The Palestra, reviewed

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I was recently directed to a new website, stadiumjourney.com, which reviews different sports venues, and their review of Penn's own Palestra. The survey hits on the main points one would expect from someone taking in the historic Cathedral of College Basketball. "The arena’s intimacy, acoustics and atmosphere are unmatched," the reviewer writes. "When you are inside, it feels like you have taken a step back in time. The Palestra is college basketball at its finest."

The review is broken up into different categories. Tellingly, food gets 3/5 stars (I wouldn't have been so generous in that score), atmosphere gets 5/5 (I'll agree, on some nights), Neighborhood gets 5/5, Fans get 5/5, and Access is 2/5.

The reviewer notes that his scoring is based off of none other than Penn's first Big 5 win in years, when a sizable crowd saw Penn beat St. Joe's in January. I'd be curious to see how the review would change had he come to see Lafayette play on a Tuesday night. He's also spot on in terms of access. Parking nearby can be an issue, and for a non-regular, I can understand it being difficult to find the actual building. Hopefully the creation of the new green in front of the building once the tennis courts are moved will fix that problem.

But most importantly, the food is bad.