Red Bull Arena Seating Guide: The Skyboxes

Red Bull Arena Seating Guide

The Skyboxes

Sections: 400-420, 510-520

Once a Metro’s Seating Guide series has offered a look at the nuances that distinguish the various sections and vantage points throughout Red Bull Arena. Each of the areas we’ve covered has its own unique feel, but fans in all of these can count on a good view of the action, an intense atmosphere, and long lines for beer.

There is one experience at Red Bull Arena that is wholly different from any other: that found in the skyboxes. Fed up with PATH train delays? VIP valet parking in front of the stadium comes with your suite. Actively boycotting Delaware North concessions? The unlimited buffet—often featuring local cuisine based on the day’s opponent—and open bar makes getting a meal possible without missing an entire half of soccer.

When not watching the game, the skybox experience can be entertaining in itself. Fans may catch an up-close glimpse of those who run the Red Bulls behind the scenes, including Sporting Director Ali Curtis, General Manager Marc de Grandpre, and Red Bull Head of Global Football Gerard Houllier. Injured players or those who didn’t make the matchday 18 can be seen walking around and will routinely sign autographs and take photos at halftime. On certain occasions, fans at the skybox level will even bump into the odd celebrity, from New York Knick Carmelo Anthony to actor/Old Spice guy Terry Crewes to rapper Swizz Beatz.

The skybox experience is luxurious, but not without its drawbacks. First, it is somewhat isolated from the rest of the stadium, the environment can feel sterile relative to the passionate ambience throughout the rest of the Arena. Perhaps more distressingly, a skybox will cost buyers a pretty penny. As of the 2012 season, the cost for a full season skybox—which contains between 17 and 24 seats—was between $150,000 and $175,000.

The price buys an unparalleled fan experience with outstanding benefits. Then again, hanging out in a posh environment with gourmet food and unlimited alcohol where a soccer game is almost incidental isn’t necessarily the preferred mode for a Red Bull supporter to take in a match. We’ll leave that to the NYCFC fans.