Frank Erwin Center

I came to this venue a few weeks back to see the Black Keys and Modest Mouse. This is my least favorite venue to see performances at in the Cedar Park/ Hutto/ San Antonio/ Austin TX area (see cons). Also please note that this rating is for the venue and not the Black Keys! The Black Keys are definitely a 5/5 band.

Cons:
The staff here is often confused and cannot properly give navigation to seats nor about anything else.
Higher than normal beer and water prices than other venues of this type.
Lack of decent parking near venue.
Poor acoustics.
Lack of jumbo Tron or screen to see performers.
Seats are small.

Pros:
It's better than nothing, I guess.

I have been here multiple times to see different shows. The shows that they do have are usually very good and they change up the selection often. The seating is relatively comfortable and depending on the show, they do offer at least beverages. The two downsides is trying to find parking for it and trying to figure out where to go when you get there. So the most convenient parking is the San jacinto parking garage but it is $15 to park there and can be hard getting in and out of depending on what time of day you go. The other is there is not really many signs to point you how to get to the front entrance. So unless you've been before, you either have to rely on asking somebody like a parking attendant or hoping that they put out sandwich board signs to point you in the direction you need to go.

Every city needs an arena to host sporting events and entertainment and this multiple purpose arena has given the public some excellent entertainment since 1977. It will soon be replaced with a new state-of-the-art arena but for now still hosting events.

Ever since the decision to replace it renovations had stopped except adding metal detectors at every entrance. The restrooms are a bit small and there is always a line. There are family restrooms but people also form a line there either not knowing it is a single toilet or just want privacy. The concourse area inside both levels are super tight to move around. The vendors don't help much in blocking traffic but not much can be done about it.

The whole place is dated from the concourse to seating. Once inside every seat on the lower level does have a great view whether for a basketball game or concert. There are a few suites to rent. The upper deck is a bit steep and climbing the stairs can be nervous at times.

The sound for basketball games is good and concert is average compared to a orchestra hall. As for the vendors there is a wide range of options but will find many are closed for smaller shows. There is a member only hall below the court which offers a buffet and bars.

Tips on getting here starts first with parking. I recommend parking as far from it to avoid traffic from streets and parking garages. Red River St runs right in front of it and mainly used for passenger drop offs. There are many entrances around it so if you see a long line to enter in one door then keep walking around to find one with a shorter or no line. Leaving is a mob scene where pretty much everyone is exiting westward since I-35 borders the other side. Sometimes I wait 15-20 minutes before leaving the place to let the crowd disperse.

The place is old and don't here much complaints about it since everyone knows a new place is in the works.

Dare you to try to buy tickets on their garbage 1980s website.

Max password requirements? Check.
Marking common emails as invalid? Check.
Obscure error codes like "error null paRes and xid" when paying? Check.
Site doesn't work in Chrome ("DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN")? Check.
Generally horrible UX? Check.

I haven't had to cross my fingers so hard to hope I can make it through a checkout process since I was a child. Anyway, try Firefox, think like you're in the 80s, and pray, and you just might get a ticket.

We graduate some of the best software developers from The University of Texas. Pay a competent one a market rate to work on a website that actually works.

Kevin Hart! Great show. Very dirty and racist but all joking. The comedian Joey even made fun of the cell phone security people. These people took their job seriously. Like they trying out to be police officers. On a serious note the old Caucasian male that was pretty much bald with white hair on his face owes my wife an apology. Called her sir several times and when she politely corrected him actually I'm a ma'am he said whatever!!!!!!!!!! I'm not going to drop this issue and will be posting and writing letters continuously about this event.
Frank Erwin is not a nice place. It's your average concert going hall. Nothing special about this place. Parking is ridiculous. Every time I come here for an event the staff and security are rude and impatient. Tonight though, was the most disgraceful event when that man said whatever after ignoring the sexuality of a person (or even sexual preference). I am so upset by this!
I will continue to book my events at other smaller local Austin venues and will limit my exposure at Frank Erwin. I'll be taking my business else where.

Attended HS graduation for my nephew last weekend. This is a multi-purpose venue located at the U of TX - home basketball games are played here as well. It's massive! Not sure of capacity, but the class was 800+ and all were seated on the floor. We were seated in a suite which included it's own rest room, and space to accommodate drinks and food. As others have mentioned, there is a strict policy re: bags brought into the venue. Either they must be clear, very small, or they will have to be locked in a space with lockers outside of the venue on the North side. Concessions were not fully operational for the graduation so I can't comment on that. I'd love to revisit to cheer on the Longhorns. Had a good experience overall.

