Sacramento Kings’ Sleep Train Arena Ranked As Worst In NBA

Apr 17, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; General view of the Sleep Train Arena before the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

It’s the house that many refuse to call anything other than Arco. It’s a weathered, broken down, borderline high school arena that just so happens to be home to our Sacramento Kings.

It’s embarrassing, really. Not from a fandom standpoint as King fans are some of the best in all of professional sports, but from a structural standpoint – it’s a complete eyesore. Finding breathing room in the opposing locker room is difficult. Hoping to find a seat in the venue that isn’t broken is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Yes, it does have some loveable charm, like the claustrophobic feeling opponents sense when 17,000 are breathing down their neck in part thanks to its unique build, and yes the clanging cowbells are a tradition but the arena itself is vastly outdated. So, it shouldn’t come as much of a shock that Stadium Journey ranked Sleep Train Arena as the worst venue in professional basketball.

Paul Swaney and Stadium Journey take into account the food & beverage in the arena, overall atmosphere, the neighborhood, the fans, access to/from/within the building, overall return on investment, and a final category to catching anything that doesn’t fall neatly into one of the other 6 categories.

"One can recall the heyday of the Kings and how the rambunctious crowd compensated for the lacking facility. That is no longer the case. The scratched wooden stairs, flimsy plastic seats and out of date video board are all eyesores."

Thankfully – without any significant hurdles popping up, the old barn will be a loveable but distant memory in the near future.

You can read Stadium Journey’s full rankings by clicking here.