Times Union Center

Great work on the crossfit regional very easy to watch and everyone was so friendly!!! Bathrooms were clean lines were short!!!

Very nice AHL-​size arena. Lots of food choices (including Dinosaurs Barbecue — one of our favorites!!). We didn’t get to sample the beer choices because we were in town for the NCAA Frozen Four regionals — but from the signs it looks like there’s a lot of regional craft beer variety during AHL games. We had front row second level seats and it was a GREAT view of the games, plus we could hear a lot of what the players and officials were saying. We were staying downtown for the weekend so parking wasn’t an issue. Very much enjoyed the arena and location.

if you plan on going to any of their popular concerts… be prepared to spend a lot A LOT of time wating in the wrong line because the few workers you can find don’t know sheet… and when you call them on it they just shrug… won’t even bother complaining about all the additional fees since now everyone does that… but jacking parking up to 30 BUCKS… for that price they should at least have someone to direct traffic so you can get out in under 45 minutes… unless the Beatles reunite… never again

Will never attend an event there again! Went to Monster Jam tonight with four year old Grandson who had been sick last week, still on cold meds. Figured we could go to The Pit Party (50 dollars), which ran 4 – 6 (we arrived at 4:30. Then we could leave and go sit down relax for dinner and return for the 7:30 show. They issue two separate tickets for pit party and show. NO RE-​ENTRY! We were stuck there. The Pit Party was a joke. Wait in ridiculous long lines to take a pic of your kid with the driver. It was completely all about buying expensive souvenirs. So we were stuck eating Disney priced hotdogs, chicken fingers or papa johns pizza. It was a 500 dollar night that we five hours trying to keep a toddler calm. We parked in attached garage, took 45 minutes to even get out to the alley. Horrible and expensive night!

This review is for the recent dinosaur exhibit. The exhibit itself was pretty good! Very educational and fun for kids. I have to say that $ 22 for a child’s entry fee that included «rides» was excessive. The lines for these blown up «rides» we’re so long that my peanut only got to go on one of them. The «rides» consisted of different kinds of bouncey type rides that were kind of lame and not worth the price tag. However, the mini golf was okay although crowded and paired with a long wait and there was a coloring station for the kids which was included in the price. There was also another area not included in that price where you could buy additional tickets that cost up to 6 tickets for face painting. I don’t know how much each ticket was because I already felt ripped off that I didn’t even inquire. They took your picture when you came in that you could buy for $ 15 or $ 20 depending on whether you wanted a 3d pic or a regular pic. Um NO! All in all the kid had some fun but I don’t feel it’s a family friendly event given the extreme prices and very long lines. Would skip this next time around.

A fixture in Albany since I was a child, have been coming here for as long. Parking can be tricky but next door is frequently a parking garage for $ 5 and there are other areas within a short walk for the same amount of money.
Downsides include very high priced food/​drink options inside, along with the majority of options being alcohol related. Also, seating can be tight and difficult to navigate if there are a lot of people (getting to your seat in the middle i.e.) Acoustics aren’t that great either.
As some have said relatively clean, parking is decent. it isn’t flashy or hugely expensive, but does draw some big name acts.

Love this place they have concerts sports everything you can think of in one place and two huge parking garages, downstairs there’s a store wolfs three little eateries

I don’t get all the negative reviews. We are so very lucky to have the Times-​Union Center right here in downtown Albany. How else would we ever have Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, U2, AC/​DC, Page and Plant, Andrea Bocelli, Simon and Garfunkel, Genesis, Bob Dylan, The Who and the late, great Frank Sinatra and Pavarotti perform in our hometown (just a few of the many concerts I’ve seen there). Plus, it’s a relatively small and intimate venue compared to the giant stadiums these artists generally perform in. Sight lines are pretty good even in the nose bleed seats and the sound is usually quite good. I’ll grant that the seats are tight, but a lot better than many Broadway houses and even our own Proctors. To everyone complaining about the parking, the Grand Street surface lot a block from the box office is super easy in and out (and cheap).

This venue has a $ 20 parking fee (at least for the Paul McCartney show I attended on ⁷⁄₅) which is outrageous. We parked at The Egg for $ 5 and walked down three flights of stairs and a couple walkways instead. The only downside was going back up. Haha. The vendors and merchandise stands are so unorganized. I may be spoiled coming from Vegas, but I could not believe the lack of any actual lines! It was just whomever pushed to the front the most aggressively won. Also, the lack of ushers was surprising. Each section could be accessed by two different portals and you did not know if you were on the side closest to your seats until you got inside. They need portal numbers on the tickets if there are not going to be portal ushers giving directions. The seats themselves were fine and the show was great.

