We took our 9 year old daughter to see A Perfect Circle, and she actually fell asleep during the concert which we thought was adorable and impossible at APC! We proceeded to take a picture/video of her for OUR memories and were asked to leave. I will NEVER go to another show here, I don't are who is playing. The cops you have patrolling your venue are clearly not given enough to do and feel the need to puff their chest at families. Never. Again. But clearly it's ok to smoke a shitload of weed- and clearly it's ok to point your phone only at the stage and record the show. And it's clearly also ok to serve the shit out of every person walking through the doors so they leave the place shitfaced. Great priorities Santander Arena. read more

Nice place with affordable beer when I went. Went to see bullet for my valentine, breaking Benjamin and AX7. The arena is nice but make sure you allow 20-30 minutes for parking as near an event it is quite hectic read more

I had a horrific time here at the Santander Arena. Be careful when you buy your tickets because mine had seats that "don't exist". Since my seats didn't exist, they randomly sat me and a group of friends in other peoples seats. We got moved 3 times before they told us to go to the box office. When I did, the man gave us new tickets... but they were for the upper level even though I bought $300 for 2 tickets on the floor!! I demanded that we got floor seats. Luckily, we did get the tickets we paid for but the associate who helped us was also very rude. And the security was ruthless. I get they're there trying to protect us, but get out of my way! They were standing in front of everyone the entire show!! I will never come back to this arena.. don't even get me started on the parking for the shows either...!! read more

I came here for a women's conference. The lines for the concessions would be my only complaint. I don't know if they did not staff for 7 thousand people or if this their normal operation but the lines were crazy! read more

Great area for shows or games. The concession stands are fairly quick and the employees were very friendly. Prices are reasonable. Bathrooms were clean and quick. Good restaurants nearby for dinners before the show or eat there. read more

Just saw Louis CK at this venue and I could not have been happier with everything. The staff was so friendly I was stunned these guys did an excellent job of making sure there were no disturbances. I for one really appreciate the no cell phone, no talking rules it makes for an enjoyable experience. If you can't put your phone down for an hour and a half then don't go. The concessions were quite generous in size, the parking was cheap and a close walk and it didn't take to long to get out of the parking garage. My only gripe would be the seats were somewhat small and I felt a little cramped at times but I really don't care that much especially if the show is good (which it was fantastic). Thanks again Santander Arena I look forwards to more events here! read more

I've come here for a couple of concerts and hockey games. Nice complex with food and drink stands. The prices aren't bad for what you get. The parking can be a pain, especially when you have to pay. read more

Nice arena. I have seen a few things there, mostly hockey games. Good selection of food and love that they have crab fries! Friendly staff.

I love the Sovereign Center...not having to trek to Philadelphia to see a hockey game or my favorite musical act has been a great pleasure. For the past couple of years ( the place opened in 2001 ) I have religiously attended events at the the Reading venue. The place gets some pretty great acts; I've seen various big name artists, most recently Carrie Underwood for the second time. The size of the SC is appealing, almost every seat is a great one with a max capacity of about 7000. The SC is versatile too, night to night it can look completely different depending on the venue. I attend dozens of Reading Royal hockey games a season and have the privilege of having a luxury suite for most events. If you live in the area, tickets are affordable and the venue is all around better than The Wachovia Center. read more

My introduction to this venue was quite annoying. Tickets said doors at 6pm, concert started at 7pm. I stayed at a bar till the concert was about to start. The line out front was crazy, apparently the doors opened at 6:50. We all pretty much missed the first song, just walking into the place, hitting the bathroom, getting food, or merch. I had a seat in the front row which was nice. There were a ton of GA people around, but the sight lines were good and the audio was on point. POD sounded great, the new singer of Three Days Grace was really good and Shinedown was amazing. Don't think I'd trek all the way out here again, but it was an adventure. read more

Went here for a Royals game and had a good time. Tickets weren't outrageously priced. They have a Chickie and Petes inside... Crab fries nom nom nom read more

Saw a lot of shows reminds me of a smaller tower theater great acoustics easy to see band even on the balcony seats great home town place

