UCF CFE Arena

I use to live in the Central Florida Area and I can remember when they started building this place. My first time ever there was last year around this time. They have awesome concerts and comedy shows there as well. This school (University) is top notch and way ahead of its time. They just got voted by US NEWS Best Colleges for being Innovative. Keep up the Great work Knights.

Let’s start with, they obviously didn’t read the rider. Did not even order back line for the Band part of the BAND! The fresh, clean towels were a treat. I suppose they’ll go back to the auto detail shop they’ve gotten them from. The catering was the worst I’ve encountered in touring. Breakfast was powdered eggs and something that oddly resembled bacon and sausage. They pulled the ALL DAY coffee and tea station was removed just before the abrupt and without notice ending of breakfast.
The vegetables, fruit and juice machine that were on the rider… That never materialized. The chicken, rice soup that was for lunch and dinner… It appears it may even be used for tomorrow’s symposium on healthy eating and time management in the work place.
The dinner main course was white dried rice, instant mashed potatoes with the consistency of angel diarrhea. I’m not sure if what appeared to be beef, wasn’t piss soaked beef jerky. Thank God the local Piggly Wiggly didn’t throw out the day old rotisserie chicken. Otherwise this precious display of culinary catering genius would have went south quickly like a summer whore giving out $ 2.50 blowjobs behind the UCF dog park.
Now I’m not one to shamelessly complaining for no good reason. There was a concerted effort and time put into the requirements for production, food and the like. To say these requirements, needs and selections were ignored would be a gross understatement of epic proportions.
Apparently there was minimum of effort by the CFE arena staff. Especially the person ordering catering. I’m sure they would love to discuss your next event… Reach out to them and discuss your desire for Angel Shit and Piss soaked beef jerky…

The place was great, food meh! Ellie Goulding was fabulous. She sang all the songs I know and the ones I did not know were kind of cool.
I have a question for whomever wants to chime in!
This was the first time my 11 year old went to an adult concert, we bought seats– there were four people seating two seat in front of us. As soon as the concert started they stood and decided to stand the entire time. Because they were tall my daughter could not see Ellie Goulding, the people (thank you sir for trying to help us) seating directly in front of us asked the (standing people) to please sit down because there was a child behind that could not see, another lady (very politely as well) sitting in front of us asked them to sit down and that if they wanted to stand they should be in the standing area. The standing people refused by saying that they bought those spots and were not going to sit down.
This made my daughter not enjoy this wonderful concert, we stood some times but felt bad for the people seating behind us because they could not see when we were standing.
Should people who buy tickets to seat down be allowed to stand? Is this the norm? I’m just wondering how people can be so rude.
SMH

They cannot handle the crowds. Parking sucks going in and coming out takes close to an hour. This review is based on 2 different events there. It took 30 minutes to get a drink and the second run I had to leave the line because the headliner was starting. The arena is nice but going there sucks because you know everything is a long line.

How about you get more than 2 cash registers? And turn on the water fountains during events rather than letting us die?

We were not on the inside but more at the ouside where all the track and field options are. We were able to watch the college kids running hurdles, the 440, the 880 and the high jump. It was pretty awesome to see the kids with the determination to succeed.

This venue sucks. There were no attendants to assist us with finding our seats. We walked up and down 3 times trying to find our seats. No signs telling us where to go. Utter chaos. The parking is not any better. We waited for 20 minutes in our spot before we could move. Nothing is organized here and we will never come back.

I attended the Katt Williams concert at the event last week. I loved him and most of comedians who came out before him but hate this venue for concerts. The acoustics and seating are absolutely horrible! The comedians sounded muffled and even in lower level section 102G dead center it was hard to see the comedians faces. The two big screens on either side of the stage were not help either. The images on the screens were not very clear almost foggy like it blurred. It may have helped it the camera crew zoomed in tighter on the performers. Also, the seats are so close together with almost no leg room. My seat was literally broken. Thank God there was no one sitting in front of me cause I was able to brace my feet on the seat of that chair to prevent me feeling like I was sliding out of my seat. My husband was not so fortunate. He’s 6’1 and his knees were in the back of someone’s head all night! Loved Katt but won’t come to this arena again to see him!

