EagleBank Arena

GMU graduation tonight at the Eagle Bank Arena. It was a great event, though I was a little annoyed couple members of my family wanted to leave after she made her walk. A lot of people did that. I think everyone deserves a full house from beginning to end but apparently , that's just me. Then people talking loudly the whole way through the event... so annoying. Like, everyone was yell-talking to the friends and family the entire time.
I did enjoy seeing my daughter graduate. The building was a perfect size for it. Felt big enough to feel important and felt small enough to feel personal.
Parking was easy in and out. Finding seats was easy. Vendors with food, drink and flowers available, inside the arena.
Thanks!!!

I saw a great cirque du soleil show here. The venue was the big downfall.

Positives- plenty of parking... cause most people knew better than to come here. One employee told me they routinely cancel shows because they can't sell enough tickets to make it worth it. It's all because the venue is a joke.

The cons- I graduated high school before 2000 and my public high school had nicer facilities than this. The toilets in the bathrooms are falling apart. Tiny child sized sinks. Even outside the bathrooms the place just feels grubby. As soon as you walk in you're choked out by the fryer oil that fills the entire place. Their ventilation would NOT pass inspection if the fire department had come. It's a major health hazard and they were letting people go outside for fresh air. When you sit down, it's a plastic flip down chair which is ok for a sports event, but totally uncomfortable for this crowd which was dressed up in bow ties and fancy dresses. I wish I wore a hoody and sweatpants.

The ushers sucked. There wasn't anyone to help me find my seat when I got there, then when the usher appeared they were rude and didn't bother to help anyone. They literally just stood there. They let people walk all around during the middle of the show and never held people back for a break in the performance. It was like being at a basketball game with people constantly getting up and down, distracting from the show.

The food and drink is terrible. Not even as good as local high school sports offer. $10 for a bag of popcorn the size of a brown power bag. $14 for a beer. Those .50cent bags of chips with like 6 chips in the bag are $4. They won't give you a cup of water unless you pay $7 for a bottle, yes a bottle from the case that Safeway sells 36 bottles for $4. They're charging fine dining prices for 1980s style 7-11 food.

This place is appropriate for children's events, but even then it's impossible to bring your kid bag in with you because their bag policies are worse than TWA. They have the snack stand 6 feet from the bathroom so the lines get all mixed up. These morons set up the big photo board IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE!!! So nobody could walk anywhere without people fighting about getting their picture ruined. Just stupid.

Cirque du soleil should never ever do another show here. The tents they set up themself for random pop up shows are 10 times nicer than this place. If I had paid for the tickets I would be pissed, but luckily they were given to me for free...after literally my entire office of over 1,000 people had passed. I guess everyone else knew better.

I've been here a handful of times for high school graduations and concerts throughout the years. The venue is a little dated, with basic plastic seats (no cup holders, no seat cushioning), and super sticky arena floors. The spacing between rows was decent- nowhere as cramped as CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.

I came here recently for a concert and I was impressed with the crowd control. Free parking was available all around the arena and there were multiple entrances, all clearly labeled (north, east, south, west) to get you back to your car easily - there were no bottlenecks. We got there early (a little after doors opened), and we were able to position our car close to the parking lot exit. We stayed until the end of the concert (encore and all) and were able to exit the lot and get back on the main road with ease.

They have a clear bag policy (small clutch also allowed) which was clearly noted on the tickets and outlined in an email from the venue in advance of the event. The security check was quick. They had staff members positioned prior to approaching the metal detectors to send people with non-clear bags back to their cars. Clear bags are just eye-balled while small, non-clear bags get pulled aside and searched.

It's a small arena so you can walk the concourse quickly. Signage all around the arena was well-placed and logical to direct you to your section and seats. Concessions were standard and prices were as expected (most items $7-$15 for pretzels, tacos, popcorn, ice cream, etc.). They also had signage stating that drinks would be poured into cups and bottle caps would be removed.

I liked the intimate feel of the arena. We were seated in Section 110 and I felt like I could still see the stage adequately enough to see the artist to enjoy the show without relying solely on the screens.

Bathrooms were just as dated as the seats in the venue. There's an entrance and exit door to handle the flow into the restrooms. I wish they had more stalls, but the queues weren't too bad.

