Brain’s Last Show At The UNI-Dome

I knew that it was going to be crowded, and that the traffic was going to suck. But Holly and I went to the Luke Bryan show at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls on Saturday night anyway. I should have known better. We left that night declaring that we would never come to another show at the UNI-Dome again.

There are certain things about a Cedar Falls show that aren't a simple fix. First of all, the traffic flowing into the show. There is only one main road to the UNI-Dome. You can take a couple of different routes to get there, but eventually, you end up in the line of cars waiting to get in. I'm not sure how you solve this one. Although it seems like they didn't have all the entrances open on Saturday night. We literally were routed in the back way to the parking lots. What about the main entrance? It was worse when the show was over. Holly and I sat in our vehicle for an HOUR before we even moved in our lot. ONE...HOUR! Then we had the drive home of over an hour. We arrived back in Marion just after 1:30 a.m. That's a long day filled with way too much time in the car.

What makes the UNI-Dome so attractive to these big shows is the fact it can seat thousands of people. It is an awesome sight to see. But the area simply isn't equipped to handle them all. I've been on the floor at a big UNI-Dome show and they honestly do a fair job of providing enough restrooms. But if you are unlucky enough to have to use the concourse like we did Saturday, it's another story. The lines for the restrooms, especially the women's, are insane. If you're a woman and have to pee at the show, I'm not sure you see half of Luke Bryan's performance. Women were streaming into the men's bathroom. Who could blame them? Police eventually put a stop to that. The spill-over restrooms were portable units which were OUTSIDE the arena! I heard more loud complaints from people than I ever have on Saturday night. But will it be enough?

The answer is no. Not as long as shows keep selling out at the UNI-Dome. I'll admit it. The concert was great. Ask anyone about that part of the night and you'll get some great answers. But at what price? I'm done. I don't care how great the show is, or how bad I want to go. I just can't handle the UNI-Dome for concerts anymore. Maybe it's because I'm getting "old". Or maybe it's because I know I can go to another arena nearby and have a much better and safer experience. There's no price tag on that.