Sovereign Center

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  My introduction to this venue was quite annoying.  Tickets said doors at 6pm, concert started at 7pm.  I stayed at a bar till the concert was about to start.  The line out front was crazy, apparently the doors opened at 6:50.  We all pretty much missed the first song, just walking into the place, hitting the bathroom, getting food, or merch.  I had a seat in the front row which was nice.  There were a ton of GA people around, but the sight lines were good and the audio was on point.  POD sounded great, the new singer of Three Days Grace was really good and Shinedown was amazing.  Don't think I'd trek all the way out here again, but it was an adventure.

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  Posted on 03.23.13 Devin L.

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  An excellent place place to see a show. I saw Van Halen here a few days back, and was quite impressed by the experience. The crowd was great! Apparently the 1980s never ended in Reading, so there was tons of teased and hair sprayed hair and denim jackets. Plus, everyone was jumping up and down and making a scene. A great contrast to NY and DC where rock shows can be a bore.
  
  As for the Center itself, it's a very intimate venue, maybe 6000-7000 seats, so you get right up close to the band from most seats. Tickets were very cheap on StubHub compared to other area shows. Parking is really cheap too. You can stick your car right across from the arena and it's $9. Less than 10 minutes after parking, you are in your seat.
  
  On the downside, the area around the arena is a total shithole. I'd advise everyone to use extreme caution when going here. There were cops in the area, but there were also a bunch of scumbags right outside the doors, and in the parking lot, which was not secured.
  
  In the end, if you are in the NY or Philly area and don't mind a bit of a ride, you should definitely come to see a show here.

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  Posted on 03.29.12 Jeff S.

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  I grew up in Reading and I remember all the debates on getting this building constructed.  It's just a shame they had to tear down the Astor Theatre to build this.  
  
  Anyway, I've since left Reading. The Sovereign Center was then finally built and I've been back to see a Royals game and an Express game with family.  
  
  It's a nice venue for a smaller arena with plenty of food options but maybe could have a better selection of beer.  The only complaint I have is that it would be nice to have a scoreboard over the rink so you don't have to keep bending your head to look to the end.

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  Posted on 07.23.11 Jeff S.

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  Went to the Further show the other night. First time at this venue. We liked the small size of the place and ease of on street parking within two short blocks from the entrance. There are some decent restaurants nearby as well. We all enjoyed the show as usual.
  
  The reason the venue gets one star is the management, or lack there of.
  
  Here's why:
  The show time was 7:30 pm. We got in line at the main entrance at 7:20. It was extremely backed up...about 50 feet outside the doors. The line was moving extremely slow, but everyone was very patient and took it in stride. It took 15 minutes to get inside the doors and then another 13 minutes until we had our tickets scanned and were able to get to our seats. The band hit the stage at 7:45 pm so we missed most of the first song!
  
  Once we got inside the doors we could all clearly see what the problem was. There were ONLY 3 narrow lines to filter several thousand people to the ticket turnstiles, where there were 3 high school aged kids slowly scanning tickets. Everyone in line was astounded that the management of an operation like Sovereign Center could be so incompetent. Due to their dereliction, thousands of people were not able to see the show from the beginning. Meanwhile, there were 6 security staff (2 in each of the lines, 15 feet before the turnstile), just standing there doing nothing - no inspecting or frisking.
  
  A few of us remarked how it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if they had 6 attendants scanning tickets (and there was plenty of room and unused turnstiles to do that) then the line would have moved fairly quickly and no one would have missed the beginning of the show. Competent management would understands that 15 minutes before show time is when you need to be prepared to handle the rush of event goers at the doors. We saw what appeared to be Managers hanging around just looking and observing the long line...but they seemed to not care or just be clueless. It's troubling to see a large operation like this (for Reading, PA anyway) operated worse than a high school auditorium. Makes you wonder what other kind of incompetence goes on there and if it could effect public safety.
  
  One other thing:
  At the concession stands they would not sell you drinking water in the bottle it came in. Instead, they would open it and then pour it in a cup. I know this has become somewhat standard protocol at concerts everywhere. The problem was they didn't have lids and the cup was barely big enough to contain all the water from the bottle. Try carrying two full cups of water down to the floor, through a throng of dancing Deadheads...a bit of a mess.
  
  Come on Sovereign Center management - get your act together and have some pride in doing a good job and pleasing your customer base. I'll give your place one more try in the future - hopefully you'll improve your operations.

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  Posted on 11.18.10 Steve S.

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  I love the Sovereign Center...not having to trek to Philadelphia to see a hockey game or my favorite musical act has been a great pleasure. For the past couple of years ( the place opened in 2001 ) I have religiously attended events at the the Reading venue. The place gets some pretty great acts; I've seen various big name artists, most recently Carrie Underwood for the second time. The size of the SC is appealing, almost every seat is a great one with a max capacity of about 7000. The SC is versatile too, night to night it can look completely different depending on the venue. I attend dozens of Reading Royal hockey games a season and have the privilege of having a luxury suite for most events. If you live in the area, tickets are affordable and the venue is all around better than The Wachovia Center.

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  Posted on 03.15.10 Kelli R.

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