Overall poor center. The seats look older than most people who use Yelp (and probably are). The center isn't clean looking. Parking is decent if you use the parking for the hospital.

WARNING to all females or males who carry purses or bags of any kind and want to enter. They require you to either put it in your car or rent a locker (was $10 or $15 depending on size when we went

This review is based upon two very different perspectives; the concert itself and some of the FEC policies.

First, the concert. We came to see The Breakers Tour which featured Little Big Town along with Kacey Musgraves and Midland. We were able to get our tickets well in advance and had pretty good seats. We were in section 46, row 11 which is the far right end of the main stage but still on the lower level. An extra bonus was the smaller round stage that was featured on our end of the venue making our seats very good. Even though the this is a older venue, the acoustics were pretty good. There wasn't too much reverb so the music itself was clear and crisp. All in all, our party of six had a great time and really enjoyed the overall quality of the concert.

Now let's talk about some of the policies at the Frank Erwin Center.

Unfortunately, in today's world, we must be vigilant about safety in crowds and public venues. I understand most policies although the FEC has taken it to the extreme.

Cell phones: Cell phones are allowed. They are best held on your person as purses are not allowed (keep reading).

Purses: Understandably, no backpacks were allowed at all. In addition, no purses were allowed unless they were a very very small clutch and even that was open to interpretation. Ladies, my absolute biggest suggestion for you is to leave your purses behind. If you need sanitary products, put everything you need in a clear quart baggie and try your best to camouflage these items.

Lockers: The absolute biggest ripoff is that lockers can be rented outside the venue to lock your valuables until you return. They were $15.00. Yes, you read that right...$15.00. We crammed one locker full with four purses because we refused to give them the satisfaction of getting us for more than that. However, everyone was in the same boat and the lockers were going fast. They were making money hand-over-fist on women that brought their purses. They did allow my daughter in the venue with a clear bag for the above mentioned sanitary items. Bottom line: Leave your purse at home.

Concessions: The most odd policy they had was around the purchase bottled water. When you are inside the venue and purchase a bottle of water, they will open it and keep the cap. Why? What is dangerous about bottle caps? I have no idea and even the employees that were told to keep them thought it was stupid but were just following rules. They were very apologetic but still kept the caps. I'm sure this is some stupid idea that has gotten WAY out of hand by some ignorant moron that thinks plastic bottle caps are somehow going to be a danger. I can promise you the next time I go to the FEC, I will sneak caps into the venue. It's not like they will set off the metal detector so if I keep them in my pocket when I go through security, no one will know the difference. At least then I can recap my bottle of water so I don't have to worry about it getting kicked over and getting spilled when people are entering/exiting my row. Trust me, I am all about safety in public but keeping water bottle caps is one of the most stupid, asinine things I have ever heard of at any venue.

Restrooms: As most venues, if you go to the restroom at the wrong time, the lines get long. This was true for both the women and men's restrooms. The one restroom I frequented was on the small side but was clean.

Bottom line: For a larger public venue that wasn't really built for concerts, it sounded pretty good. No purses are allowed and apparently, bottle caps are a real security threat. Be safe and have a good time. Three stars.

In all honestly save the money you were going to spend on whatever artist here and go to San Antonio/Austin/Dallas. The Frank Erwin center is an embarrassment of a venue.


Prices are outrageous (understandably as it is a big venue, but for the service it sucks). They have a "clear bag policy" which is strictly enforced INCLUDING small purses and wallets - and if they claim they're too big you'll be required to pay $10-$15 on a locker in a horse trailer. There is no big screen so if you're sitting in the top section and can't see you're out of luck. Not to mention parking is a bitch and I haven't encountered a staff member that hasn't been rude.


SAVE YOUR MONEY. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

I am a native Austinite. The Frank Erwin Center has been here since i was an 70's child. I saw the Harlem Globetrotters here when i was a kid. I saw the band YES, for my first concert experience here in 1984. I think I've seen AC/DC here 5 times over the years and even Depeche Mode. I recently came in for a concert to see the Black Keys and I had a great time. The arena is still great with plenty of bathrooms, food and beer vendors as well. A+ experience.