John Paul Jones Arena

I agree with everyone else, pre-​pay your parking for concerts. Also, don’t bother sitting on the side sections as you will not get the full effect of whatever visual the artist has since the speakers block most of everything. There is a 4 drink maximum and they mark your wrist band to monitor this. It’s also really hot in the venue and the acoustics are just OK. A lot of times I felt like the vocals were drowned out by the instruments, which is kind of a bummer. However, the lines moved efficiently and the staff was polite.

Great venue; HORRIFIC parking. Prepay or don’t bother. Took us 45 minutes to park and another 20 to jog back to the arena.

I went to John Paul Jones Arena to see University of Virginia men’s basketball team vs Florida State Seminoles. It’s best to get a parking pass because it made parking easy. The arena is modern and constructed very well. I sat in the first section (middle level). If you’re tall, seats can be a bit cramped. I was able to get a good view of the entire court. I cant speak on nosebleed seats because we wasn’t that high up. There are concessions selling typical arena food. Also, it’s a store inside which sells all of UVA merchandise. The atmosphere was great for a college basketball game. The traffic after the game was hectic. It’s best to either leave a few minutes before the buzzer or wait to let traffic calm down. John Paul Jones Arena is a great place to watch basketball. I give John Paul Jones Arena a 4.5 rating.

Eagles Concert was excellent, but parking was a nightmare! Got scammed by Ticketmaster. $ 10.00 for parking and another $ 7.90 for the greedy ones. Then, it’s a half hour well to JPJ Arena. Then, an hour waiting in the parking garage for cars to move. Will never do it again regardless of who’s appearing. Ticketmaster should be ashamed at themselves.

I owe the JPJ an updated review and a boost to a 5-​star rating. It’s not simply because my Hoos are dominant here and owned the ACC this year. OK, maybe it’s partly that. But my only complaint from the past was that the seats are packed in tight in the upper seats, and while that’s still the case it really wasn’t that big of an issue in the two home games I went to this year. Again, maybe it was because I was watching our NATIONALLY RANKED team return Virginia basketball to days of past glory, including watching us clinch the ACC by whipping Syracuse. But truth be told, this is a state of the art facility that is among the best college basketball venues in the nation. And there’s no bias in that — pretty much any basketball commentator who has been to JPJ will concur.
And, at long last, we have a basketball program that matches the quality of our arena. Because of the steady improvement of the basketball program under Tony Bennett, the game-​day atmosphere and student support has become insane. The JPJ crowd isn’t quite at the Duke/​Cameron or Syracuse/​Dome level yet, but they are getting there.
And I don’t believe any of that would have been possible if it wasn’t for JPJ being the amazing facility that it is.

Simply put, UVA has the best (okay, maybe «one of the best») college basketball facility in the country. Obviously, part of that is because the bowels of JPJ are loaded with practice courts and workout facilities and dining halls that you and I will never get to see.
But, aside from that, the building is also absurdly aesthetically pleasing, right down to the pagodas that match the rest of the architecture on Grounds.
JPJ is large (14.5 k capacity), and it gets loud when it’s full. There’s a reason it provided one of the best home-​court advantages in the nation last season, with UVA going on a 19-​game home winning streak. UVA football fans may not always be the best, but I am convinced that the Hoos have some of the best and most devoted basketball fans in the ACC. Thank goodness for Tony Bennett.
The only downside is that it’s also built with concerts in mind, which make it a bit too cavernous to get loud for those early OOC games — additionally, lots of seating is stacked in the upper bowl, where the sightlines are good… but miles away from the court and not ideal in terms of noise.
Parking isn’t terrible, though your best bet is probably to just find a spot behind Lambeth around Rugby Road and make a 10 minute walk over.
Of all the places reviewed on Unilocal thus far, there’s no place I would rather be than watching Dookies flop away as Joe Harris kicks their asses at JPJ

JPJ is a fantastic place to watch a sporting event, but an even better concert venue. I have seen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Nine Inch Nails at this arena and both times I walked away amazed at the sound quality and the energy that the artists and fans were able to convey to one another in the space. I would call JPJ a medium size arena which makes getting a seat where you can actually see the band or artist much easier than a larger venue such as the Verizon Center in DC. Being a smaller space also helps to provide the concertgoer with a more ideal acoustic environment which helps to explain the sound quality being so good. I highly recommend seeing a show or a game at this venue if you are in Charlottesville and have the time and money to do so.

I recently visited JPJ to watch UVA play GA Tech. Gorgeous campus, but parking was a bit of a challenge. It wasn’t very clear where we were allowed to park, but once we figured it out there was a shuttle waiting to take us to the Arena.
I was shocked by how few aisles there were. Of course we were late and of course our tickets were waaaaaay up and in the middle of a row… which meant asking a dozen or so people to stand up and lean backwards so we could scoot by to our seats. And WOW… those are some narrow aisles. I feel bad for anyone with super long legs because it reminded me of shimmying past passengers on an airplane anytime I needed get by them.
Which brings me to my next unpleasant surprise. This decently sized arena has pretty small restrooms. I’ve been in little league baseball parks with more stalls & sinks. I can’t imagine going to a concert here… doesn’t mean I won’t, just means it’s not my first choice for a venue.