Easy to park, easy to navigate, and relatively clean. Thats pretty much all im looking for when i go to a venue like this. Its not as fancy as some, but if youre going to see a concert or a game, its a good place to be. Food and drinks are, of course, expensive, but not more than any other arena. One thing they do have that is nice is a bicardi bar so you can step it up from wine or beer if youre interested.
Bathrooms are large and set off from the main area (below ground) which is actually really nice. I never waited to an open restroom despite there being lots of people.
I would go back.

This arena hosted Life in Color, a rave/​concert/​paint party during the Spring of 2013. I had a blast at the event. This venue did it’s job for the most part. One thing that made me question this place is the lack of actual toilets? There were port a pottys everywhere which made me go «wtf where are the actual bathrooms?!» but overall Times Union Center was a decent arena to host a big rave. I had a good time.

(Review for non-​sport events at the Times Union Center.)
I’ve been to two non-​sport events at the Times Union Center and was very disappointed. The seats are small and uncomfortable, with steep aisle, and there’s a haze to the air quality inside the arena that lowers the visuals of the performance. The sound quality in the arena has an echo-​ish feel and overall poor acoustics that detracts from the listening experience.
I would very much like to see Andrea Bocelli (TUC on June 13) at a smaller venue that’s a little more personable and intimate. Why would I pay the posted ticket prices of $ 105 to $ 1,110 to sit in the Times Union Center! Are you kidding me? I would maybe pay $ 20 dollars to sit far away from Andrea with the crappy experience the Times Union Center offers and $ 150 up close. Their price points are insane for what they’re offering. Considering tickets are nearly sold out at the time of this review they must have it right and I have it wrong :/​
No thank you Times Union Center. I’ll stick to SPAC, Palace, Proctors, Tanglewood, NYC Broadway, etc. All of which themselves have various drawbacks but make up for it in other ways.
The Times Union Center is basically a cash register for traveling acts to pack em in, loot up, and move to the next city. I can’t imagine many performers enjoy their experience at the Times Union Center.
(Once you starting sitting up close to the performers and can see the sweat roll down their faces and their micro expressions and the nitty gritty of their effort to perform, you never want to go back to viewing tiny characters 50 to 100 yards away. It’s a world of difference. There’s almost no point going to a live performance and sitting so far away, unless it’s a rock concert or you’re young and the concert experience IS the experience.)

Ah! I’m not a huge fan of the seating layout. It took me a while to figure out how to make my way down to floor seating at a wrestling event. Then to go buy stuff later I had to exit the one of maybe 3 exiting areas in the floor seating area. It totally sucked to originally walk down the wrong aisle to be sent back up and around to find the very few openings to floor seats.
Overall it’s the average arena with some really helpful people and others that let their roles get to their heads; like security. Parking is great as there are several lots you’ll pass as you approach the place.

I do not understand why they cannot sell out a hockey game. It is a relatively cheap activity for families and groups of young people (even with parking, tickets, and refreshments its very affordable).
There isn’t a bad seat in the house for hockey games and other sports events. There are some not so great seats for concerts, which is why I haven’t gone to a concert here since 1998 when Plant/​Page lit up the stage (still greatest concert that I have ever been too); with the performers/​bands that I like I cannot justify $ 120 to have a partially obstructed view.
I still call it «The Knick» and probably always will.
Once a year they have «Pucks and Paws» where they reserve a section for people to bring their dogs as a benefit for the Mohawk Hudson Rivers Humane Society. Its fun.

This place seemed so big when I was younger, but now I can’t even believe I thought that. We were in section 118 which was a pretty good view but still couldn’t see their faces really. Bathrooms were okay, I didn’t get food or anything but I’m sure the prices are up there. There is a bar and it’s open to the public.

