Hara Arena Skybox Party Suite Review

For my husband's birthday, I rented the Skybox Party Suite at Hara Arena for a game. The website promised "the ultimate party or business entertainment experience in Dayton," so I was excited to surprise my husband. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

While I was happy with the communication while I was arranging the night, both via email and on the phone. It was explained to me that the party suite was private and we would have our own area. I asked for some simple decorations, balloons and a sign, along with pizza, sodas, and chips and dip. They didn't mind that I wanted to bring our own cupcakes to celebrate. I paid over the phone and was told that someone would be there to meet us.

However, when I arrived, I knew things weren't going to quite be what I expected. At the ticket window, the attendant found our tickets and told us to "walk through that way" to find the person who would take us to the Skybox. After proceeding through the gate, many vendors where around and, confused, I had to find someone to show us where to go. He led us around the arena to find the man I coordinated with, who took us up to the Skybox. We passed the "lounge area" that is advertised and it is in much need of repair. Overall it just looked run down- old carpet, needed paint- and there were actually issues with a leak and I could hear water dripping. We of course didn't have a large group so we went past that area and up a spiral staircase to the Skybox. I was surprised to find that this area was only about six feed wide and ran the length of the stadium. About a third of one end of this area was the "party suite." You can see the picture below. Nowhere near a suite in my mind!! We had to cross over people from the press reporting on the game to get to our area and it was definitely not sectioned off.  Looking up, you could see moldy ceiling tiles. Yikes.

Besides the appearance of the area, items that were specified in the email were not followed. I asked for balloons and a happy birthday sign. Simple, right? I guess not. I got a happy birthday tablecloth, cheap plastic centerpiece, plate and napkins, and sign taped to the overhead area. While it was better than nothing, I was disappointed. The pizza we ordered from the arena was tasty, but the chips and dip were in questionable plastic containers. Maybe I'm being picky, but they just didn't look nice.... for example, goopy reside remained on the outside of a bowl where it looked like a tag had been torn off. Not so appetizing.... Also, I specified root beer for the sodas and we got Pepsi and lemonade. I know that this seem small, but when they add up together it wasn't the special birthday that I was hoping for. At least I was only charged $50 since it was just the two of us, instead of the $100 the website listed. (To clarify, the pizza, chips and dip, sodas, decorations, and higher price tickets were in addition to that price.)

The game itself was entertaining to watch and I enjoyed that part of the evening. The view was nice from the highest point in the stadium. Next time though, I would save my money and sit in the regular seats! Now I know why there were no pictures posted on the website. The Hara Arena Skybox Party Suite definitely fell short of  my expectations. I wouldn't pay for it again.