I have applied here 3-4 times for different positions over the last 3 years. Each time I have filled out the arenas 100 page application, provided all my information, I've been told they'll contact me with a start date, haven't gotten a call or any kind of communication. Better yet? I've messaged the arena on Facebook asking for help, I've called and asked what I need to do? And there response? We'll be in contact. AWFUL place to pursue a job. read more

Get a walkway so people don't have to miss shows due to dangerous proximity to long trains preventing us from getting to the arena

This was our first visit to both Reading, PA as well as the Santander Center. We were attending the February 21st showing of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. It just so happened that this show coincided with a nice winter storm. We were both hoping the show would indeed go on as we had planned our weekend around seeing the program. Even though the weather was not very cooperative, the Theatre was opened on time and the ushers were in place. Now to the not so nice, the decor was beautiful at one time. But the added light scaffolding stretched across the ceiling really takes away from the overall appearance of the Theatre. The seats themselves were quite dated and really not very comfortable. But I am questing because of the weather we were seated alone in out aisle in the balcony, so we had plenty of room to stretch out. The last comment I would add is that outside of the theatre itself, there are metal grates in the sidewalk that were simply treacherous to walk over in the snowy conditions. Any sort of a warning would have been extremely helpful not to mention a wonderful addition to show that you were aware of the situation and to warn your Theatre Goers. I know I said that was the last comment, but one more quickie, the price of a glass of wine was a bit much, @ $7 and served in a small plastic child's cup, well it seemed a bit much. That is until I was charged $4 for a 20oz bottle of water. Just a bit too high IMO. read more

This is a small time hockey arena that occasionally has a concert or two booked there. I went to see Slayer, Rob Zombie and Exodus there this year. There is no parking there except parking garages which are owned by the City of Reading. Depending whether or not they want to pay the attendant overtime, you may pay a flat fee of $8 upon entrance to the garage, or you will be left an envelope that looks like a parking ticket, which you will have to mail them a check, at a later date, for $12. But, keep in mind that these parking garages are totally unsecure and may have rif-raf hanging around in them, especially if there is a concert. I had floor tickets for this concert. I walked up to this venue and was greeted by a Senior Citizen Security Guard with a cain, yelling and screaming that you can't be on a public sidewalk and you have to leave, which really sounds inviting. The entrance, which I found out, was behind the venue across from the bus station. You could not wait on the sidewalk according to senior security guard 2. The line was forced to wait across the street at the Reading Bus Station. The cops didn't want these so called patrons there either. When they did decide to start admitting these people, crazed fans went running across the street almost getting hit by traffic. A city sidewalk is a public place and they have no right to tell you that you can't be there. This venue also has a strick security policy, so watch what you bring because the elderly security guards threaten to throw it out in the trash and you ain't getting it back. Being admitted to this place is much like a book that I read in High School about Elie Weisel and you would think this day and age that they wouldn't be doing the same practices that this poor sole had to go through in the 40's. Upon getting in, I asked several elderly staffers on how I get to the floor and all I accomplished was to walk around in circles. Finally, I found the stairwell to go downstairs with no thanks to the staff. Most of the people for that concert bought floor seats. There were very few, if any, people in the grandstand. These general admission floor tickets were not worth the money. The concert itself, besides the point of this review, was terribly organized. Exodus played for a half hour. Then nothing for an hour. Rob Zombie played for an hour and a half and Slayer played for 50 minutes as the HeadLiner which was a complete rip off. These elderly security guards were behind the barracade behind the stage and it took 5 or 6 of them just to grab 1 crowd surfer. Usually it is 1 or 2 guys to grab 1 crowd surfer not 5 or 6. These security guards were completely overwhelmed despite the lack of a crowd. Once the show was over with, there were some drunks in the Grandstand that took off their clothes and decided to run up the stairs. These guys slipped and fell down and all these senior citizen security guards went running. After they were done with that, they started chasing people out up 1 narrow stairwell. It was like people being herded into 1 cattle car. The bathrooms, I don't think you could find them. Drink prices started at $6 for alcoholic beverages. For a 24oz bottle of water it was $2.50 which is not too bad for bottled water at this over-priced venues. Anyway when I was let out of this place, you had all kinds of troublemakers that should have been thrown off the sidewalk because they didn't have a ticket. The first thing that happened to me is you have this stupid kid with a skateboard that shows up at these things to ride around and slap people in the back of the head. I'm lucky I didn't get hit by him. The other was a crazed Jehovahs Witness, neither of these people belonged at this place, but security did nothing. They were too busy chasing away their own patrons to care about these people out to cause trouble. In essence, security is a joke, the area is unsafe. I would not recommend this arena at all. I would also like to say that Ticketmaster would not let me post this review on its website. So, be for warned. read more

