Texas Gigs

American Airline Center is a sports venue for two of the biggest teams in America – NBA’s Mavericks and NHL’s Stars. It has been the hosting ground for both the teams for over 20 years. Apart fro sports, American Airline Center is also a popular venue for hosting several events. Nicknamed “The Hangar”, the AAC is located in downtown Dallas. It is a place that can really bring out the spirit of celebration for events at night times. It has a capacity of 19,200 in the basketball stadium and 18,000 in the hockey stadium. Either you can book tickets for special events to see your favourite stars perform or you can book tickets for home teams matches to come regularly. Either way, the area will leave you satisfied. The arena has marble flooring, glass atria, and signage similar to that of corporates or airports. It does not look very different from an airport when you look at it from far away. The arched roof of the arena of the roof makes it look like a giant bowl. With a seating capacity of 20,000 for basketball matches, you may sometimes get the worst seats at the back. You can still you the large video screens to watch the closeby action while you can still see the faces of the players from the last seat.

How to get to the American Airlines Center

The American Airlines Center is located in Victory Park, northwest of downtown Dallas. You can reach AAC easily by driving till the interchange of I-35E freeway and Route 366 freeway and finding the route to the stadium. You can easily spot the arena while driving on I-35E with the closest exits at Continental Avenue and Oak Lawn Avenue. You can choose from several parking options to find a place that you will not forget after the event. The cash lots are available at Victory Avenue, Olive Street, and at the south of Woodall Rodgers Freeway. You can also catch the DART that runs next to AAC.

Things you can do around the American Airlines Center

The AAC and the area surrounding the center has been planned and built to an urban-living center of Dallas. There is plenty of entertainment and activities that you can explore around the arena. You can also find accommodation in the nearby hotels if you are coming during the off-season for a private event. During the games, the nearby hotels get occupied pretty fast by the visitors. As you go further from the AAC, you will soon reach a two-block stretch where you will find everything from retail stores to coffeehouses. It is a place where you can enjoy shopping as well as watch a movie in the theatres. Some of the popular restaurants to dine near AAC are Shooters Dallas, Hero, and L’Italiano Bistro & Bar.

Toyota Center first opened in 2003 and immediately set higher standards for the sports and entertainment industry. It became one of the premier live entertainment locations in America, similar in prestige as the Ryman located in Nashville, TN. Toyota Center is home for NBA’s Houston Rockets and AHL’s Houston Aeros. Apart from sports, Toyota Center also hosts musical events and touring shows with private event management agencies. During the first year, Toyota Center welcomed over 1.5 million fans to the stadium, winning it the Allen Award for Civic Enhancement, Rookie of the Year by the Harlem Globetrotters, and a nomination for Pollstar magazine’s Best New Concert Venue award. It was designed by HOK Sports and Entertainment Group in association with Morris Architects from Houston. The large open window seats are probably the best quality of Totoya Center. The playing surface of the area is nearly 32-feet below street level, which made Toyota Center the largest lower level arena of any arena in the nation.

How to reach Toyota Center

You can drive through Houston City to reach Toyota Center that has around 2,500 parking space for your cars. If you do not find parking in the Toyota Tundra parking, you can find a parking space easily within a few blocks of the arena. You can also take the Metro rail and reach Bell Station. You can take a 10-minute walk from the station to reach the arena. You can also find local buses making their rounds around the area as well.

Tickets and seating areas

You can book the tickets for music concerts from the private event management companies if you are planning to attend the show. You will not find any tickets with the area authorities unless the event management team hires a few volunteers to sell on-spot tickets. Book your tickets online when you find out about any upcoming events in Toyota Arena. Most of the games at the Toyota Center are sold out due to the success of the Rockets. You can buy tickets online from the Toyota Center website or directly from the Toyota Center box office. Toyota Center has installed Flash seat technology which allows you to unlock your seat directly from your phone instead of carrying paper tickets. The Flash seat system is open for bidding online, but you can buy them outside from a seller.

Other activities to try out outside Toyota Center

Although the area around Toyota Center does not have enough entertainment for you before or after the game, you can still get a good meal at one of the fine dining restaurants nearby. If you can drive around, you can find more options like Guadalajara and Papasitos Cantina. If you are looking for something from the Spanish menu, you can dine at Oporto Fooding House & Wine. The town also has Reef for people who want to enjoy the best seafood in a nationwide popular seafood restaurant chain.

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the US in terms of population. The AT&T Center is the host for NBA’s Spurs which gets the undivided attention of the entire city since it is the only team to be playing any of the Big Four sports leagues. AT&T Center was established in 2002 on the east side of San Antonio. It has a seating capacity of 18,500 for basketball, and 19,000 for other events like musical concerts. The arena also hosts hockey with a seating capacity of 16,000. Apart from the stadium, the AT&T Center also has 50 luxury suites, 2018 club seats, and 32 restrooms. Before AT&T Center was formed, the Spurs played in the Alamodome, which was built in 1993. Despite having a newly made stadium, Spurs was not satisfied with the seating capacity of the stadium and wanted a more basketball friendly arena. First Spurs had plans to work with the authorities of San Antonio to build a new stadium next to Alamodome, but later they found a better opportunity with Bexar County to build an arena near Freeman Coliseum. The agreement also included hosting a new ice hockey team, Stock Show, and Rodeo Association Multi-day Events. The contract between Spurs and Bexar County was signed on the same day Spurs was awarded their NBA Championship rings. The arena was completed in 2002. Total of $186 million was spent on the construction, and the stadium was first called as SBC Center. Later in 2005, when AT&T purchased SBC, they also made changes with the stadium name to AT&T Center.

