Santander Arena — Attraction in Reading

Just saw Eric Church. Sat in the Floor 1 Row BB seat 20 and 21. Almost dead center of the stage. Perfect place to see the show. I did have some complaints though, and all centered around the arena itself. First the good. It was 90 plus degrees outside and somehow they kept it really comfortable in there throughout. Except for out by the concessions. That was pretty stuffy. I also thought the beer and food prices were pretty much in line with what you'd expect at a concert like this. The 16 ounce plastic cup of beer was surprisingly cold. There is an amazing Double Tree Hotel 75 feet away across the street. Really nice. It has a parking garage, and if you are staying the night, parking is free so no need to fight traffic into or out of the arena. The Hotel has a really great bar and restaurant on the first level. I liked the arena staff too. There seemed to be plenty of security around and the local police had the road in front of the arena blocked off so it was pretty safe for everyone standing out there waiting to get in. Speaking of which, the lines to get in moved pretty fast and everyone was scanned with a metal detector before they went in. Lots of restaurants within walking distance, but make reservations as early as possible. Most of the closest restaurants and bars are packed to the brim. We were lucky and found one on the second floor of one of the Santander buildings. Now the bad. It is CROWDED. I have been to many concerts, but never have I been so packed in. Shoulder to shoulder like sardines. Like I said before. We sat dead center, second row back and we were pretty much boxed in unless the good people in front of us let us climb over their seats and get out that way. They were really good about it but we only left our seats once during an intermission to go get a beer. And I mean only one. The lines for the bathroom were unreal. And really difficult to find in the crowd. This was my first arena concert and it will probably be my last which is a shame, because this arena has so much going for it. The location, (Reading seems like a nice little town!) The hotel and parking garage right across the street. (Did I mention it was really nice?) My only suggestion is that you scale down how many people you try and smash in there. It's borderline dangerous how crowded it was. Another suggestion is I sat in the front by the stage. To get to my seat I had to fight my way though a huge crowd all the way to the back by section 106 and then all the way down the steps, and then all the way back forward again. Why can't you open up a doorway for the front floor seats too so we don't have to fight through all those people? Eric Church played for almost four hours and the fact that I couldn't get in and out of my seat, get a beer or a sandwich, and get to the bathrooms, really took away from my enjoyment of the show. Maybe Ill try sitting in the upper seats if there's a next time. Those people looked like they could navigate...

My review is gonna be a little bias since I'm a local and grew up here. I purchased tickets to the Marc Anthony concert for a total of 368.00 for 4 tickets, a little pricey but you get what you pay for I suppose. Although there are the usual options such Jimmie Kramers Peanut Bar, Outside Inn Restaurant, Judy's on Cherry, Abraham Lincoln, Canal Street Pub, West Reading Restaurants etc etc, this is a Spanish city of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, Columbian descent so on and so forth, so there are a variety of options available that are good and safe, such as 9th streets El Carreton very good Mexican food or 8th streets Ana's restaurant which is a favorite for me and the wife, if you want finger foods there is The House of Pastelillos on 8'th right down the street from Ana's restaurant, although there are many options I chose to stay close and go to Jetset on 9th between chestnut and Franklin, and there food was fresh and good although the server is another thing, plus there is a club in the back, anyways parking was free for me since I parked right around the corner on Franklin st, parking at Santander Arena is ridiculously overpriced for 10.00, get a life reading parking authority trying to swindle the people into thinking the Reading isan extremely dangerous place and forcing them to pay for parking. After leaving the restaurant and walking to the concert in a lit and safe environment in Reading, w my wife sister and mom, we arrived in the rear of santander and got checked in by security quickly and efficiently, although they are short staffed security handled himself appropriately w tons of people coming in, although I bought drinks and food prior I got a beer and wine for me and the lady that line was long as f* for drinks at santander, anyways the place was clean and people were arriving late, which is normal, no biggie but traffic had to play a part in it due to construction of Penn St bridge so I came in from the Bingaman st bridge an hour and half to avoid this. The Marc Anthony concert was a great show, although the first one was better me and the woman mom and sis had a blast again, me and the wife were plastered w drinks enjoying ourselves through the night, we tried to get more drinks but the lines were still long, management has to address this ASAP and start paying respectable wages if they want more competent employees. Anyways after the concert we went to Jetset again for the Marc Anthony after party w La Mega mixing it up, w a good and mature crowd, and got to see old friends dancing the night away. Santander arena is a value w world class entertainment and restaurants throughout the city that you would enjoy, although for some reviewers they will steer to think otherwise about the area, it is not that bad as people make it out to be here in the city. Hope this review was informative...

This is an absolutely fabulous venue! We were there for the first time tonight for the Slipknot show and everything was perfect! (Except for the annoying parking process lol) but, that shouldn't be blamed on the venue! Everything from purchasing the tickets, (we had 7 club VIP lounge tickets), to the food offered for VIP, to the initial emails with the VIP staff to the employees who were all extremely delightful and pleasant, everything was remarkable. We sat towards the food at the tables and they had everything color coordinated... Black and red lol. The employees/hosts at that end were phenomenal! The restrooms were super clean, the food was scrumptious, (especially the egg rolls, pot stickers, brownies, olives, veggies, dip, cheese, crackers, everything was just delicious!) I think a lot of thoughtfulness and care went into the decoration, color scheme, food options, the quality was great, and everything was fresh. I would definitely visit this venue again and would only purchase the VIP deal. Also, we received a warm welcome, VIP show poster, actual tickets, (if you're anything like me and save your concert tickets, this is super important!) And we received our VIP passes. It's a perfect option for parents who are bringing a bunch of kids and even for anyone with a disability. (I fit into both categories lol) My kids and their friends had a blast! They enjoyed the freedom to roam around and either sit at the tables or in the seats facing the stage, and the chance to load up on snacks! The view was excellent, the sound was splendid, I wouldn't want to sit anywhere else. A couple we attended the show with had a bit of an issue with someone walking by and stealing their posters! So, the husband fortunately saw who it was and waited outside of the bathroom for them but when these um, "gentlemen" came out, they only had 1 poster. They also proceeded to argue with the husband which was absolutely absurd! So, he went to an employee to explain this and this very attentive and helpful employee quickly found these goofballs and noticed they didn't even belong in the VIP section and so, he made them leave... The VIP host who was downstairs actually gave our friends another poster which was extremely generous! I just don't have anything but positive things to say about this place. I would recommend this venue to everyone really. We really enjoy going to the Hershey Bears games and WBS Penguins games and so, I already had countless friends recommending this place because they attend the hockey games there. I'm planning to attend a few next season. Thank you to all of the employees for doing such an impressive job! You made our night all the...