So you want to see ROH live but have no idea how to get tickets, or anything about the venues. If you want tickets, go to www.rohwrestling.com and get them on sale. Tickets are almost always on sale.
If you want to sit front row, you are going to have to go to a show and get them for the return. Front row sells out at the show for nearly every venue ROH runs. When you get to the show ask the ticket office to buy a front row for the return date. Front Row is 50 for most venues ROH runs, with tickets being about 10 dollars less for the next few rows, and then a flat rate after. You can get GA tickets for 10 dollars during 10 dollar sales on ROH’s site. ROH runs the following venues:
Hammerstein Ballroom: New York City, NY
The Hammerstein is the biggest venue ROH runs. It is located in the Manhattan Center on 34th street, across the street from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. So if you are taking the train into Penn, you are right there. If you are coming in from North of the City, you can either drive, or take the train into Grand Central. If you are driving, PARK A FEW BLOCKS FROM THE VENUE. Parking is more expensive near MSG, but if you park up on 38th you will pay about 20 for the night. Front row is 85, Boxes are 75. The boxes are pretty damned sweet I must say.
ROH is back to running the Grand Ballroom upstairs from the Hammerstein. I am not sure if this will be the case forever, but, the venues are in the same building. In the Grand Ballroom there is GA, and only one balcony. The balcony has some great seats, and some seats where you will strain to see. Even in the front row of the balcony, it is tough to know if you will have a great seat or a poor seat. GA, if you are not in the first few rows is a tough seat since you are not elevated at all above the seats in front of you.
New Alhambra Arena: Philadelphia PA
The former ECW arena is a smaller venue than the PA National Guard Armory ROH used to run, and has less parking. Front Row is 60 here. I advise getting there early as the parking lots do fill up quickly, but is free. The venue is cramped and gets hot in the summer, so plan accordingly. It is literally under I 95, so it isn’t hard to get to if there isn’t traffic. GA is on the floor, so either sit in the balconies or get reserved seating or you will be standing all night.
Inman Sports Club: Edison NJ
The Sports Club is another cramped venue with poor GA. Parking is free, but limited. So either get there early or park on a side street. The venue does not allow food into the arena, so you have to eat in a lounge area. GA is mostly standing with a few small bleachers. It is more difficult to get to as it isn’t thatclose to the highway or the trains.
Case Gym: Boston MA
The Case Gym is one of the largest venues ROH runs, although since the Boston crowds generally number 600 they close off half of the bleachers. GA is excellent here, with stadium style seating. The venue is comfortable, and generally lively. However, parking is a ripoff, 25 dollars to park in the lot next door. There is ample street parking if you can find it though. The venue is right off I 90, although if you are coming from the South it is harder to find.
PAL Building: Danbury CT
A smaller venue, but a nice one. ROH only draws 500 in CT, so while this venue is on the small side, it has great GA with large bleachers and fits the crowd easily. Parking is free, although if ROH does a big show here the lot could fill up. It is in a residential area so you should be able to find more parking on side streets.
Sports Network and Fitness Inc, Manassas VA
A smaller venue, I don’t really know much about it since I haven’t been there yet.
Frontier Fieldhouse: Chicago Ridge IL
Located South of Chicago, the Fieldhouse gets the most ROH shows per year. There is ample parking in the area, and GA is great with large bleachers. Chicago generally gets 5-6 shows a year, and has gotten a PPV taping or two each year. Front Row is 60 dollars.
“Michigan Mart” Detroit MI
Detroit has gotten slightly shafted the last couple years. Though a PPV was taped in 2007, they only got three shows total, with a LONG break from July 08 to January 09 between shows. The venue is fairly large, capable of fitting well over 1,000, so space is not a problem. GA is pretty good as there are bleachers, and there is onsite parking.
Gateway Center: Collinsville IL
From PosteGenerico on the ROH forum: “The St. Louis show takes place in a convention hall called the Gateway Center (google it). They ran the first show in one of the smaller rooms. I would guess that room could hold somewhere between 600 – 750 people. There is no area for bleachers so the seating is flat from the first to the last row. There is no gap between reserved and GA which begins after the last reserved row. In December, GA started after the fifth row. One nice thing about the building is that there are larger rooms available at the Center if crowds outgrow this room in the future. Another nice feature is that the crowds can queue inside of the center before the doors open. No standing outside in the heat, cold, snow ,rain, etc. as you are waiting to get into the show.
There is more parking (FREE) on site than ROH will ever need. There are numerous hotels and restaurants located next to the building which is basically a block or two from the major highway that gets you there. If you are looking to take a trip to a ROH show, I doubt there is a location more convenient for the traveler.
The big bonus is that there is a bar (beer, wine, liquor) inside of the room where the event takes place.”
It seemed silly to try and improve on this write up since it was more detailed than what I’ve written for most of the venues!
