Frank Erwin Center

This Venue has been in Austin for a long time and I have seen many different things here from concerts to graduations, sports games and shows. The parking situation is bad and truly have never paid for an event that I have come to here. I have many memories through the years here and I will miss it when it’s gone.

Just trying to buy a ticket online is such a struggle. UPDATE your website and ANSWER your phones!
Print at home only option for $ 3??? Are you kidding me? It’s 2016.
What a joke.

I love this place! My family and I have been here several times for graduations and other events, yea the parking is not too great but hey is the parking great anywhere in Austin? lol This place is normally jam packed but its very easy to get around because its spacious and the seating is wonderful so you can see the stage no matter where you are. p. S congratulations of your graduation Debbie, you made the stage look stunning! P. S.S giant stage and fun balloon toss after graduation, the place is kept very clean!

We have season basketball tickets and last night was the first game of the season! We won! I love the venue and the history, decent parking and are very helpful to find our seats!
Also you know can buy beer and wine!!! Can’t wait until the next game!

Avoid for Monster Truck shows such as Monster Jam.
Great for Sports, Great for concerts. Just not big enough for a Monster Truck Show. Was very difficult for the drivers to make a lap, Much less for two truck to «race». Good venue for everything else. Have seen a lot of great shows here over the years. Never a complaint about AC, cleanliness, or concessions. Well run and they dont put up with «mischief» so dont try to sneak in a flask etc…

I’ve only been once, for an Eagles concert. I’m pretty OK with the fact that it is an unattractive, older building, and isn’t laid out perfectly, etc. It is what it is.
But I feel strongly they weren’t choosing to (or weren’t able to – it was a very humid night) air condition the space adequately. In the nosebleeds, people were fanning themselves throughout the show and the biggest issue was the total lack of air circulation.
Then, on top of this, the # of stands selling waters was clearly not sufficient. Even though I was quite parched at intermission, I gave up on buying water because the lines were too long at the limited concession stands and I would have missed too much of the second set.

I spent a bunch of money going to the IHeart show. Sadly the idiots that run Frank Erwin allowed the 15 year old sound guy to run up the volume so high that no songs were understandable. Frank Erwin is supposed to be run by the University of Texas. You would think that they have reasonable sound levels that they can subject their employees to. They need to step in and limit band sound levels. Or OSHA needs to step in. The amps and acoustic only created distortion.
Is watching a show under 140 decibels too much to ask? Lets try for 80 and I think it would still be great.
The so called live music capital needs to set some reasonable limits so that the people watching venues continue to have hearing.
I can’t imagine how anyone who works there hasn’t complained.
No child under 21 should be subjected to these levels.

When the Texas Box Office decided they didn’t want to help me when I called The part at The Frank Erwin Center helped they got the seats for us and with a smile for the upcoming show at 2 Thank you all so much it was super fun to see the kids smiling.

So I hear this place is going to be torn down. Sorry but I won’t miss it. The atrocious manner in the way bars, bathrooms, food and concessions stands are set up is completely baffling. Craft beer is always a mile away, seating is great if you have the body of a 12 year old. IF you have big feet you will surly be kicking the seat in front of you.

Horrible ticketing process and uncomfortable venue. You will sit on their website in a ‘virtual waiting room’ for hours and it will not notify you if tickets sell out. the ‘customer service’ staff is not helpful at all and basically rude to people. I will drive from Austin to Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas to see a concert to avoid having to deal with the horrible and uncomfortable seating at the Erwin Center and to avoid their rude staff. This is for concerts at least– UT basketball games don’t have as high of demand, so you can get better seats and don’t have to go through the texas Box office at the Erwin Center– just go to the CO-​OP on the drag.

Concert was awsome good job Eric Church, box office didn’t know where anything was sent everyone to the wrong area. It was freezing cold and wet outside and they made people line up in the rain 30 min prior to opening the doors. When we were leaving we sat in the car for about 30 minutes before we could even move no one near us was moving.

Let’s see the longest line I’ve ever been involved in to pick up tickets. Not purchase tickets, pick up tickets I already purchased. Line for drinks was long no matter when we went. The staff is great at least but my god you would think this was the first concert ever held here.

No complaints here. Went to a UT men’s b-​ball game. Easy to find, how could you miss it?
Plenty of parking all around. It’s a walk — uphill to get there. We all need the extra calorie burn.
The staff inside was very helpful in directing us to our section.

I’ve only been to the Frank Erwin for graduations and UT basketball games (both mens and womens). For those purposes this place is not that bad. I’ve had good seats for both basketball games. This place could use a facelift as it just seems outdated. It is in downtown Austin so that is good. However, with traffic in town the way it is plus the UT medical school construction right there (which has closed Red River St.) it just isn’t an ideal location for me anymore especially during the week.
I’ve never encountered free parking at FE. I usually park in the Trinity Garage which is a super short walk to FE or last time I parked at «Garage R» located at 18^th & San Jacinto. I recommend Garage R. It was a couple more dollars but I didn’t get trapped trying to leave like my friends in Trinity Garage. Garage jam as everyone is trying to leave at the same time is never fun.
As for concessions, I generally only get a soda or nothing. For one of the basketball games the concession line was ridiculously long for a fountain drink but luckily they had a table off to the side that was selling bottled sodas. It was $ 4 but it saved me a lot of time.
Overall I like FE but I think my opinion would change if I had to see a concert there as it doesn’t seem like a good concert venue.

