colonial life arena

Great time listening to classic rock! It does not get much better. The facility is beautiful and the concession people are friendly and nice, just like everyone in Columbia! I love it here. The area around the arena is also pretty special. Lots of restaurants and things to do!

The mens bathrooms are not dirty, but the lines are 30-40 people deep. What kind of moron designed this? I walked all around the arena and every mens room was out the door and 40 people in front of me. Inside, where I watched UK destroy USC in basketball, the acoustics are good; it was an energy-driven crowd; and even upper level seats were not terrible. Their "banners" were hysterical, such as having one for "appearing" in the NCAA tournament in 1974...that is really stretching it for something to brag about.

I’ve attended many events at this fine facility over the years, most memorably an Entertainment Suite party and the celebration of the Gamecocks’ 2010 national baseball championship. Yes, parking can be a hassle, but this is still one of best and busiest venues of its type in the country. I hate to pay the $4.75 per ticket surcharge for ordering on line or by phone, so I almost always buy them in person at the CLA. Today I saved a nice chunk of money when I bought tickets to the “Disney Live! Mickey’s Magic Show” at the CLA ticket office. The visitor parking spaces located directly across the street from the main entrance made parking a snap, and I was in and out of there in no time at all. A nice lady at the reception desk greeted me when I entered and answered some questions for me. All in all, a very satisfactory experience.

Can here for the Chris Brown X tour and got seats in the 114 section and row 21. The seats where pretty good and had a good view of the stage. Parking is good and cost $10 which is average.

My daughter and I came here to see the Tran Siberian Orchestra and were very impressed. The building is very nice, has numerous very clean rest rooms, and is well-marked (easy to find your way around). The acoustics were excellent, and seats were comfortable. A real plus is the closeness to the Vista area with all its nice restaurants. It took us 5 minutes to walk from our restaurant (which is a lot cheaper than the Arena's concession booths). Another advantage of this neighborhood is the free parking that is available along the various nearby streets, especially after 6:00. Hint: If you live or work in town, buying tickets in advance at the box office (1) allows you to find out more about the seats you prefer and (2) can save you a lot of money. You can avoid the middle man, like Ticketmaster. My daughter bought us 2 tickets after work, and it saved us 20%.

Bought tickets for Cirque Du Soleil and Trans Siberian Orchestra. No issue with the venue; huge issue with tickets. Both sets of tickets were to be mailed to my home as neither show offered a print at home option. I NEVER received tickets! My mailing address was correct in their system. For cirque, we called and switched to will call. We couldn't do that for TSO, as I bought the tickets as a gift and I am not attending. So, in order for my giftees to pick up the tickets at will call,I had to give them MY credit card I bought the tickets with in order to claim the seats! Absurd. If this weren't a close friend and if this was a purchase as a gift professionally, this would not work! What if I lived 1000 miles away or something? So archaic! Never had a problem with Ticketmaster.

Nice arena which hosts concerts, basketball and circuses. The seating is ok. Site lines decent. Doesn't project a wow factor. The parking is becoming a little more crazier over time as more buildings around the arena are being built and taking the lots away. Concessions=I suggest eating beforehand,way overpriced. Overall, I say the arena serves its function as a place to catch traveling shows and BB games.

i prefer up close and person. valet parking was available but not in my budget. hard for ADA accessible. escalator. long walk from car to event rooms.

There were over ten thousand in attendance for 3 days. The staff and arena was clean well air conditioned, rest rooms were adequate for adults and children. No problems during the three day program. We thank the staff for their cooperation!

Parking is terrible. Staff aren't helpful and are downright rude. USC Men's basketball is a joke. Bad sight lines for graduations and concerts.

We love to attend concert and Disney events here. Parking can be a bear but that is at most any venue. Nice location and easy to get in and out of.

We went to see Bruno Mars, and the acoustics were very bad. We were sitting in pretty decent seats on the stage left side, not great but not horrible either. We couldn't bring in our camera, not because no cameras were allowed, but because it had a removable lens. My mom brought her camera, a little one without removable lens, and they said nothing to her and she took pictures throughout the concert. What's the difference? The price of food is RIDICULOUS!! We got Bojangles and for 3 chicken tenders and 2 drinks it was about $50! Oh, and you can't use straws or lids on drinks...another really weird and nonsensical decision on their part, especially if you have one of their huge $10 drinks. Apparently they're okay with cleaning up tons of drink spills when people during concerts get up and knock cups over.

Bruno Mars was my fourth and final show at the Colonial Life Arena. I have heard of similar issues from several friends. My 1st experience there was for the American Idol show the year that Taylor Hicks won. While not a Taylor Hicks fan, I do love Daughtery and Katherine McPhee. My son was the 11th person in line at the arena the day tickets went on sale. We were assured the tickets would be great. But alas, when we arrived, we were, in fact, seated in the handicapped section on the rail. Not acceptable. Spoke with management about this, and we were re-seated to the fifth row from the floor once I told them I would like a refund if they could not or would not put us in a better location. So seating is purely discretionary on their part!! The AC was not working properly (August 5th in SC? Really??), the acoustics were abominable, so much so that Taylor Hicks threw down his microphone and walked off stage!!Second experience was for Shania Twain which was performed "in the round" meaning there was no floor seating, and no bad seats. She played to the entire audience. Acoustics were slightly better. It took us 50 minutes to get out of the parking lot as during entry, every gate is open, during exit, ONE gate was open and fifteen cops were standing around NOT directing traffic---so thanks, CPD!!Third experience was for Keith Urban. Again, seated up high, bad acoustics! He put on a good show and this time we didn't park on site, but at a meter a few blocks away. My friends went to see Pearl Jam and got up and walked out after the second song, it was THAT bad!Fourth and final show was last Friday night. I waited until after this show to give Colonial Life Arena one more opportunity to get it right. They failed miserably. While Bruno put on a great show, again the acoustics were horrible, the bass was so prevalent that it actually drowned out his vocals, as well as that of his opening act, Aloe Blacc. If Colonial Life Arena needs instruction on what great acoustics sound like, maybe they could pay a visit to Peace Center in Greenville...THAT is how a music venue should sound!!

We sat up very high to see Bruno Mars, the view was great but the acoustics were horrible. Thankfully Bruno Mars was still fun to watch! I don't know if we would chose this venue again for a concert, if we did we would definitely sit lower.

We went to see Bruno Mars and we had nose-bleed seats, but even from where we were at the music was awesome and you could still clearly see Bruno either on the stage or on the screens. Also, getting in and out was pretty easy considering the place was packed.