This is a pretty decent mid-​sized arena, with good sight lines all around. Concessions are pretty standard and boring, and are spread around in old-​style booths on the outer ring, but they’re not too far from seats and there are enough of them that the lines don’t seem to get excessively long. There’s no permanent souvenir stand, however, or store, and the one restaurant is small. The restrooms are somewhat inconveniently located on lower levels and the traffic routing in and out isn’t well thought-​out. If there’s an emergency first aid station, I didn’t see it marked at all in two complete circles of the outer area.
The parking is spread around downtown, but that’s a good thing, as it avoids having permanent gridlock after an event; on a recent trip we were out of our garage and on the highway within 10 minutes of reaching the car.
We also had a pleasant experience with the ushers and concession staff, relative to the genre, as it were.
All in all, this is never going to replace a proper modern arena but it’s up to date enough not to feel shabby and the smaller scale makes it a nicer venue than a lot of bigger spots.

Ah, the Knick.
A great place generally to see anything. It’s a third tier city arena, so it’s not huge. This is generally a good thing because it’s hard to have a bad seat for concerts etc.
It’s also not overly crowded and you can park for free if you are a little savvy and willing to walk a short distance.
Seats are comfy for an arena.

I wish I could say I was a bigger fan of the TU Center. I will say that the people who work there are very friendly and helpful. I was greeted several times at Saturday night’s hockey game versus the Phantoms. I lived up in the Glens Falls area for a year or two and became a frequent visitor to the Glens Falls Civic Center for concerts and hockey games. While it’s a smaller arena, it’s a far better venue than the TU Center. Sure TU has a lot of fancy frills — like a second tier — but GFCC has them beat on sheer comfort.
The seats at the TU Center may be the most cramped seating at any arena I’ve attended (and I’ve been to a number in NY, NJ and Mass). I’m not even 5’8 and my knees are jammed up against the seat in front of me and if there are other patrons on either side of me, there truly is no room for my legs. I don’t understand this at all. I leave concerts and games with so much pain in my knees and legs (and I don’t at all like to be made to feel so crotchety and achy at 31!!).
I ordered a Heineken that wasn’t even drinkable, I have no idea why, but it was sickly sweet and disgusting, didn’t taste like a Heiney at all. Like most arenas, food and drinks are all pricey, but I will say that these were still average pricey if that makes any sense.
As far as getting there: parking in Albany is terrible period and the #10 bus only runs hourly after 10PM which is inconvenient.

I think that this deserves 5 stars because I honestly don’t know what else you could add. I mean I’d love a concert venue that didn’t have over priced beers, and yes their smalls actually resemble a small drink which I almost knocked a star off for before I realized that america is so mislead with drink sizes that a legit small is horrifying! I should add a star for helping save my waistline! thanks Times Union (thank god its not the pepsi anymore, but I do miss it as the knickbocker).
First of all the staff is EXTREMELY helpful! I’m dumb and forgot to print out my tickets and the Will Call Lady was so nice and friendly, and didn’t even call me stupid and printed out my tickets! I also keep getting sent awesome deals for a free hotdog/​popcorn/​pretzel and small soda with tickets to concerts and games. Hey thanks! (BTW the hotdogs are probably the best venue hot dogs I’ve ever had, legit delicious as far as hot dogs go).
The venue is sized perfectly so there really isn’t a bad seat. Even the highest seats have a good view. I’ve seen all sorts of things concerts, monster truck shows, hockey games, car shows and this venue is always great.
I’m tempted to take down a star because I think the price for parking is absolutely unreasonable. Although the only other places I’ve seen shows I’ve never had to pay for parking because I take a train in, so maybe its reasonable so I wont take down a star.
TIP: just park on a side street a little past the arena, its a little bit of a walk, but do you really wanna pay 10 dollars to sit in traffic after the show while you try to get out of the venue? no thanks!

5 stars for a great venue.
what cant you do times union AKA pepsi AKA knickerbocker arena? can you serve as the spot where i turn the tassel from left to write (haha state school) btw, the college president YELLED at the 4000+ people graduating claiming, sit down, be quiet, dont you have any respect, to which the inflatable doll popped up out of the aforementioned unruly so to be grads (it was NOT me though)!
can you put on a roaring good concert? well there have been double albums released from here and last night was also an indication, that yes, yes you can rock out. ps thank you security for not checking me at all! and allowing me to bring in my water WOOHOO free water!
can you put on sporting events? yes, yes you can but even so who cares about semi pro? meh, its still fun and affordable, but i havent been to a game there in a bit.
sure the concourse can get packed with 10,000 hippies (smells interest indeed) and the beer lines can get unruly, but as a whole, you get 5 stars from me times pepsi knickerunion center arena.