
My wife and I went to see Whose Live Anyway? and we were seated somewhat near the front. Three rows back, on the outside aisle. A family sat in front of us. Two men, two women, three or four kids. Ticket ladies were all great, let us know where our seats were, etc. The show itself was great. Getting to see those guys perform and in that proximity; awesome. The family in front of us, however... I don't know if they are always as excitable as this in normal life, but it was kind of nuts. I get it, it's an exciting show. One I, myself, would not have brought my children to see, but that's their decision. One child was absolutely not interested in the show and was just playing games on a phone the whole time. One child did not know, apparently, how to sit down in his chair. The two men struck up a conversation with the people in front of them and were pretty distracting. But here are the real issues: the section of three seats directly in front of us were not bolted to the ground. Ordinarily, this would be where a wheelchair would be seated, but in the absence of a wheelchair, I guess they have chairs to place there. When the men would lean forward to talk with the people in front of them, the back legs would lift off the ground and then when they would lean back, the legs would smash back down. We had to make sure we didn't have our feet underneath when it came back down. Okay, we can deal with it. It's annoying, but we can handle it. I tapped the guy on the shoulder and told him that was happening. He apologized. Great. Good. Now the bigger issue. When the cast needed a volunteer from the audience, the whole family erupted and basically forced one of the women to go on the stage. She was reluctant and we almost jumped up in her place because she was taking too much time and didn't seem like she even wanted to do it. But as her family basically shoved her out of the row, the section of three seats slid backwards into us hard enough that I had to brace against them so it didn't hit my wife's already hurt ankle. We yelled and they didn't really seem to notice. The nearest security guard just kind of sat there and did nothing. After the woman took the stage, we confronted the man still in the seats, who was now filming the woman on stage. The security guard came over to maybe help with the seats situation, but didn't stop the man from recording. Okay. The man did say he was told the seats were going to be bolted down before the show and again, apologized for our inconvenience. My wife had to get up and go get some air, away from the situation. She grabbed her cane, and went out to the bathroom. While she was gone, she mentioned the issue with the seats to a worker, who then sent a security guard up to check on things. This guard addressed the man in the seats and made him stop recording. The other woman who was there was also recording and though he asked her to stop, she did not. He pulled the man aside and spoke to him about the seats. No one spoke with me or my wife about the situation after that with the exception of the man, trying to apologize again and we appreciate his apology, but he probably could have done something more. The venue itself was more of the issue here. A family being disruptive to the people around them during a show is usually handled by a simple, "please don't do that" or something along those lines. That was not done in this situation. Had the seats ACTUALLY been bolted down, it would have just been a disruptive family and as annoying as that is, it happens at shows. Because the seats were not bolted down, that caused an issue that could have been much much worse. Because my wife already had an injury to her ankle, this could have made it much worse, had I not been able to brace against the seats when they slid backwards into us. It is my strong suggestion that in the future, Redding Civic Auditorium actually bolts those seats in place if they are going to use them. Short revue is that the show was great, the venue and staff could have put out a bit more effort to ensure safety for...
Read moreFirstly, thank you for your prompt email replies as well as returning my voicemail questions quickly. I appreciate your customer service and attentiveness leading up to the event. But I suggest you consider actually updating your web info to avoid an influx of superfluous calls and questions.
I also understand what this venue represents for Redding and what it means for residents to have access to quality shows and artists.
Now, with that being said, my 2-stars is simply because when comparing Redding Civic to similar sized venues in bigger cities [like SF], it is below-average at best and quite a bit amateurish. ((For my experience in particular, I would give 2.5 stars.))
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Your frustration or stress, if even warranted, should be redirected to your team-leads and serve as a learning experience for future events. My questions or need for assistance, help, direction, whatever, should not be taken as a nuisance or an insult. I understand the heat-advisory weather was a contributing factor, but of course changing entry times, set times, baggage restrictions, check-in locations, etcetc would result in confusion for everyone and need to be handled accordingly.
Ultimately, I disengaged myself of staff assistance/direction and managed on my own. Despite a few hiccups, I wish I had done that sooner, because the stress and anger of some of you made me extremely uncomfortable.
I was one of the first 10 or so attendees to enter the auditorium, and one of the first women to use the restrooms on the first floor. I was surprised that bathrooms, lobby, etc would not be cleaned and restocked in advance of an event. And if they were, you need a different cleaning company and/or additional oversight. A large spider made a nest to the bottom right of the main doors along the column. I saw other webs elsewhere, including underneath the stairs.
Perhaps the building was not cleaned or prepped because you did not originally intend to use it for an outdoor lawn event, but as someone who has also managed facilities, cleanliness is a part of proactive maintenance and not reserved for the last minute. Thus, I was surprised by the state of the building.
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While there is more feedback I can provide, it is laborious to leave reviews like this. So I will simply wish you all the best and with hope to return to better conditions...
Read moreHad tickets with my family for Mother’s Day to Brett Young concert. Upon entry, the staff were unorganized to say the least. They seemed lost and didn’t know what to do. I had to say something after standing there waiting several minutes with no one in front of us. After getting in finally, the lines were outrageous for food and drinks. People waited hours. There were only around 3-4 food booths and 2 beer booths and there had to be a couple thousand attendees. I have a serious disability where I had brain surgery and deal with chronic pain, and had spent my Mother’s Day morning that day in such horrific pain resulting in a trip to the hospital. Missed the rodeo we had planned on attending that day as I was bedridden. Finally felt ok enough to make it to the concert by around 8pm or so. When I realized how long it would take to get food I asked security if I could please leave to grab food from mosaic so I could take my medication and they said no. I explained to them my brain condition & everything but they didn’t care or accommodate. Although they said if I was diabetic I could leave and return. I guess some medical conditions are important and others aren’t? So we ended up leaving and not returning. We caught the last couple songs after dinner at mosaic outside at the Sheraton where we were staying. 6 tickets down the drain. Civic Center needs to fire whoever runs the show and get someone competent in there, and also train their staff on accommodating people with disabilities. Very frustrating and...
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