The MCI Center, which opens next Tuesday, was reviewed
by architectural writer Benjamin Forgey of the WASHINGTON
POST, who called it "an unusually attractive, welcoming
sports arena. ... This is one of the most inviting athletic
buildings anywhere because it is not just an arena.
Impressive stores, restaurants and even a sports museum --
all saturated with video images and interactive displays --
surround" its entrance. Forgey added that the "seating bowl
is a handsome, commodious affair. Arranged in three tiers,
it provides excellent sight lines to the playing floor even
from the highest seat in the third tier." More Forgey:
"[T]here are negatives. Foremost, to my mind, is the rigid
stratification of the seating arrangements." Also, parking
"is certain to be a temporary problem. ... And it could
become a long-term headache." Forgey's conclusion: "All
parties involved ... deserve sizable credit for the jobs
they did on the MCI Center. The efforts to make it a
welcoming urban neighbor are significant and largely
successful" (Benjamin Forgey, WASHINGTON POST, 11/22).