I have been to several concerts and different events at this venue in the past and was very disappointed with the communication between management and staff at this event. As a middle-aged (hate to say it) person who was taking my teenager to see a concert this week.( It was a concert with general admission seating and to avoid future problems, maybe this venue should consider not having general admission in the future.) We travelled a considerable distance to attend this concert, so of course we got to the venue extremely early with the hopes of finding parking and a bite to eat then lining up to make full use of taking advantage of our floor/general admission tickets. I went to the box office to ask what the venues policies were.... times the doors opened, what doors would be open for people with floor/general admission tickets etc. The woman was very pleasant and told me that the doors opened at 6 and that no one was allowed to be on the property before 5 p.m. I was a little confused about the "Property" issue as the "Property" is located on a downtown street with public sidewalks and apparently any people attending events at this venue are told they have to wait across the street (also public sidewalks). I thanked the woman and my teenager and I decided to take a little walk up the street to waste a little time. We stopped to talk to two ladies who also got there early. They told us that the security people had told them that they could not wait on the street so they had moved around to different areas around the building that different security guards told them that they could sit. Each time they were told by a security person that they would have to move to another spot. This went on for several hours with one older security guard getting really nasty with them telling them that he told them 4 times not to sit where they were sitting. (The one girl was from Virginia and the other travelled from a couple of hours away). Eventually, we all went across the street to sit in front of another business for the several hour wait. This venue is on a very busy downtown street with a very busy train track (every 1/2 hour train coming through as well as heavy downtown traffic). The security persons gave misinformation to most of the concert goers who went to them for information. Many of the security people were telling concert goers that you had to go into different doors to enter if you had floor tickets. One of the entrances being in the back of the building, another being up the street from the main entrance.( Don't even ask any of them any questions as they will most likely misinform you just for their own kicks?) They seemed to enjoy "Messing" with people. People started lining up at 3 p.m. for a special meet and greet and some people got confused and got in line with those who had purchased meet and greet tickets thinking that they were getting in line for general admission and were chased away to the other side of the street. As 4:59 rolled along people started across the street to line up as they were told that you could get in line in front of the venue at 5 p.m. The security people were at it again......... They chased everyone across the street and told everyone that now you couldn't be on the property until 5:30 now. ( By now the crowd was getting larger. You have a large group of people trying to dodge cars on the street as well as the 1/2 hour train track issue). About 5:25 the crowd started to go again across the street, (Through the traffic and across the railroad tracks) only to be chased across the street again by the security people telling everyone that if anyone was on the property before 5:30 that the doors would not be opened. (Granted that the doors generally open for most events at 6 p.m. anyway) I was quite surprised that this particular venue would have switched the time that you were allowed on the property from 5 p.m. to 5:30, only because the train (with over 25-30 cars) comes through at exactly 5:30 and in my opinion creates a recipe for disaster with many young concert goers trying to rush to the doors of a venue and also dodging traffic. The sad thing about all this is that most of the concert goers of all ages that my daughter and myself met during our day in Reading were from out of town and this was the first time that they had ever been at this venue. Many came from out of state just to see the bands that were playing. It was sad for the city of Reading because they all said that they would never go to the Sovereign Center again because of how this event was handled, and I totally agree with them. I have been to hundreds of concerts, sporting events, festivals, etc. in my lifetime and I can truly say that I have never encountered behavior by employees as I have seen at this venue. Another thing that disappoints me is that the kids attending this concert were well mannered and definitely not disrespectful at all, compared to some fans I have encountered over the years. read more