Before the men’s basketball game at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, a St. Bonaventure student walked into section 105, one of the designated student sections for the afternoon game against Davidson College, without an issue. About five minutes before tipoff, this student decided to get up from his seat and use the bathroom. He left the section, and when he came back, the arena staff at the entrance to the section would not let him in.
The student was told he was not allowed in the section and the arena staff sent him to a section in the 200-level seats.
He, along with several other Bonaventure students who experienced the same thing, were the only people sitting in the 200 level, angrily watching the game with a burning desire to be with their peers.
This was only one instance in a weekend filled with impolite manners, unhelpful service and box office arguments from a severely unprepared and stubborn Capital One Arena staff.
The rudeness was the first thing that came to my attention. Upon entering the arena for the first time, I was immediately heckled with overly aggressive directions from security while going through metal detectors. Although I understood they were trying to do their job, a first impression is everything, and I, along with a large amount of students and alumni, did not feel welcome.
Secondly, the security staff inside the student section was far more threatening and demanding than necessary. Throughout the two games, security guards were loudly yelling at Bonaventure fans to calm down, even though the freedom of movement was way less than what we have at the Reilly Center.
During the Richmond game on Friday night, a senior in the stands was jumping while celebrating a play, landed awkwardly and fell, taking a chair down with him. He quickly picked himself up, put the chair back the way it was and began to continue watching the game. However, this action was apparently so extreme that two security guards escorted him out of the stadium, not allowing him to return.
Personally, I was slapping my hands against the back of a chair during a Grant Golden free throw when a new security guard aggressively told me to stop, using a few words which The BV can’t print. He could have politely asked me to stop, which he had not done yet, but took an alternate and more agressive route.
Lastly, and worst of all, the box office staff was extremely unaccommodating. They knew zero information about the tournament: which games were at what time, ticket prices and really any relevant information related to the Atlantic 10 Tournament. I genuinely believe that I would have done a better job if I was working.
Friday night and Saturday morning, when students attempted to buy tickets to the Saturday game, they were told that the $15 student section tickets were sold out. This was strange because not many students had bought tickets to the game, so no one knew what was going on. Box office employees then told us that tickets are available for $40 in the same exact section. This led ticket office manager Nicole Boyett, among others, to get involved, calling several people and working out a way to get the tickets back to normal price.
We thought this was figured out when the school told us more $15 tickets were available in sections 104 and 107. Everyone got their tickets and was ready for the game.
We walked into an absolute disaster. Students were being told to go to the 200 and 300-levels of the stadium to sit in their assigned seats. People who entered the section were not allowed to come back in after leaving. When I finally got into the student section, I found out why the tickets were sold out: There were a few fans and families sitting in the student section. The student tickets were sold to anyone who asked for them.
When I found out I was given a 200-level ticket, I went to the box office to ask why I was sold a ticket for a section I didn’t ask for. The woman at the ticket window was extremely rude from the second I asked her a question, even trying to claim that my ticket wasn’t purchased from the the office. After I called her out for this ridiculous accusation, she ignored me and didn’t answer another one of my questions with any word other than, “Bye!”
This weekend in Washington, D.C. was a great one, but this was one aspect that made it less enjoyable. The Capital One Arena staff members acted like we were a burden. It was incredibly immature and gave Bonnies fans a bad taste of the nation’s capital. With the Atlantic 10 Tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn over the next three years, hopefully we receive a much more welcoming and enjoyable experience.
Photo courtesy of davidsonwildcats.com