There's free WiFi in the arena, but it was pretty spotty for me.

Overall, it's a decent indoor venue - probably time for a refresh, but it gets the job done.

I saw Paw Patrol Live here and the performance was terrific. The cast was great. High energy, lots of fun. Kids were thrilled.

My complaint is with the water situation at EagleBank Arena. The venue had clear bag rules, and also rules that prohibited outside beverage, and there was no exception for water. When I was buying food, I asked for a cup of water. They said no, I could only buy water (about $7 if I recall correctly.) I found a couple water fountains by the bathrooms - one was broken, the others were hard for my toddler to reach, I had to awkwardly hold them up and push the button while they tried to drink the water.

Making money off merchandise, food - that's great! I understand - lots of people make these shows possible and need to get paid! But please allow water from outside, or if not, make it much easier and affordable to drink water.

EagleBank Arena is old, small, and has a strange odor. It definitely needs a facelift, and it's on the George Mason University campus. There is free parking but expect long lines to get in and out.

All of the seating is incredibly tight, so if you're taller than 5'9", expect an uncomfortable show. The seats on the main floor are interlocked and also very tight folding chairs so a bunch of guests demanded the supervisors to unlatch them so that they could be spread apart.

The rows are marked with handwritten chalk on the floor.

The attendants pour your beer cans into clear plastic cups, per policy. All of the beverages and food are overpriced so eat beforehand.

We saw the Jeff Dunham Valentine's special show. He made jokes about Biden's mental health and age, Nancy Pelosi's looks and husband, trans people, women, disabled people, and many others as per his usual shtich. He even made fun of conservatives and many of the jokes went over the largely Trump crowd but they laughed anyway.

We took our 3 kids (5, 8, and 10, plus a lap baby) to see the Harlem Globetrotters at EagleBank Arena.
The Globetrotters are always really fun, silly and entertaining! The arena is small enough that even at the back, you can see alright. Our Globetrotters tickets were about $35/ea, which is totally reasonable.

My problem is that we had absolutely no idea what was going on! The only speakers (being used?) were at the lower level, and the way it echoed, in addition to ambient crowd noise made it impossible to hear anything properly, which (unlike regular sports) is kind of the whole point of the show.
My kids were constantly asking what was going on, we only managed to pick up small bits of the jokes and performance, and honestly we were kind of bored. I don't really know for sure if it was the performance company making sound decisions or the stadium lacking technically. I'm definitely disappointed at the experience and had hoped to enjoy the Globetrotters like in the past.

This an older arena that seems like it was built in the 80s and not really updated since. The staff is friendly and tons of free parking is a major plus. The concourses are sort of narrow and food options are limited compared to newer arenas. Seats aren't the most comfortable but they're more than tolerable.

Food/drinks are overpriced as with everywhere but nothing worse thnan usual.

Getting in and out of here isn't terrible compared to some other arenas/parking lots and it's much easier than having to go to downtown DC.

This arena isn't anything special but it does the job and I'll come back here.

Despite NOT mentioning on their website (https://www.eaglebankarena.com/article/faq) there is a bag policy of 5x7 clear bags. Really pi$$ed off to have to walk back and forth to my car in July heat. No option to check the bag or go through it either. I will never come to this venue again.

They say they have staff on site for event parking, but it's clear they don't. Absolutely the worst experience ever trying to exit from a show. Not a single car has moved from lot C for 15 minutes.

Parking is a cinch, and thank you to George Mason police and security folks. You may have to wait awhile after an event, but it was worth it for the last visit. That would be the Professional Bull Riders. Some may not like it, but anyone that wants to give this a try and hangs on, I tip my cap out of respect your direction. You got far bigger cujones than I'll ever have. This is a good venue for that, and some concerts as well.

The prices are outrageous for tickets. If you want concessions, you'll need to donate blood. $12 dollar beers, $10 pretzels are insane. I'm all for a place being profitable, but this is ridiculous. With these prices, make sure an event at this arena is something you love. Good sound system and lights. It's also where GMU's basketball team plays. Have caught their games, and the prices are much higher than they used to be. On a positive note, finding your seats is a cinch.