The Orion Amphitheater — Attraction in Huntsville

Edit: I'm keeping up the original review for transparency. I did receive an email Tuesday April 29th about my needed change in seating and was instructed to check in with Guest Services when I arrived. Every employee I interacted with during this has been kind and the venue did the right thing.

The Orion needs to have better communication with their customers. One simple email or phone call telling me that they would arrange something the week of the show would have been satisfactory. Even a form response saying something to that effect would have been acceptable. I bought tickets to the Primus/Puscifer/A Perfect Circle show at The Orion Amphitheater last September. I didn't know at the time I would be having knee surgery in April (a little less than a month before the show). In preparation for for being on crutches or with a cane I went to the box office on March 22nd to ask about switching to accessible seating at the top of the section I was ticketed in. The price is the same and I verified the seats were available on the app. I heard nothing.

I went back to the box office April 2nd (1 week before my surgery) and inquired again. I heard nothing.

Surgery was on April 10.

April 13th I wrote an email to hello@theorionhuntsville.com giving my confirmation number and inquiring about switching my seats. I heard nothing.

I asked a favor from a friend and employee of The Orion to inquire with coworkers about getting my tickets switched. They gave me the email address I'd written to two days before.

On April 22nd I returned to the box office for a third time. Everyone I've interacted with at the box office has been kind and tried their best to help me. I was informed that Kamerra Liles would contact me within a couple of days. I have checked my email every day (including spam) and heard nothing. There have been no missed calls either.

I have worked in the service industry my whole life and I can without a doubt say this is one of the worst experiences I've ever been on the receiving end of. I am not making an unreasonable request and I have been more than patient, just to be ghosted for a month and a half. I really don't care if it's switched in the system or if I'm just told to check in with the accessibility lead when I arrive. Some type of communication should have already happened.

My last resort (other than visiting the box office again today) is tagging them in as many social media things I have access to and leaving awful reviews that just might get management's attention. The optics of being seen as unfriendly to people with accessibility needs will probably be seen as far more important than meeting those...

Posted on my social media publically and now posting here to warn others: I want to share a really disappointing experience Elena and I had at Teddy Swims at The Orion Amphitheater because it left both of us shaken. I have waited to post about it because I tried to do the right thing by going directly to Orion Amphitheater and Vivid Seats but they both were less than helpful nor did they seem to have any accountability or care.

I was determined to not let what happened ruin Elena's birthday experience but at this point, I'm needing to bring this to the publics attention. We paid a lot of money for our tickets through Vivid Seats to sit together and enjoy the show. When we arrived, two people were sitting in our seats and refused to move because evidently 13 of their other family members were seated on the row where our seats were. Even after involving the usher staff and security, the venue did not enforce our right to sit in the seats we paid for. Instead, they pushed us to inferior seats with a MUCH worse view. These particular seats valued around $150 less combined. I even have the re printed tickets to reflect the price difference.

I tried to stay calm for Elena, but the people who took our seats became hostile. At one point the woman even turned to my daughter — who was just sitting quietly — in a confrontational way. The man of the group was cussing me out in front of elena while i spoke to one of the security guards as well. No mom should have to feel unsafe taking her child to a concert because others refuse to respect the tickets we paid for. No child should feel incredibly unsafe and this brought up a lot of PTSD for Elena due to being around a grown man acting erratically, cussing me, and raising his voice.

Elena asked me why the rules didn’t apply to those people, and why no one stood up for us. She was confused why we werent given the seats we paid for. That broke me. What lesson does that teach a child when adults are allowed to mistreat others without consequence?

Also, the seats where we were re sat to two women got into a verbal altercation where the older woman punched the younger woman in the face. Nothing was done.

We’ve contacted both Vivid Seats and The Orion Amphitheater and neither has made it right. Both brushed it off as “resolved.” But it’s not resolved. We didn’t receive what we paid for, and we were left in a hostile, unsafe situation.

We deserve better. Customers deserve better. And our kids deserve to see that fairness and safety matter especially in the times we are living in.

#DoBetter #CustomerServiceFail...

This is a beautiful venue. However, it has some cons that could be worked on. One thing that probably can’t be changed, but I do question the design choice, is the fact that the seating for most of the venue is bench style. There are assigned seats but because it’s bench style, there isn’t any back support and it also makes it hard to have enough space for yourself. It also makes it easy for those around you to move into your space. Another con with the seating is that the seat numbers are underneath the bench so when trying to find your seat, you are having to bend so far over to see the numbers. This isn’t the worst thing ever for younger people, but that, on top of the bench style seating design, may not be the easiest thing for older people or people with arthritis, injuries, etc. to navigate. Another con is that there isn’t a ton of signage. You can find your seat relatively easily, but they could stand to have a few more signs to help you find food. And regarding the food, they serve it to you on the flimsiest plate and tray and in order to eat, you have to find a place to eat it, other than your seat, due to the lack of space and the seating style. They do have places to sit and eat around the venue which is nice, but I like the option to sit in my seat and eat, as well. I did like that they had food truck options just outside the venue though. That was a unique and great setup for an amphitheater. One thing that I understand from an environmental standpoint was the reusable cups, however I’m not sure how I feel about such a large venue reusing their cups for every show/event. I understand restaurants reuse cups but for a place that has the capacity of 8,000, I felt like that could be a little unsanitary. I’m sure they probably have strict sanitation protocols they follow but it still felt odd. One thing they definitely can easily fix is the audio. The show was amazing but the mics were so loud that at times, I felt my eardrums almost buzzing because of the sound. That’s an easy fix. Overall, the experience was great and the venue is truly the prettiest one I’ve ever seen, but there are some kinks that can definitely...