 20+ years ago. At my current employer the executives take up any of these opportunities that come by.
Some 20 years ago, the corporation I worked for in Denver invited us managers to see a Rockies game from their lounge box in Coors Field. We were too far away from home plate to have a good view, somewhere out in right-center field maybe about 375 feet away. There was a TV monitor with the cable broadcast of the game. There were also a couple of rows of outdoor seats just outside the lounge. I spent most of the game outside.
At our fire department someone donated some such tickets to us, which we then raffled off as a fundraiser. Before that I had no idea that these were anything besides some nice seats. Yes it had seats to watch the game but there is a entire area inside with full bar and food, large screen TV’s and comfortable furniture to watch the game inside. And yes private parking and entrance.
When I was a teenager in the mid 90’s, my dad told me he inquired about the cost of a box for Dolphin games. As I recall, he said that it required an annual fee (something like $50k) in addition to having to buy the game day tickets (which were also in the thousands of dollars).
Dad never bought any, but I did once get to sit in a box at a Tampa Bay Rays game when I was in college (friend’s dad invited him and and his friends). It is definitely the way to go.
We split the cost of a box for one Mariners’ game every year with another couple and each invite 8 friends (20 total). It’s a fun event, and a nice way to enjoy the game once in awhile. For pure baseball watching, I prefer good seats (front row upper deck or lower deck between the base lines). I’ve decided that unless I have really good seats, I’d rather watch on the big TV at home.
I went to a Sounders (MLS) game once in a suite, because my work was a major sponsor. It gave me a taste of what it must be like to be rich. One of the best experiences ever. Never-ending supply of delicious food and drink (alcoholic and non), super comfy chairs, awesome view.
As a partial season ticket holder for the Hurricanes I have been offered tickets in a suite for around $150 per ticket for concerts here in Raleigh. Haven’t bought any yet I might if there is a concert I really want to see. I have sat on the club level and that has a lot of perks but not as many as you get in a suite.
I’ve been lucky enough to regularly be in corporate box seats at two baseball and two football/soccer stadiums. There’s no better way to see a game…the only tiny, slightly nagging, very minor annoyance, is that you’re often there for a functional Purpose, and if you’re really intent on watching the game end-to-end that’s not always going to happen. You get a lot of casual watchers there, or even non-fans.
The parking pass/special lot may actually be the best part.
Never been to the corporate suite, proper, but was at the Governor’s box at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles baseball, for the unfamiliar) back when Martin O’Malley was in office. Pretty nice way to catch the Birds even if I’m sure Johns Hopkins’, Lockheed Martin’s or T. Rowe Price’s spaces would outswank us by far.
Carolina Panthers former owner had a large box but it was in the endzone, not on the 50. He said he preferred to sit in the endzone but most people figured he would rather sell the boxes on the 50. Don’t know if the new owner stayed in the endzone box.
I had the privilege of seeing many games from a corporate skybox that was ideally located at mid court. The parking was nice, the view was nice - but the company never sprung for good eats. We were on our own! That means you have to go out and get food and drink, and they don’t have concessions on the suite floors
Yes I’m complaining about free seats.
My current company has a nice huge suite with mucho free food! But I only got tix once.
Yes I’m complaining about not getting enough free games.
I’ve sat in Rich Folks’ Land a couple of times, and … I wasn’t blown away.
One year, the newspaper I worked for bought a corporate suite in Turner Field, for the sales and editorial staff. Comfy chairs, both indoor and outdoor; free food - though in quality, not any fancier than concession stand eats (hot dogs, pizza, popcorn, cold Coke and beer); a private potty. Those were all nice, but I realized, around the fifth inning, that watching the game from the suite was like watching it on the most realistic, high-quality big screen TV in the world. But I didn’t feel like I was actually sitting in a stadium with thirty thousand other people, sharing the experience of a game. No looking around to see if we could spot the couple on the Kiss Cam, no dancing around to “Cotton-Eyed Joe”, no communal Tomahawk Chop.
And from the point of view of actually watching the game, my dad’s normal seats in the upper deck behind home plate were much superior for following the action on the field.
So it was a nice experience, but not the same as going to a game. Fun way to see Monster Jam, though.
Thanks for the link. As one who will likely never enjoy a game from a corporate box, it’s interesting to see what they look like inside, as well as the cost.
The closest I came was when my DIL was the private secretary for a part owner of the Mariners. Whenever he wasn’t going and hadn’t given his tickets to someone else, we all got to sit free in the owner’s box. But it was nothing special, just a separate area down at filed level and no refreshments. This was in the old stadium, the one that was dynamited.
I’ve been to a Warriors basketball game in a box suite, and a Tacoma Rainiers minor league baseball game in a minor league box suite.
The Warriors suite felt almost small, but compared to normal seats it was quite spacious. The food was entirely appetizer / amuse-bouche, tasty, and there was never a shortage or cooled food. Just outside the box itself was a micro-bleacher with about 12 seats, elevated from the crowd but within the arena space. There view was good but not close. It was nice.
The baseball game was nice, too, just every individual element was… less. It was less a private box and more a roped-off section of a larger private club. The catering-style food was good if you could some before it ran out or got cold. The view was good, but just a few, uncomfortable seats if you wanted to actually watch the game. And still had to go out and use the regular stadium bathrooms.