We went to this arena to watch a men’s college basketball game, UCF vs UConn. I am a UConn alum, so I am comparing this arena to the other college arenas that I have visited.
Pros: It is a small arena, so it was easy to navigate and most of the seats have a good view of the action. The price of tickets was reasonable. Traffic getting to the game wasn’t bad. The parking garage is close to the arena, and parking is only $ 5. The stadium food was tasty.
Cons: There was only one concession stand that was open on our side of the arena, while another one was closed and gated off. With only one stand open, the line at halftime was slow-​moving, and the food selection was limited (and there was no alcohol). The traffic leaving the game was awful, it took 30+ minutes to leave the garage.
Of note: The «environment» of the stadium was surprisingly dull. I have never been to a college sporting event where the away team’s fans were louder than the home team’s fans. Since I was cheering for UConn, this wasn’t a problem for me… But I was surprised at the lack of passion amongst the home team fans.

I attended UCF CFE Arena last night for a concert. I live in NC so fortunately this will probably be the only time I ever go to this arena.
The positives:
1. The show was fantastic. I’ve seen them about 10 times and they sounded great. The acoustics inside may have had a lot to do with it, so I will put that in as a positive.
2. Two people without tickets were disturbing all the patrons around them (including myself) and the security promptly handled it.
Now for the negatives:
The coordination and logistics were terrible. I’m not sure who handles that — the arena staff or a contracted company. It was utter chaos inside and out. This isn’t a huge venue but it still holds 10,000 people which requires some type of organization.
1. This arena is on a college campus. I received an earlier email with what looked like a hand drawn map detailing which parking decks were available for people attending the show. Particularly, since this is on a college campus, I believe it is incredibly important for campus security, CFE Arena attendants, or ANYONE to direct traffic. We saw 2 police cruisers with lights on. One was blocking an unauthorized deck and the other had pulled someone over. Other than that, there was absolutely no one directing people where to go. You could not see the name of the deck until you were already pulling in or it was too late to turn in. We ended up parking in a random parking deck that we knew wasn’t where we were supposed to park but it looked like the majority of folks in the lot were doing the same thing. This sucked because I prepaid for parking but with no direction and only using a stupid hand drawn map, that money was wasted. I’ve never bought tickets off a third party site so I’m wondering if those people who did even got the email detailing where to park since it didn’t come from Ticketmaster.
2. Inside was just as chaotic. There was no coordination with the staff letting people go up or down the stairs to the seats. So everyone was crossing lines not knowing which one to be in. We’re not idiots so we could figure it out but it would be nice for a little bit more organization.
We were actually the lame people who left at the encore — which I have never done — because I couldn’t deal with the thought of the mess it would have been leaving. Under normal circumstances leaving a concert is no fun but with the utter lack of coordination it would have been an absolute nightmare. We had to catch an early flight today so we were really glad to leave before the end of the show.

A nice place for a game or concert. The event I was at only a few concession areas were open so lines were long.

I came here with my family to watch my nephew’s high school graduation. What a beautiful campus and that’s coming from a University of Florida alumni! The actual arena is huge and we were late and sitting up in the nosebleed seats, but with the big screen TV and the great acoustics – it was like we were on the front row (well not really, but it was acceptable).
Overall, the arena is impressive for a campus stadium and there are plenty of places to grab a nosh before an event as the campus is its own little village with a bookstore and chain restaurants.
The concessions seemed a bit disorganized, but not sure who’s in charge of that. Lots of long lines waiting, but luckily I didn’t feel like I needed refreshments then.
The only downside is the parking structure during an event. I only went for a graduation, but I can imagine what a nightmare it would be to try to leave as on graduation night it was pretty horrible. Didn’t seem like anyone was policing the place and it took more than an hour just to get to the street.
And the double downside is the one parking structure we were at didn’t have an elevator so for those who have trouble going up and down stairs, this will be a huge challenge.

This was my first time at the arena. Years ago I took some courses at UCF. My how things have changed! This entire side of the campus was woods when I was here. The arena is impressive! Complete with a interactive scoreboard that reminds you of the Amway Center on a much smaller scale. The noise level in the building is way high! But overall and enjoyable athletic experience.

