Convocation Center

The venue itself — a basketball area — made for a pretty good space to see the Killers. The lighting and sound was better than expected. The size of the place is large but not overwhelmingly so — we were pretty far back and still had a good view.
The place has a very cold feel to it — not temperature wise, but it’s just not generally inviting. Lots of plain gray concrete, not too much decoration. As far as drinks, the selection is limited — soft drinks, a few beer choices, and a wine cooler or two. No mixed drinks or fancier cocktails.
My biggest complaint was the parking situation — TERRIBLE! There is a lot right by the center that quickly filled up, another lot across the street which also filled quickly, leaving most of us to find our own way far down a street and around another corner to a third lot that no one was directing us to, but was the only place left to park. Parking attendants were few and far between and the ones who were in place, mostly just hollered that the lots were full, without giving any other suggestion of where to go.
Good thing the show was still pretty good. It’s the one and only concert I’ve seen here, but I’m not in a rush to go back. If you are going to host large events, especially ones involving a lot of non-​EMU students coming (who are not familiar with the campus), you need to make sure you can offer a streamlined and convenient experience all around, and parking/​getting to the space needs to be an important consideration.

Great times here! Husband and I came here last Thursday to attend an awesome show put on by Tegan and Sara, and THE KILLERS! Wahoo! We were excited just to be able to see these guys, but the venue itself proved to be a GREAT place to showcase their talents.
The lighting effects were amazing, as well as, surprisingly their sound quality. I applaud the production staff at EMU’s Convocation Center for assisting in such a wonderful evening. For such a simple basketball arena, the acoustics were pretty good, even giving some of the bigger venues a run for their money!
Loved that parking is free, and easily accessible. For a cold winter evening, it is definitely a HUGE plus to not have to trek across town just to get into a venue (something that I’ve had to do at many other places!). The staff facilitated the crowds really well, with separate entrances for the people with floor access, and the people who had assigned seating.
The only thing that was a little annoying was that the back seating directly facing the stage area was bleacher seating, whereas, everywhere else, was bucket seating. If you get sore butts easily, you might wanna opt to get the bucket seating. I’m not sure how much more comfortable you would be, but it looks more comfortable. :)
Food options are your standard fare: hot dogs, pizza, popcorn, beer, pop, nachos, candy. All ranging from $ 3 – 8. We each had a slice of pepperoni pizza that wasn’t greasy, but not mind blowing either. A good filler.
Overall, had a great time, and liked the venue immensely. It’s not too big or too small. JUST RIGHT. :) I’d definitely not mind coming back here to check out another gig in the future. For the ticket price, well worth it!

The Convocation Center is a great space for large events. My husband and I saw Michael Moore speak here on Halloween several years ago, and it was a trip being in the packed audience with a bunch of people in costume.
It has stadium seating, since it often hosts athletic events, but it’s pretty comfortable, and acoustics aren’t bad. I’m planning to go to the Convocation Center later this month to see Thomas Friedman speak at an event called Innovation: The Business of Green Event. I expect it to be a great venue for what’s likely to be a jam-​packed event.