KeyArena at Seattle Center

I know the Key is old and aging. It’s limitations were supposedly the foundation for why the Sonics left Seattle. And given its age, it’s true that it’s not as modern and compelling as new arenas and stadiums. But in my estimation, it’s still a worthwhile venue. Everything doesn’t have to be new and modern to be worthwhile. Key Arena is just the right size to provide descent seating and views for almost everyone at concerts and sporting events. And you can’t beat the location. The Seattle Center is a great location to spend an evening. Traffic can be an issue in/​out for sure, but the area is loaded with plenty of parking, good restaurants and attractions, and the center grounds are nice place to take an evening walk after a show.
I grant you that it’s not ideal for concerts. But what venue that seats 20,000 people is? Concerts are better in small theater venues. But no major act would book one. So grading on that curve, what KeyArena may lack in modern design and contemporary aesthetics are easily made up for by its location and ease-​of-​use. I’m a fan.

This. Place. Sucks. Hands down. Worst. Staff. Ever.
While I Unilocal often, it is VERY rare that I will actually call up a company to complain about something. But you had better believe that I’ve been following up with this nonsense and escalating to no extent.
The venue itself is fine. Nothing special. Just a regular stadium/​arena.
However, we went to go see a show recently and when we finally got in, the show had just started. Once we were there, we went to find our seats and one of the ushers tried to figure out where we were seated. The seat had a «W» next to it — one usher thought it meant «West» and the other thought it meant «Wheelchair.» We got our tickets on Stubhub and didn’t realize until after that they were wheelchair accessible seats. Regardless, it wouldn’t have mattered because they had our whole section covered up so no one could sit there. So we sat there, talking with usher after usher trying to find our seats. One usher scolded us for not sitting which was irritating because we were trying to locate our seats but couldn’t.
There was a whole team of ushers swarming around trying to figure out what was happening, all while the show was going on. We missed the first half with all of the seating chaos. There were also quite a few people who were in the same boat as we were. They were clearly in that seating, too.
We asked if we could sit in the covered seats (our seats) but they said no. They then proceeded to pull out collapsible chairs for us to sit in which at least was something. However, after our whole debacle, a few others came in with the same issue — and they lifted up the sheets to let them sit there! WTF!!!
After the show, I went to Guest Services to speak to someone who was the least helpful human being of all time. I told him our issue and his answer was «I don’t know what to tell you.» Fabulous customer service right there. I asked to speak to his manager who wasn’t there at the time. I asked for his manager’s contact information and first/​last name but all he could tell me was that the security manager’s name was «Scott» but he didn’t have his contact information. Seriously? How do you not have that info?
Later, I saw a woman who seemed more competent and asked her if she knew how I could get a hold of Scott. She called his counterpart who came over and finally gave me his contact information.
After a chat with Scott, he said he’d look into it. I hadn’t heard back so I followed up with him again and he said that he’d chatted with his team about it and would reach out by the end of this week (1÷22÷16) to discuss a resolution. Stay tuned. The saga continues…