Worst experience I’ve ever had with a sports venue.
1) Doors opened 20 minutes later than the announced time so we all were completely drenched with sweat by the time we got in.
2) South box office had ropes set up for will call line. Despite multiple building personnel passing by, no one told us that the south box office was closed. We’d waited in a long line and then had to wait in another long line at the north box office once we finally figured out we had to move.
3) Only one person at each entrance to scan tickets for entry. Seriously?
4) Inconsistent policies — in the food line next to us, people who ordered nachos got cheese on the side and on top of the nachos. When we ordered, only got the portion in the cup. We were told that under absolutely no circumstances could they add cheese on top of the nachos, even for an extra fee. Not a big deal unless YOU FREAKING LOVE CHEESE AND THAT IS THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE BEAUTY THAT IS NACHOS.
5) Cramped seating.
6) Construction everywhere outside the venue so just getting to the entrance takes about 15 minutes of extra time.
7) Ran out of many concessions with about 90 minutes left at the event.
8) Craft beer selection is Blue Moon. Would love to see something more local instead of a MillerCoors standby.
9) Eh, screw it, wasted enough time on this place already.

Hook Em Horns.
I cannot wait for this place to be replaced by a better arena. As the flagship school of the state UT really needs to fast track replacing the Drum.
The atmosphere for a game is worse than most high school games. The fans near the court (if they are there at all) are old blue hairs who do not cheer complain about those who do. I have actually seen people be told to keep it down or even sit down by older fans. This is a sporting event and that is what you are supposed to do.
Please Steve Patterson/​Bill Powers when you build the new arena, head out to ACC country and see how they do it. We deserve to have the best and loudest arena in the South.

This is an older arena, but there really isn’t a bad view even in what is considered «nosebleed.» I’d rather get a nosebleed seat here then at many of the other arenas in Texas. The ushers are nice and I can see improvements have been made in the past 10 years. UT basketball is one of my favorite events to attend here.

Frank Erwin Center is like any older stadium arena. In the case of Erwin Center you get just that. Stadium seating, a boring vibe, un appealing snacks and food, and a limited drink selection.
This place is a fine place for an athletic event, but for a music concert venue there are many better spots across Austin. In some cities that would not be the case, but Austin has so many better music venues with better surroundings.
The pros for the Erwin Center are that they have managed to sustain excellent sound and additionally they land some pretty huge acts. Video is pretty good so even the worse seats offer you some good visibility onto the stage.
Parking is not as bad as some people say. Get there early and be prepared to pay up to $ 10 to park which is pretty reasonable downtown.
I will return because I like UT basketball and my bet is that the Erwin Center will continue to land big name music acts.

Though it’s days are numbered, the Erwin Center is still Austin’s most versatile large venue: aside from being home to the Texas Men’s and Women’s basketball teams and UT graduations, the Erwin Center hosts multiple concerts and events like WWE throughout the year.
I’ve sat at several events on both levels, and the views have been good. I recommend taking a cab to the event, as the parking situation is messy.

Let me first qualify this rating by saying I never attend any events other than concerts here, and that I’m generously rounding up from 2−½ stars.
The Erwin Center, aka The Dog Dish, gets the big touring acts because it’s the biggest venue in the city. The Cedar Park Center is slightly smaller and more than slightly better as far as acoustics, seating, and pricing (at least so far), but for some reason, A-​Listers still book here.
If you are going to see a show here that you actually want to see, try to buy seats as close to the floor as possible. I don’t know who, besides scalpers, manages to get the actual floor seats in those four elusive square sections in front of the stage.
The first and second level arena seats are good. Balcony seating is far enough away for you to feel disconnected from the action, which might be useful if you are accompanying someone to a concert that you can only tolerate from such a distance. Otherwise, I would pass on those seats. And bring your earplugs, no matter where you sit, just in case. For some reason – deaf sound guys, bravado, insanity – they usually blast the sound system at needlessly epic proportions. Roger Waters’ The Wall was an exception (in all regards).
The food here is repulsive, the drinks are pricey and obtainable only after long waits, and the restroom lines back up quickly at intermission. So I usually never buy food or drinks here. My advice is to eat before the show.
Parking involves a walk and is on your own. There are paid lots within several blocks. It used to be $ 10 average fee, but at our last show (Aerosmith), they were charging $ 20. Ridiculous, and the lot was mostly empty. You might be able to take a cab there, but I’ve never done it; I’m not sure you’d be able to get one home.