How to get to AT&T Center

The AT&T Center is located far to the east side from downtown San Antonio. You can go on a road trip to the stadium from the city and pass through interesting places such as River Walk, Tower of the Americans, and Alamo. AT&T Center has ample parking space, so you do not have to worry about your car when you are enjoying a game or an event. You can take the Interstate 35 northbound from downtown and exit at Walters Street/AT&T Center Parkway. From there follow the signals and keep on the AT&T Center Parkway. You will see the parking lots after a mile from the exit. You can also take the bus option from Route 24, that connects the arena to downtown. The buses are available 24/7, so you do not have to worry about postgame arrangements.  

Other things to do around AT&T Center

Apart from the games and events, there is not much that you can do around this area. Most of it is an industrial region. At the AT&T Center Parkway toward I-35, you can find a couple of fast-food joints and gas stations. If you have time, you can go exploring the local restaurants in the general area.

NRG Stadium opened in 2002 to become the first retractable roof facility in the NFL. Houston is home to a Houston Oilers, which was formed in 1960. First, the Oilers played at Astrodome, Houston, which was the first multipurpose dome stadium in the country. Later in the 1980s, the owner of Oilers, Adams became dissatisfied by Astrodome as it was one of the smallest NFL stadiums. Even after refurbishment and addition of 10,000 more seats, Adams decided to move his club to Nashville after the 1996 season where they were rebranded as Tennessee Titans. The Houston NFL Holdings Group was formed in 1997 under Bob McNair, which intended to bring an NFL franchise back to the district. They commissioned HOK sport to develop an advanced stadium with a retractable roof, which was later named as NRG Stadium. When NFL announced the selection of a new team in the league to become the 32^nd team, Houston and Los Angeles participated. Houston failed to get the position at first, but in 1999, NFL rescinded the LA expansion franchise and selected Houston. As soon as they got the position, the new team, Houston Texans, partnered with the Livestock Show and Rodeo to build the planned stadium. Houston Texans played their first match on Sep 8, 2002, against Dallas Cowboys at the NRG Stadium which was then called Reliant Stadium. Today NRG Stadium hosts the NFL matches as well as several other festivals and events throughout the year.

How to get to NRG Stadium

NRG is a part of a vast complex that also includes Astrodome, which is now turned into a convention hall. The stadium is located 7-8 miles southwest to Houston downtown. From the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, it will take at least an hour to reach the stadium. You can drive by a car and park in the ample spacing available outside the stadium. If you are season-ticket holder, you will get the first dibs to park closest to the arena. You can still park nearby the area and take a walk if you are there for a single game. You can also take the Red Line option on Houston’s light-rail system. Stop at the Stadium Park/Astrodome station, and from there, you will have to take a long walk around the parking lot of Astrodome to reach NRG stadium.

Other things to do around NRG Stadium

There are plenty of things to do after the game if you plan on staying a little longer near NRG stadium. You can tailgate around the stadium with other Texans fans or have your own group set up a party outside. You can also visit some of the restaurants nearby. If you are using light rail, you will pass through several Houston attractions, such as the Museum of Natural Science, Museum of Fine Arts, and Houston Zoo. It is suggested that you buy a Metro pass if you have plans on taking a tour to these destinations.

As a part of an event management team or an individual artist, you need the right places to play your music or showcase your art. The event venues may differ based on the type of art you want to present. The prices for booking the venue will depend on the expected crowd and the ambience that should provide to your requirements. Considering you are ready with a budget for hosting an event, here are the venus you can book.

Restaurants

Fine dining restaurants are a great place to host corporate and family events. It is also a great place for artists to showcase their talent. While you cannot expect the crowd to cheer up the DJ and jumping on the floor, they will surely support any show with a round of applause.

Bars, Pubs, Clubs

The best places to host an energizing party are bards and pubs. These places have the right ambience to provide good food and music to the guests. Since most of the pubs do their main business during the night time, you can get a better deal booking the venue for day time.

Hotels

Family events are best organized in hotels and resorts. Resorts have all the facilities and a ton of entertainment for all age groups. Businesses can also find conference rooms for their meetings, making it an ideal place for various kinds of events. You can also book a resort for a pool party concert and entertain the audience with your music.

Community centers

You can find the best deals to host an event in the local government community centres such as churches. You may not find the best facilities or entertainment in these places, but hiring a government hall can ease the burden from your pockets.

Art galleries

Art galleries can be a quite and vibrant place to conduct seminars and company meetings. While the guests can enjoy the art pieces, they can use the hall for hosting a talk event filled with presentations and QnAs.

Sports clubs

You can also check with the local sports clubs to see if they have empty places which they are willing to put on rent for events. You can use the football grounds of the local sports clubs to host a small musical event or something like an election rally.

Parks and field

You can also book the parks and fields for events by talking to the local authorities. Parks are a great location for hosting book fairs, club picnics, and meet and connect sessions. Parks can also incorporate more people due to the vast spread of fields.

Academic venues

Most universities and colleges have their own indoor stadiums and theatres. You can connect with the academic authorities to book dates for your event. The colleges and universities will not mind renting their property out for events to earn additional income when their theatres or halls are not in use.