I WISH I had a floor/​general entry ticket! I was sitting in the nosebleed and was suffering from food poisoning that weekend but still had amazing time there. The sound was great but one thing I wish they did better was how they wrist band you and sell alcohol beverages. The lines moved extremely slow and seemed very disorganized… they were doing things inconsistently and not efficient at all. We parked in the mall parking lot & walked though that’s probably not legal… But it was the best bet. Quick way in and quick getting out.
Can’t wait to be able to see DMB again ON THE FLOOR next time!

I don’t know why I forgot to review JPJ!
Anyway — saw a basketball game here back in February (UVA v. Duke) and had a wonderful time! The arena is very large, but not overwhelmingly so… and everything, from the stands, to the walkways, still have a glimmer of newness to them.
I enjoyed my experience here, and especially was a fan of the large entrances and exit doors, which aided in a very smooth exodus at game end.

We went to see Lady Gaga on Wednesday night. The drive to Charlottesville from Reston, VA wasn’t too bad – about 2 hours one-​way. There is a shopping center down the road where you can grab some grub before your show, and the dining options aren’t too shabby (Panera Bread, Five Guys, and Tara Thai are some options). Please note that they do have strict towing enforcement in place for the shopping center, so don’t think about parking there and walking over to the arena.
When we had purchased our tickets 4 months ago, there was an option to select pre-​paid parking for $ 17.50. Highway robbery? You bet. However, it made entering and leaving the venue so much easier. We had arrived at 6:30 pm, when they opened the parking, and there was already a huge line of cars. Their staff was pretty organized and was able to direct traffic with no issues.
Waiting in line to get into the arena was also uneventful. There were many lines at all the entrances, but they had staff in each area to direct people to the proper queue (general admission, tiered seating, etc). Their security is more stringent than other venues. They do bag checks and have the hand held metal detectors, but they are quick about it. The doors for general admission opened at 7:00 pm and we only spent maybe 10 minutes in line. Inside, you’ll find vendors selling your typical fast food, $ 8 crappy beer, and frozen margaritas.
The seats are your usual stadium seating. I would compare the size to maybe the 1^st Mariner Area in Baltimore, though it holds more seats. Definitely larger than Constitution Hall, and smaller than The Palace in Auburn Hills, MI. Irregardless where you sit, you will be able to see the stage. I’m glad the Verizon Center tickets sold out so fast that we were «forced» to choose this venue. For the price we paid, we got better seats than what we would have paid for the Verizon Center. We were in the 300-​level, but not all the way in the nosebleed section. For reference, we were in 307, section K. I thought our seats were pretty good, but if you can get closer, of course, all the better. I don’t think I would have been happy sitting beyond section K.
For the show, they had two large screens set up. The sound I thought was fine, but my boyfriend thought it was too loud for his tastes. The concert itself was fantastic. They did a great job with the sets and lighting. We stayed for the encore and exited with the masses. We would have left the parking lot straightaway but the police were arresting a guy behind our car, so it took about 15 minutes to get out of the lot. However, leaving the lot was significantly easier than Merriweather or Nissan Pavilion. Definitely get the pre-​paid parking and come early!
Also, if you are really smart, you would get a room at the motel across the street from the arena and just walk to your concert instead of driving 4 hours round trip!

As with many significant concert venues, parking and traffic are problems at John Paul Jones. The local University of Virginia police force does the best they can to move vehicles efficiently, but the volume is often too great for the local road network (which is also saturated with stop lights that further compound event traffic). Simply getting to the venue is a trial; parking can also be difficult where the cash-​only lots are particularly troublesome.
So do yourself a major favor with coming to concerts or other events at the John Paul Jones arena and attempt to arrive more than an hour early, particularly for «big name» shows (Metallica, Jimmy Buffett, etc). Also plan on purchasing «pre-​paid» parking vouchers, if you can. These tickets *greatly* accelerate the parking process, and allow visitors to by-​pass much of the delays associated with the cash-​only parking lots. (Plus, you’ll park closer to the venue, and have an easier time leaving).
Inside of John Paul Jones, you’ll find typical stadium seating. For concerts, the upper deck isn’t such a bad thing as the intimate setting (for an arena, anyway) will give you a clear line of sight to the performers. Lighting and sound are also generally well done.

Just saw Old Crow Medicine Show and Dave Matthews there. Very large venue. Easy access to highways. Within 20min of leaving venue, I was back on I-​64. We didn’t have the best seats, but still had no problem seeing or hearing.

Best concert venue in central Virginia? Very possible. 16,000 seats, not 16,000 parking spots. Better to park elsewhere and walk. Sign up for the email and get early notifications about artists and presales.
Opened in 2006. New and spacious facility, yet leg room in some areas is less than ideal. Different stage configurations for musicians– sometimes they put the stage in the middle of the arena. I think that «in-​the-​round» configuration is the best soundwise and sightwise.
Despite being in Charlottesville this place has managed to book big names like George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Dave Matthews, Jon Stewart, and so on. They have dirt floors for monster truck shows and ice floors for Disney on Ice. It’s a very impressive space and the sound is great.
Oh yeah, and UVA has basketball games there too.