Alex G. Spanos Center

Had the pleasure of attending UOP’s 2015 Class Graduation on a Saturday in May. Never would have guessed from the outside that there is a huge stadium in the inside.
Man what I get for going to a public state college. Private school is where it is. That stadium was gorgeous.
Only down side was that the handicap access wasn’t up to par. My mom can barely walk and the only handicap seats are way down on one side of the venue for the graduation set up. Not to mention you have to sit super high up because she couldn’t walk down steps.
I’m sure there are other options for those with disabilities. She’s not in the best of shape but it was just something I noticed from a daughters perspective of where we could sit for her. Too far to walk to sit in seats and too steep to walk down steps.
Other than that UOP students are lucky to have such a great facility!

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the «Advancing Women’s Leadership Forum» at the Alex G. Spanos Center to represent my Girl Scout council at this very exciting event! It was my first time hearing Condoleezza Rice speak. The program featured a panel discussion… I think listening to these four women & their personal experiences was the most inspiring moment of the day for me partly because they all hail from my home town of Stockton, CA.
Speakers included Nikki Lowery, Junior High youth pastor and Director of Women’s Ministry at First Baptist Church of Stockton; Tori Verber-​Salazar, deputy district attorney for San Joaquin County; and Connie Callahan, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. These local female leaders spoke about God, family, serving others and making a difference in their communities. I could totally relate to Dr. Rice when she revealed (it’s probably common knowledge, but was the first time I’d heard it) that she’d began her college career as a music major and had dreams from age 8 of being a concert pianist. Good to see that high profile people have ordinary lives too. Something else I hadn’t thought of? Dr. Rice suggested that the mentors in your life do not have to look like you or even be women… the person that inspired her most? Josef Korbel, Madeleine Albright’s father and one of her college professors.

A Stockton Icon! Graduations, State Wrestling Tournaments, UOP defeating #10 ranked UNLV, rushing the floor and watching one of your best friends get body slammed by a security guard as the clock struck 0:00!
Don’t forget the Sacramento Kings had an exhibition game here a while ago!

great place to see UOP basketball. love it!!! Plus there has been some fabulous events there, the Black and Orange ball, fun fun fun! Angelinas Italian Restaurant has done a terrific job there and the food is great. It doesn’t have a Kitchen, but Angelinas has made it a very special event. great times.

Yeah… 2 is about all I can muster for this place.
Its small and quaint… and has the trappings of programs of legend… until you look for what they were won for (before they joined the Pac-​10)… impressive nonetheless.
The food is really bad… I know they aren’t costco… but for 1.65 to get a dog and a big drink, but for her, I only get a drink, smaller than costco, and pay $ 3.00… whatever…
the nachos were pretty bad too.
at least the place wasn’t packed and we spread out however we wanted.
If it wasn’t for the fact that we saw the Gators take down Stanford in women’s vball, this place might have gotten 1 star ;)

I was shocked to see Spanos Center receive 2 stars, by two different reviewers, until I noticed it was by bay area people who wouldn’t approve of ANYTHING Stockton, no matter the case. First Review was a two based on the fact that Beer was not served at the Arena, i don’t know of many college venues that do serve beer. his second objection was to the quality of the food at the concession stand. Had he checked he would have found that the dogs and polish are the same as served at most bay area sports venues, and not at 5 or 6 bucks like most bay area venues.
Second reviewer problem was with a the size of the arena, and b, the price of food at the concessions. On the first point, look at the cracker jack boxes some of the bay area college teams play in. On the second point, if you want a Costco hot dog, go to Costco. If you go to a sports event, expect to pay sports arena prices, which Spanos compares pretty well on.
The facility is a first class place to enjoy a game at, with excellent sight lines, easy access, and reasonable parking for proximity to the center. Add the fact that most events are free to kids under twelve with an adult and it makes it a pretty sweet deal.

This stadium is a good size stadium (6,150 seats). The way it’s situated, every seat has a good view of the action on the court. It’s a little older, being built in the end of the 70’s, every railing has that 1970’s accented wood; that doesn’t bother me. I’m actually a fan of older stuff; it has more character to it. And these are the reasons it gets two stars.
Here’s my problem with this place. After crushing 3 beers in the parking lot, my buddies and I roll in ready to get another beer from the concession stand. This is where everything goes downhill, THEY ONLY HAVE COORS LIGHT NON ALCOHOLIC BEER! Are you serious? C-​minus NA? How can you water down water? I’ve never seen this before and it was a slap in the face to know I’m going to have to endure a basketball game without my favorite beverage. I love sports, but beer and sports goes together like babies and pooping themselves! How can you have no beer at a sporting event? Then rub it in my face with the fact that you’re serving NA beer! I don’t mind being cut off with ten minutes left in the game but let me get to that point. Not serving beer at a college, where drinking is a way of life; it just doesn’t make sense to me.
In addition to no beer, the food was bad; even bad for stadium food. The «chili» nachos were just topped with canned beans (at least give me canned chili). And the Polish Dog tasted like you got it from that rolling thing at the movie theaters.
It all stems from not having beer. If there was beer, the food would have tasted better, the loss would have been easier to take, and the cheer leaders would have been hotter. If I ever do go back again, I’m sneaking beer into the stadium.