Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land — Attraction in Sugar Land

Absolutely horrible experience. writing this now after seeing other kpop concerts might be held here. If it hadn’t been for the amazing show by Tomorrow x Together my experience at this venue would’ve been the worst. The closer the time got for the doors to open the more and more cramped everyone seemed to get because there were no signs or any confirmation as to what lines were what. There was an entire line out to the parking area that was lined up to a random door because no one could get a clear answer as to where they all needed to be until like 30 mins before show started. That same line later merged with the three lines to the metal detectors but were so unorganized the lines turned into gigantic groups of confused people. I felt faint and nauseous the entire time waiting to get inside because the Texas heat was unbearable. The water bottles they gave out were a nice gesture but warm water with no moving air whilst also being smushed in a crowd of overheated people is just a nightmare. Many brought the smallest bags they had even if it had been maybe an inch over the bag restriction simply because that is all they had as well as umbrellas to provide shade from the smoldering heat. Once I reached the metal detectors I saw that many people were throwing away their bags, umbrellas and the water they had been provided because they had been told to do so. The only other option was to go all the way to the back of the line after putting their items in their car. My friend had a bag that was only maybe an inch or two over the limit and an umbrella they would not allow in which we were using to not get sunburnt while waiting in an area with no shade at all. She was forced to leave her umbrella (which was later found to be stolen by the end of the concert). The staff in the line were very rude and pushed me along while she stayed trying to figure out her situation. One man kept raising his voice at everyone and telling her to put it in her car after we explained we did not have a car as we were dropped off. I have never been to a venue where there were bag restrictions this extreme nor staff this unorganized. I was forced to move ahead and put my batteries in my light stick while still in the line- which of course held up the line more and made more staff yell at us to hurry. The more they did this the longer the entire process took. My friend ended up getting into the line next to ours after seeing that the staff in that line was not checking bag size at all. While waiting staff kept trying to move us out of the area even though we could not get in without her. I feared we would get kicked out but luckily she made it through. The way the staff behaved was incredibly rude and inconsistent. After everyone was already drenched in sweat and forced to deal with these unrealistic rules people began to find their seats which were REALLY cramped due to the sheer size of the crowd. The venue was in no way fit to handle that many people and made it so uncomfortable to get into the venue and in/out of a seat. The back of the venue received little to no air flow for the entire show. If a venue knows they cannot handle the size of crowd a certain artist will bring, they absolutely should not force it to work. I have never in my life been so sweaty, uncomfortable, and unhappy at a place I spent a good amount of money to be. Please think about this when...

There's a lot to unpack on this review. 3 stars usually indicates "meh", but there are good things about SFC. I'm just not sure they outweigh. Things you MUST know BEFORE attending a concert here. We saw Joan Jett and BRYAN ADAMS 6/28/2023. I loved the concert, especially Bryan Adams, but I won’t dive too much into that because this is a review on the venue, not the actual performers. PARKING: The parking is well organized by the attendants, but they funnel everyone in through several entrances and break you down to 4 lanes. It took us over 20 minutes to get from the feeder to our spot. Parking is $20 and is CASHLESS. You must have a credit or debit card. Prepaid parking is available, but I am not sure it does any good. The parking lot itself is huge, so be prepared to walk. It took us 11 minutes to get from our car to the entrance. All events come with difficult and pricey parking, but to compare, other venues have multiple sides and lots. This place has ONE side and ONE lot. Everyone funnels together and it's no fun, especially when you need to pee, just sayin'! PURSES: The purse rule is nothing to toy with - you will be turned away! I saw one man taking his lady's purse back to the car as I was making my way in and the girl in front of us got turned away too. The have a piece of paper with a square and if your purse does not fit inside the 4x6 square, you will be turned away. If you have to walk all the way back to your car, in the heat (or cold, for that matter), you will not be happy. My wristlet is 4.5x6 and I actually did not get questioned about it, nor did I have to put it on the little paper with the box outline. I was so worried because the girl in front of me had issues, but hers was definitely larger and she was completely unaware. It was a crossbody style and had to be at least 6x8 in size. Mine looks small, so that saved me (but I was nervous!). All this and you still go through a metal detector. I'm happy with the security personally. DRINKS: My chardonnay was $19.00 for ONE regular 6 oz cup. My friend’s cab was $22.00. No joke! Those prices are higher than NGR and Minute Maid. They only have cabernet, chardonnay and rose. No Pinot Grigio. Bottled water is $5.00. The lines are long, so be prepared to wait and miss some of your show. All concessions are CASHLESS. You must have a credit or debit card to purchase anything. These things are in no way to be taken negatively. They are just the facts for this particular venue. The restrooms are exceptionally clean, the staff are all very helpful in navigating and the common areas are constantly maintained with little sweeper people. There are several police officers at all of the entrances/exits. I liked that. I felt very safe. The acoustics were okay. I thought the sound could have been better. It seemed all at the stage area and nothing surround. This venue hosts lots of big names, and though I enjoyed myself, I am just not sure I would go through the hassle/cost for a band I wasn't crazy about going forward. I will be back for Jackson Browne July 21st. I purchased the tickets before I knew the orchestration it takes to pull this venue off with the least amount of headaches as possible. One more reminder about that purse, Ladies. You will not be able to sweet talk your way in, so don't even chance it. 4x6...

Pros: They bring in talent like the Houston Symphony and the Harry Potter in Concert performance was phenomenal.

Cons: Zero cell phone reception inside the venue makes it hard to pull up tickets on your phone unless you screenshot them ahead of time. $20 parking, and even though the website, in person signs, etc all say that it’s card only and very clearly NOT CASH, the people working the parking entrance tonight were collecting cash and encouraging this by informing people of a $1.65 credit card service fee… suspicious side hustle. Ridiculously strict bag policy of nothing above 6x4 inches. That’s the size of a phone these days. There’s supposed to be a medical bag caveat but apparently asthma attacks are not considered a medical condition and a $300 inhaler is not considered medicine, because my 9x5 bag with it was rejected. Security told me only pill bottles and breast pumps are the exceptions to the bag rule and that an inhaler is not a medicine. Right. Please tell that to the MD and pharmacy who prescribed and dispensed it. You know there’s a problem when the majority of patrons are walking away from the venue back into the parking lot as opposed to towards it within 30 minutes of curtain call. The coming and going from venue to parking lot to return bags created a long line to enter the venue tonight and in the Houston heat, we all know how fun that was. Lack of parking lot safety because everyone is now leaving valuables in their vehicles and the venue is not liable for theft. Big payday waiting for petty criminals because of an overly strict bag rule. The ushers are very attentive before performances begin but the second the lights are off, people sit in seats they did not purchase and move closer to the stage, which would be fine if they weren’t disruptive. Guest behavioral problems in a massive venue. People seated around us were filming the concert despite announcements prohibiting it. They were talking throughout the performance. And phones were going off frequently, both ringtones and those insufferable strobe lights from incoming texts. The venue is too large to reasonably expect the ushers to enforce rules like they do at smaller and more reverent venues. And on a side note, if the sun hasn’t set, expect to see a distracting light hit the wall on the left side of the stage every time someone enters from the back of the theater. Overall, despite the symphony encouraging an interactive experience, there were too many unruly patrons at this venue and it took away from...