Soldiertown is one of the best basketball facilities in the SF Bay Area. It is exciting and in a central location. It is home to the Oakland Soldiers team. I would have given it five stars but I deducted one star for 3 ongoing minor irritations!
I will list suggestions on how to improve and make this facility even better:
FIRST, NO parking despite having a parking lot which they charge 5.00 for. Not the greatest of areas, parking outside gets jammed packed too( no wonder it used to be called Jamtown...lol...just playing!). Note the restaurant supply store will tow if you are parked in their area.
SECOND, they do not allow the great vendors outside to sell drinks!!! On a hot day, you are dying bc their vending drink machines are not working, but takes your money! They don't always have someone that can fix or help you either to get your money back! So Soldiertown, please allow the vendors to sell some drinks( maybe just different brands then the ones you have in the vending machines?) ! Otherwise, people are getting upset as I was working the entry table as a volunteer at this weekend's tournament and people were upset Saturday machines were broken and taking their money and they wanted their money back! I told them we have nothing to do with the machines. And some were asking if there was a snack bar so that would be good to have again, too!
THIRD, wish they have more Soldier gear and an open shop esp during tournaments! They are always out of supplies- please order more! Have a website that is working( doesn't work!), so we can buy and think about how much you are losing by not having it available! So many times I want to buy at your store or website, but always not available! I give up! Please order more of the FAMILY sweatshirts, hoodies, short sleeve tees and long sleeved tees in ALL sizes for both men and women! I have 7 in the family and we want to represent, so can you imagine how much money you could have made when all of these families want to buy some, but these are not available?
HINT: NOW I bring my ice chest and bring my own drinks since it never works there! Wish they bring back their snack bar in the back and sell the drinks there even! So TIP and be forewarned: Bring lots of water and soda in your cooler- you will thank me! Otherwise I love Soldiertown!
One more thing, I noticed people asking me at the entry table. YES, they DO have an ATM machine available in the gym! Just be aware to make sure to push EXiT on the ATM machine bc when I was working security there many people left it open and you can see their transactions and luckily I saw it and I am an honest person so exited out for them or else someone can get money out of their accounts or something!? So while I was there I would remind them to make sure they pushed the exit button and go to the beginning screen!
Edited to add: Met the Soldier's owner, Mark, working at the vending machine in fact lol! Idk if he read the yelp beforehand, but they were working fine that Sunday and filled! It shows good management if he did read it and implement the suggestions! All the Soldier staff from the guy who kept the place clean and constantly filling the soap dispensers ( always with a smile whatever we asked him to do- bring chairs, clean bathroom, fill soap, picked up trash constantly, etc- he was great and I personally thanked him even bc he was working so hard!) to the manager and even to the owner! They were in full force on Sunday making sure everything ran smoothly and were very friendly and great staff! Love this facility even more now and if they implement my suggestions to help their place be even better than the best they are now! The ultimate place to hold a tournament and represent! I just wish it was closer to me so my son could go there to practice everyday! Excellent business! read more