My spouse and I attended a concert at the Reading Eagle
Theater at the Santander Arena on a Saturday night in late October 2016. The
Reading Eagle Theater is a smaller (subset) venue within the larger Santander
Arena. With a smaller end-stage concert arrangement, the back (unused) half of
the seats are separated by a black curtain to create a more intimate
performance space.
The Santander Arena, named after the bank that
has sponsored the space since 2013, was previously called the Sovereign Performing Arts Center.
Built in 2001, Santander offers a 7,100+ seat multi-purpose arena on the site
of the former Astor Theatre. The Astor, a grand movie house built in the early
20th century but closed in 1975, sat vacant for over two decades until it was
demolished to create the current arena. Mementos of the Astor, including its
ornate Art Deco chandelier and gates are displayed and used inside the arena
corridors.
The Santander Arena
is located in downtown Reading on the main thoroughfare of Penn Street. The
arena is positioned directly across from the Doubletree Hotel, where we stayed.
In fact, we could see directly into the lobby atrium of the arena from the living/dining
area of our suite. Nearby bars and restaurants include Cheers American Bistro
(at the Doubletree), Jimmie Kramer’s Peanut Bar, Judy’s on Cherry, Speckled Hen
Pub, and the Angry Oyster. You can park in nearby lots and garages, which generally costs
less than $10.00 per event.
The arena is home
to the Reading Royals ice hockey team, the Reading Rockets indoor lacrosse team,
and Alvernia University Crusaders Ice Hockey. It was also once the home of the Reading
Railers basketball team, the Pennsylvania Roar (soccer), the New York Majesty
Lingerie Football League team, and the Reading Express indoor football team.
In addition to
regular seating for up to 1,200 guests, the arena offers 700 club seats, 20
luxury suites, 25,000+ square feet of banquet space on the arena floor, and a
multipurpose room that hosts up to 200 guests. The facility is handicap-accessible and includes
elevators. Doors open one hour prior to event time. (At our event, guests could
enter the arena only through the main doors.) Professional cameras and
recording are prohibited; however, the house photographer offers a gallery of
images on the arena website and on Facebook. Outside food, beverages, and
smoking are prohibited inside the Santander Arena, Reading Eagle Theater at the
Santander Arena, and the Santander Performing Arts Center. Various concession
stands on the main concourse level sell stickie buns, crab fries, Mexican food,
nachos, soft pretzels, ice cream, coffee, and kettle corn. (Not all of the
vendors were open for our concert event, but are presumably open for sporting
events.) Guests can also purchase tickets for a pre-show dinner on the
mezzanine level prior to an event.
We purchased floor seats to attend the Steve Miller Band
concert at the Santander Arena; it was our first experience sitting on the
floor, and we loved being able to see the performers up close. Separate
restrooms and a dedicated bar (serving beer, wine, and cocktails) were
accessible from the rear of the floor beneath the stadium seating, so it was not
necessary to climb the stands to access those things on the main concourse. (No
food was available on the floor, however.)