My buddy and I recently attended a show here at the UCF CFE Arena to rock out to Volbeat and Five Finger Death Punch. Coming from St. Augustine, we had a choice of taking the toll roads or the back roads, and we decided to keep it free, and actually had a nice drive down to the UCF Campus. The police did a nice job of directing traffic into the different parking garages located near the Arena, and it was easy to get in and find a spot.
The arena is in a nice area of the campus, with restaurants and shops nearby. Very easy entrance into the arena– security was thorough but not obtrusive, and the workers were friendly. The lobby was large enough for everyone to get in and find their seats, while also serving as a makeshift area selling t-​shirts and merchandise.
The only negative experience of my evening happened immediately upon walking in, when I had to use the restroom. While using the urinal, it backed up and overflowed all over the floor… BOOOOOOOOOOO.
Aside from that, everything was amazing. Easy to find the seats, the seats were comfortable and roomy. I don’t think there was a bad seat in the house, all areas had a GREAT view of the stage. It was easy to get out and use the restrooms and buy concessions. There were a LOT of beer vendors around each exit, so it was quick and easy to refill on the good stuff.
Security and associates were friendly while doing their job, which is nice to see. The sound was awesome. Lighting was awesome. The concert was amazing. I totally got my money’s worth, and I really enjoyed catching the show here. Traffic was a little bad getting out, but when you’ve got that many cars leaving one garage, it’s going to take a while. My advice– stick around after the show and relax, you’re going to wait one way or the other.

Nice facility on the UCF east Orlando campus. The Arena hosts a wide variety of events, from sporting events to concerts to expos. The facility is beautiful and well cared for. There are also several nearby parking garages on campus that are an easy walk to the arena.

Get to graduation early!

#LightUpUCF at @CFEArena Where do I start? I went two years ago and had a great time so I headed back this year. This year was a completely different story.
When we arrived it looked like there was a good amount of activity, but there wasnt a line to get tickets, so we got some and headed in. Much to my surprise, they were completely out of ice skates — literally only child sized skates were on the shelves. I asked when skates would be available and the person behind the skate counter said it could be up to an hour, and there were others waiting in front of us.
Realizing this wasn’t going to work for us, I went back up to the ticket window to get a refund within 10 minutes of arrival. The clerk promptly notified me that no refunds are permitted. I asked where the signage was the said this. She explained that it was on both the ticket as well as the wristband (both of which are handed out AFTER you pay). Turns out, we couldn’t find it in either of those places either.
She repeatedly said, «How am I supposed to know they are out of skates?» How about this, use a freaking radio! This isn’t rocket science.
All she had to do was offer a rain check and I would’ve been fine. We really wanted to skate, we just didn’t have a couple of hours to hang out and wait for others to finish.
Ice skating at Winter Park or other locations from here on out!

Went here to see The Avett Brothers. We had floor seats next to the soundboard. The sound was really great. The sightlines were good for us too, not sure how it would be on the upper levels. Easy parking in a garage next door. bar across the street.

It’s like any other large arena. The campus is amazing and arena is top notch. This is a large campus and the event I was attending was Graduation. Happy times but you are dealing with a big group. Was clean enough and food was typical also. You have to walk far so be prepared.

We had our first visit to UCF’s CFE Arena last week for the Avett Brothers show. It was an alright experience.
the Pros:
— I don’t think there are many bad seats in the house. A friend of mine sat in the «nosebleeds» and had a great view.
— There were alcohol vendors available INSIDE the show. We didn’t have to miss any of the show to refill on our $ 10 beers.
— Sound was great!
the Cons:
— We purposefully bought end-​of-​row seats. We were sitting there, waiting on the show to begin, when ushers suddenly arrived to add 4 more seats to the end of our row, putting us close to the middle. This was annoying to me since I really wanted the breathing room, and essentially invalidated the information I was given.
— Lots of weird up-​down to get into the arena itself. Seriously, we were asked to go up a huge set of stairs only to walk down a set of stairs once up there.
— The drinks were crazy expensive.
All in all, the show made this experience fabulous, but, in true UCF fashion, the venue is lackluster.