Jon M Huntsman Center

Parking is decent. Good variety of food. Tight legroom. No drink holders at the seats. Great jumbo tron screen. Many bathrooms – even for women.

Fun atmosphere, interesting architecture, and a great view from every section. New lighting added in 2014 makes everything visually vibrant, and the sound is much better now. Screen is smallish but at least it’s not distracting. Lowest rows are farther back than other venues, which takes some of the intimacy away. But I can’t afford front row anyway, so what do I care. Concessions are pricey and have terrible half-​time lines, but variety is good and their burger is tasty. I like when they allow outside venders like Cupbop. I wish they’d bring in a few more. They also do fun events for kids before games and hand out lots of posters and freebies. Makes for a great family night out.
One issue I do have, the student section is so far back from the action, I sometimes wonder if that fact hurts student game attendance.
I’m a regular at basketball and gymnastics events, so living away this season has me going through withdrawals.

Anyplace I can see the Mighty Utes play, gets a 5-​star rating, by default. In the case of the Jon M. Hunstman Center, they lose 1 star based on the concessions. They are horrible! More on that, later.
The Seating in the Hunstman Center is fantastic. The views are great, from anywhere in the house. The atmosphere is fun and electric, especially when the teams are good and nationally relevant. It’s easy to find your way around this place and the lines for entrance move pretty quickly. The staff is super friendly and helpful.
On our most recent trip, we made the mistake of deciding to forego dinner and get some grub at the game. The ONLY vegetarian options for my daughter were: pretzel, nachos or cheese pizza. Since only one of them qualifies as «dinner» she opted for the pizza. It was HORRIBLE! It was tiny and had gone from frozen, to burned, to COLD by the time we plunked down $ 7 for it. Disgusting. I got a $ 5 hot dog and it was lower quality than the roller dogs at the local Qwik-​E-​Mart. We purchased some nachos, to round things out, and they were mostly crumbs, with no jalapenos. I have a fondness for the junk food I have purchased locally at Utah football games, Jazz games and Grizzly games, as well as food purchased in stadiums and arenas in other cities across the nation. The concessions at Huntsman Center are the worst I’ve had, anywhere. To quote one of the villains from the Austin Powers movies, «They’re CRAP!!»
From now on, we’re eating dinner before arriving at the sporting event championship contest.
Go Utes!

Great spot for college hoops… I just wish they had more concerts here!

Not a bad seat in the house, the student section is rocking for big games (needs some strengthening for average games), the new additions to the floor and the scoreboard is awesome! I would highly recommend going to a game here and watching he Runnin’ Utes battle it out at ye Huntsman Center.

I really like watching basketball games here. It’s been said before but there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. The roundness is amazing.
Parking can get a little dicey if there are other events happening on campus. Try over by the Fort Douglas museum and walk down. It’s not far.
Super affordable activity for the whole family.

This is one of those arenas that you cant really ever have a bad seat in. The fans are awesome and even though I am not from here obviously its always good to see your team win away from home. (Go wildcats!) Very easy to get around in and the food is not that bad. Wish they had some jalapenos to go with my nachos but that’s OK. If there is any sort of event going on there I highly recommend anybody to go enjoy something at this arena.

Love this place. Home of the Run’n Utes. The place is as it was when I was a kid. Nothing seems to have changed. This is a great place to see a basketball game at an affordable price. Great location and fairly good facilities — though this place could use a little upgrade and a little TLC if it’s going to survive the next 5 – 10 years.

Attended the U of U Red Rocks Gymnastics meet this past Friday evening, and everything was great, except for the sound system. It seemed like everything was anti-​climactic because the sounds system was turned down to 3 on the volume dial. When the U of U gymnasts were introduced, I swear that every once in a while you could hear a pin drop.
So, if anyone from the Huntsman Center reads this, get a new sound wo/​man, add more speakers, do whatever you have to do to get the sound straightened out. Thanks!

You know that single «boob-​shaped» building you see at the U? Well, that’s the Huntsman Center.
This is just a simple arena that has some sports that go on and the graduation ceremonies in the spring. Nothing stands out about it. It is kept moderately clean and is just a place for people to gather for the aforementioned events.

The Huntsman Center is the home to the University of Utah basketball and gymnastics teams as well as a venue for my graduation, concerts and anything that requires a large indoor arena.
The arena is visible from many places in the valley and nearly all of the mountains. The large dome makes it an easy landmark to identify. The inside is all things Utes. The details include the shape of the seats (they create U shaped patterns all the way around the arena) all the way down to tiny details such as the soap dispensers in the bathroom having the drum and feather logo of the Utes.
The parking is awful and you’ll probably have to park at the church building across the street unless school isn’t in session. If it is, I’m sorry. Take trax (the light rail). Also the food is mediocre which isn’t surprising, but the Chile Verde stand is especially unappetizing and will serve you cold nachos. Avoid it.
I have spent countless hours at the Huntsman Center since the time I was 6 years old so let me now initiate you into some of the customs and rituals. I don’t want you to go and look like a fool so here are some basic rules.
1) Wear red. If you’re not wearing red then you better being wearing something that is either black or white that has either Utes or Utah Utes written on it. These are the only acceptable options. Never, under any circumstance, wear blue.
2) Always stand during the fight song. (
). By the time people are singing, «Who am I, Sir? A Utah man am I» you better be on your feet. Also the video gives you easy instructions as to how to clap along and at the end shout «Go Utes!» This must be done. Bonus points for pointing to the MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section) when they are mentioned in the song.
3) It is expected and accepted to make fun of the Crimson Line during their half time routine. They are the dance team, and they are awful. Feel free.
4) It is never OK to make fun of our gymnastics team. They are the best in the country. They are revered by fans and can outsell men’s basketball. In fact, our gymnastics team has the most attendance for any collegiate team in the country. So just don’t go there.
5) Bubbles is a divisive character. (
). She used to just spend time at the football games dancing during the 3^rd quarter, but has now moved onto dancing with the band during the second half. It’s best not to get involved unless you know your companion’s views towards her.
6) If you are hoping to have a conversation about Utah basketball, it’s always acceptable to mention 1998 and the basketball’s trip to the championship game. Drop in names like Andre Miller and Mike Doleac. Also, feel free to join in the speculation of how much further they could have made it if Keith Van Horn hadn’t graduated the year before. I would also advise you to use the statistic that no other team from one of the non-​power conferences has made it that far in the decade since.
Hopefully you now will be a bit more prepared for your next trip to the Huntsman Center. And just remember, «Who am I, Sir? A Utah man am I! A Utah man, Sir. Will be ’til I die!» Those are words to live by.