Luxury box
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Luxury box or luxury suite is the North American term for a special seating section in arenas, stadiums and other sports venues. In the United Kingdom the terms used are corporate box, executive box and private box. They are typically in the mid-section of the stadium, affording the best views of the sporting event. Some have glass panels that can be retracted, in order for the spectators to feel closer to the action of the sporting event. The inside of a luxury box typically includes a bar, several televisions sets, a row of seats and a private bathroom. The boxes are usually catered, with shrimp and sushi being common foods. The lease to a box also comes with a personal parking space, and a private entrance.
Most luxury boxes are leased by contract on a yearly basis, though some are bought in a manner similar to that for a condominium. These methods usually grant access to the box by the leaseholder or owner for every event held at the venue. A few stadiums rent them on a per-event basis. Prices vary from US$5,000 up to the millions of dollars.
Luxury boxes are a significant source of revenue for most professional sports teams and stadium owners. Therefore, teams often want to build new stadiums so that they can have more luxury boxes. Many new additions to college football stadiums have come with luxury boxes, producing additional income for the schools.
Some have commented that the rise of the luxury box, along with club seating, has degraded the game-day experience for the average fan, because placement of the boxes has moved the upper decks higher and further away from the playing surface. Two venues, Ford Field and Philips Arena, have addressed these concerns by placing all luxury boxes on one side of the field; this allows the other sides of the venue to have closer sightlines than modern stadiums.
The stadium with the most luxury boxes is Texas Stadium with 360. The first stadium to contain a luxury box was the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, built in 1965.
See also
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