CFG Bank Arena — Attraction in Baltimore

This review is long overdue but I wanted to make sure I kept my word and sent a compliment for the sole staff member who ensured that my son, his nurse, and I enjoyed the Missy Elliott Concert on August 1, 2024.

His name is Maurice. He was a tall, slim, African American male who was around Six feet tall and wore glasses.

When we arrived to CFG there were no clear signs that told us where we should go for a person in a wheelchair/disabled. The website also does not state that we can only go through certain doors if we are disabled. So, we saw another wheelchair user in the first line closest to the intersection (Hopkins and Baltimore I believe was the street names) we got in line behind them.

When we arrived inside to go through the security checkpoint, we were told by the two female staff that we came in the wrong door and had to go back inside and wait in the line again. We had waited already for about fifteen minutes and the line was even longer at this point. We asked if we could just be escorted to that line instead so we didn’t have to wait outside again and were told no. My son is also capable of walking short distances, often at airports I assist him in walking through the metal detectors for example. But no one asked if he could walk either.

Other guests behind us even tried to protest on our behalf because of my son being in a wheelchair and he was clearly upset (he is autistic, cognitively impaired and has spastic paraplegia so he didn’t understand why we were leaving) but we reluctantly exited the door.

As we were walking out, I saw Maurice come from inside the building near the elevators outside. He asked to see our tickets and then escorted us through each checkpoint.

When security said they wanted to pat my son down, I explained my son would not be okay with someone touching him without a valid reason due to his disability— especially since no one else was being patted down so it felt discriminatory in nature to assume he requires it without trying other means first. Maurice said no, he should be wanded/treated like anyone else.

He then told us to go to the elevator and told us what floor to get off on and he would meet us there. He began to walk to the stairs…When they refused to let us on the elevator even though it was empty because they were going to pick up someone on the top floor, he came back and again spoke up for us and made sure we got on stating we would be getting off when the other person is getting on so it didn’t make sense for us to wait.

When we exited the elevator, he was waiting for us and made sure we made it to our seats. The usher at our seats was also very polite (he was in a power wheelchair, but I didn’t catch his name).

When leaving the concert, I wish Maurice would have been there again, because staff tried to again tell me that I could not get on the elevator with my son due to space and I had to explain to them that he is not cognitively able to be left alone and would likely have a behavioral episode (similar to a toddler or baby when a parent leaves them) if I were to meet him downstairs.

I really was so put off by this experience that I will never attend an event at this venue ever again. Especially since the venue was also filled with smoke and other substances that ended up giving us a headache when smoking was not supposed to be permitted and security and staff seemed to be more focused on blocking people like me instead of enforcing the no smoking rule(I actually saw the other wheelchair patron again after we got inside being given a hard time trying to get to their seats as well).

So again, thank you to Maurice for demonstrating humanity and common sense, but shame on the venue as a whole because his behavior should not have been the exception, it should have...

Nice venue that has some great features compared to other similar size venues (Giant Center, PPL Center, Santander, The Met, etc.). BUT the negatives can ruin your whole experience.

Firstly the parking isn't too bad for a venue located in center city Baltimore BUT its not ideal either. For the handicap and elderly it's a bit of a hike to and from CFG. It's also very easy to get disoriented coming up from the primary parking garage as it's underground and very poor signage directing visitors to points of interest. You exit the garage, and the venue is nowhere in sight, and there are no signs to direct you to CFG. So be prepared to ask for guidance or use a map app on your smartphone.

Entering and exiting the venue was fairly smooth and organized. Staff was helpful and friendly. The merchandise tables were the best organized I've seen at any large venues I've attended the past few years. Placed in smart locations that didn't affect the flow of traffic and placed in numerous locations, giving attendees multiple options.

CFG is a perfect size as it's small enough that there really isn't a terrible seat, and yet large enough, it still feels like a big arena. However, the seating is uncomfortable, a bit small, and the aisles are very tight. If you have tall or big attendees, it's extremely tight. When you stand to allow other attendees to move down your aisle, be prepared to have your toes stepped on or to help them past you so that they don't fall down.

Despite the negatives we still enjoyed our Iron Maiden concert, and we'd certainly attend events here again. It's a reasonable drive from home, and honestly, $35 to park was very reasonable. But if you're a large or tall attendees I would recommend researching any other seating...

The group I went to go see was fantastic, but were quite a bit overshadowed by how horribly I was treated by the CFG Arena staff, which has messed me up quite a bit because I've been looking foward to seeing this band for the longest time now.

My show prohibited phone use during the performance, but I had the go-ahead from the people putting the phones into yondr pouches to use my device at the merch table since I was using google pay (Also, keep in mind this was over a HALF HOUR before the performance began). However, the woman helping me at the merch table waited until my payment declined multiple times (my fault not hers, but not really important to the story), then pulled me out of the merch line, telling me I was "in trouble" for still having my phone out. She takes me to a security guard at the front entrance, acting/explaining to him like I've deliberately skipped putting my phone in a pouch (I'm guessing she thought I was trying to sneak it in, but she wouldn't listen to anything I was saying) and I was unable to explain the situation to either of them because the guard yelled over me every time I tried. I ended up almost crying out of frustration, and couldn't even get any merch or concessions like I had wanted to, which especially sucked seeing practically everyone around me being able to. I couldn't even get WATER, which I desperately needed, and had to wait until the show was over to go to the 7-Eleven nearby.

I really wanted to let this go, but it ruined my experience, which I am absolutely...