I've gone to the Pac-10 basketball tournament at Staples Center many times, but this was the first regular season college basketball game I have attended. This is not really a good year for the Pac-10, but when the teams are good, the Pac-10 tournament can produce some really great games and crowds.
The Galen Center is pretty new (a few years old). It is actually quite nice and impressive from the outside--good architectural design. Inside though, it is more functional than stylish. There is not much character to the walkways or concession stands. The playing arena is pretty standard stuff. Run-of-the-mill layout. There is a large video screen and scoreboard that sits above the center of the court.
The nicest part of the arena is probably the collection of large windows that sit on the north side, which give you a glimpse of the outside. It kind of opens up the place, which while common with baseball stadiums is not that common with basketball arenas.
The Galen Center functions quite well with pretty good viewing angles (no matter where you are sitting). Seats are comfortable too with adequate chair width and legroom.
I attended a friend's graduation here; however, they did not serve food at the graduation so this was my first chance to try their concessions. My friend recommended the chicken strips so I went with that though I should have went with a standard hot dog (Hebrew National served here).
The chicken strips basket came with four chicken strips and some kettle chips. Two dipping sauces were available--BBQ and ranch. The chips were fine. The strips were a tad on the dry side. I did not care for the breading at all--hard, heavy and too crunchy. The BBQ sauce was more of a bold sauce (not a real sweet sauce).
I also tried the nachos with cheese and jalapenos. You can also get chili with it. The chips were your standard gold chips; the jalapenos were fine (self-serve). The cheese was pretty bad--the color was a little off (kind of like a pinkish yellow-beige). The cheese was kind of cold too.
In terms of the atmosphere, there was pretty good attendance (maybe 40%) for a non-marquee match-up (USC vs. Oregon). The student section was well represented. The USC cheerleaders performed several dance numbers during the game breaks and even underwent a few outfit changes (similar to cheerleaders from professional basketball teams).
Petro Papadakis announced the game, and he was pretty much the same as he is on Fox Sports. So if this guy gets on your nerves, you may be in for a long night.
Overall, Galen Center is a pretty decent arena. Seating is comfortable and the views are good. USC does not have that good of a basketball team right now, but if they get one in the future, a USC vs. UCLA or USC vs. Cal might be a worthwhile event.
In terms of the food, I would eat before or after the game. I am not sure how late Mo-Chica is open, but it is relatively close to the arena. I'm not the biggest fan of Mo-Chica, but it definitely has much better food than what they serve at the Galen Center. It is also reasonably priced (you can eat there for less than $15).
Parking is available on campus (directly across the street from the Galen Center) for $10. read more