Some fans are saying that Golden 1 Center's 6,000 seat upper bowl "feels dangerous," according to a front-page piece by Kasler, Bizjak & Locke of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Fans said that the stairs are "too steep" and there "isn't enough room between rows for people to pass safely." Despite the complaints, Sacramento Arena Project Manager Desmond Parrington said that Golden 1 Center’s seating configurations and other features "meet Sacramento’s building codes." The arena’s architects have said that the upper bowl is "pitched at just shy of 34 degrees." An arena official said that the number is "2 degrees steeper than the upper bowl" at the Kings’ former home, Sleep Train Arena. The source added that the leg room between rows in the upper bowl is "'comparable' to the upper bowl at Sleep Train." Because the new arena "contains a second tier of luxury seats, the upper bowl sits higher above the court" than at Sleep Train Arena. That could "contribute to a psychological reaction for a fan sitting upstairs." Populous Senior Principal Brad Clark said that "steeper upper bowls are the norm." Designers "tend to go to steep or nearly as steep as local building codes will allow" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/6).
