Rock Hill Sports and Event Center in Rock Hill, SC

Basic Information

Arena: Rock Hill Sports and Event Center

Location: 326 Technology Center Way in downtown Rock Hill, SC (34.93269, -81.03000)

Owner: City of Rock Hill

Primary sport: basketball

Year constructed: 2020

Listed capacity: 700

Date last visited: March 2024

Arena information: https://www.cityofrockhill.com/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/84/8145

Summary Review: 2 stars (out of 5)

Rock Hill Sports and Event Center is a common indoor venue for AAU basketball and other travel/amateur indoor sports.  As usual for this kind of venue, the seats on the sidelines are retractable to allow for expanding the floor space when games are not being played.  Some of the seats are tight and uncomfortable, and some other seats have partially obstructed views due to hand railings.  I have definitely sat in better-designed seating.  The video system is satisfactory, but the audio system needs an upgrade in terms of clarity/quality.  Beware of the nearby parking garages: they may or may not be free, and you need to register your car with the electronic parking service provider before you walk to the arena to avoid expensive fines.  Overall, Rock Hill Sports and Event Center is a passable small venue for indoor sports, and I mostly enjoyed the conference basketball tournament I watched here.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: I came here for a conference basketball tournament, so the atmosphere was a little sterile, as you would expect for a neutral site.  The arena reverberates sound pretty well, so it can get loud if the crowd gets into it.

Seating: All plastic seats have backs.  The temporary ones on the sides are tight and uncomfortable, especially for a large man such as I.  The permanent ones in the corners and ends are more comfortable, but of course they offer a worse view.  So I ended up having to choose between a good view of the court and a comfortable seat.  I (eventually) chose the comfortable seat.

Court View: Railings on some of the sections can partially block your view.  Otherwise, the court view is what you would expect given the location of the seat.

Audio/Video: The audio is moderately loud but low quality.  The public address announcer sounded garbled and hard to understand.  The arena has 4 small video screens, one in each corner.  The screens give basic information (time, score, foul counts) but nothing else.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: The arena offers no hot dogs, only pizza, Chick-fil-a sandwiches, 20-ounce sodas, and candy.  The pizza is Ledo Pizza, which is one of my favorite pizzas in the Mid-Atlantic.  The prices are down right cheap for a city-owned basketball arena.

Pedestrian Flow: A walking path goes all the way around the top of the seating, and there are plenty of entrances/exits.  Thus, pedestrian traffic flows pretty well here.

Parking: 2 large parking garages are just a short walk away.  They were free when I came here, but they aren't always free.  Make sure you register your car using the QR code on the signs when you arrive: payment is taken and enforced electronically, and fines for failing to pay are severe.