Arena Sports SODO Seattle — Attraction in Seattle

Cons (Summary): The sports center's indoor soccer league is unfriendly to people of color due to consistently biased referee calls. POC players face disproportionate penalties for normal actions, while non-POC players committing similar actions are ignored. Foul calls almost always favor non-POC players, and attempts to provide feedback about this bias are met with dismissive responses, where referees simply invent new, unenforced rules, making the league an inequitable experience for players of color.

Cons (Long Version): Despite the logistical efficiency, my experience with this sports center's indoor soccer league has been marred by a deeply concerning issue: it is pretty unfriendly to people of color (POCs). This problem manifests most acutely in the biased officiating and referee calls, which consistently undermine the spirit of fair play.

It has become a consistent pattern that referee calls are biased against POC players. There's a discernible trend of what appear to be stereotypical and unfounded calls being disproportionately leveled against players of color. For instance, POC players are often penalized for actions described in vague terms like "running too fast" or "using too much energy." What makes this particularly frustrating and unfair is that these same actions, when executed by non-POC players against POC players, are routinely ignored or go unpenalized. This glaring double standard creates a visibly uneven playing field.

Furthermore, foul calls almost invariably favor non-POC players. This consistent bias ensures that POC players are held to a different, stricter standard, facing penalties for minor infractions while similar or even more egregious fouls by non-POC players are overlooked. This creates a frustrating and inequitable environment that diminishes the enjoyment and competitive integrity of the games for players of color.

Attempts to address these issues through feedback have yielded no positive change. When consistent feedback is provided to the referees regarding the biased calls, the response is often defensive or unproductive. Instead of rectifying the issue, the referees seem to invent new rules on the spot or reinterpret existing ones in ways that they do not enforce uniformly across all players. This lack of accountability and the creation of arbitrary, unenforced rules only exacerbate the perception of intentional bias and make the league a less welcoming place for players of color.

In summary, while the sports center manages the league's logistics effectively, the pervasive and deeply concerning issue of biased refereeing against players of color makes it an unjust and unwelcoming space. For a sports center committed to fairness and community, addressing these systemic biases in officiating should be its top priority. Until then, it is difficult to recommend this league to anyone seeking an equitable and truly enjoyable soccer experience.

Pros: The sports center's indoor soccer league is well-organized with an easy-to-follow schedule and...

If I could give zero stars, I would. As a very serious and long time player, I play all over the Seattle area through multiple establishments. Recently, I was treated TERRIBLY by Arena Sports.

I was playing at a drop in game. I was running for the ball, the ball was no where near the goal, the goalie who was obviously very inexperienced, came charging at me and punched me in the face. He hit both of my eyes with both of his fists. I was knocked to the ground. I was bleeding from both areas under my eyes, I lost my vision in my left eye for several hours and I was seriously hurt. There were 2 managers who saw the incident. No one, especially the goalie or the managers, even offered a hand to help me up or ask me if I was ok?

I was dumbfounded and very upset. I could not believe that not a single person offered to help me. I was frustrated and approached the goalie. The goalie offered no apology, he told me, "it was an accident, I'm not saying sorry." He said this straight to my bleeding, swelling face. I wasn't in a very good place at this point given the circumstances and I raised my voice.

All of the sudden, the managers came onto the field and started yelling at me. They screamed at me to leave immediately and threatened to call the police. This was so extreme! I've seen men deliberately punch other men in the face before in a straight up fight and no serious actions were taken.

I received an email several days later, banning me from Arena Sports for 1 year. I'm very disappointed that I was made out to be the bad guy and received such a severe penalty. I feel like this situation is PERSONAL and not truly about the actual situation with the goalie.

In all honesty, this place has always been my last choice to play soccer. I just love the sport so much, I'm always looking for somewhere to play. Arena sports attracts novice to mediocre players at best who don't know what they are doing and often use their body instead of talent to play the game. To all the serious/talented players out there, avoid this place! Save yourself from the basic players, terrible management and a potentially...

Coach to student ratio has changed over time and classes are now packed with too many students for one coach. They used to have less students and 2 coaches per class. Coaches also seem to have less experience with kids than previous coaches.

My yearly membership started in August when I signed my son up for fall season. They made me pay for a new yearly membership the next June because summer season had a 2 week overlap where my membership would have been expired for summer season. If the "yearly" membership isn't good for 4 seasons then it's a bit of a scam.

It's nice to have an indoor activity in yucky weather. Fun to connect with other parents there. Not much else to recommend about the...