The Excel arena....

[funso banjo baby]

i was at prizefighter...great night

as for the venue...was in a kind of half space like the Earls court one....the view and atmosphere was good (i was at the back)...

however....

we were prevented from leaving the auditorium for toilet or refreshments inbetween fights until the boxers had given their interviews AND then walked out to the dressing rooms...!!!!! leaving about 2 mins to get everything done !!!! this was very rubbish.....especially as the food and drink outlets were pitifully meagre and couldnt cater for a large gathering.


I hope this venue is not used again

its also the back end of beyond

i will be writing barry a strong letter

[whicker]

Problems with the Excell were the focus of a letter to boxing news about 19 =months ago, following Khan V St Claire.

It's a cavernous venue, in an out-of-the-way part of London , without and refreshment facilities are not designed for live sporting event crowds (IE they are a walk away, and not many of them.)

But to actually be PREVENTED from leaving a venue, especially at boxing, where people generally take an easy-come, easy-go approach... thats new to me.

Just out of interest- who actually prevented you?

[funso banjo baby]

there was only one way out for us which was fine while the boxers were fighting...but as soon as the fights ended these anal stewards formed a wall and prevented us from leaving until both boxers had got out of the ring and walked past us to the dressing rooms....by which time you had about one minute to get out before the next entrance of boxers prevented us again. absolute crap

bunch of t**ts

[whicker]

Thats very strange, to actually prevent people leaving a venue to get refreshments, use toilets etc. Not sure thats allowed, to be honest.

I'm sure if needed, of course in the event of an emergency, there would have been emergency exits .

[Srebmun]

The walk to/from the ring cut through a section between 2 of the seating areas. When the fights were over the loser would leave the ring immediately, then the winner after a short interview.

For this few minute period they created a clear walkway for the boxers to safely get backstage.

It wasn't that inconvenient. If it was you could leave your seat and head before the bout ended.

Sounds like I sat in the same section as you, I actually left my seat before the end of each bout to be able to get photos of the boxers.

I didn't miss any action, + I could go on either side of the walkway.

You were not prevented from doing anything.

[Srebmun]

This is what funso is talking about.




edit: damn it, didn't work. Was a pic of the walkway you weren't allowed cross.

[whicker]

I was there for the Audley-Williams 2 fight that had been cracking bill until the later changes :( . Khan was on last and as soon as his finished everyone headed to the tube. On getting there we found there were no more trains going west so about 1000 of us had to wait for various buses which was a nightmare. It took almost 2 hours to get back to the west end and to make matters worse i had missed the beginning of the show because of problems on the Underground. I had though about going to prizeighter but once i heard it was at the excel thought no way.

Same problem at the O2 for the very late starting David Haye V Enzo fight. Given that London is one of the worlds main cities, this transport policy is pretty shitty.

One of the reasons I don't go to boxing any more is that it's all such a hassle.

[funso banjo baby]

The walk to/from the ring cut through a section between 2 of the seating areas. When the fights were over the loser would leave the ring immediately, then the winner after a short interview.

For this few minute period they created a clear walkway for the boxers to safely get backstage.

It wasn't that inconvenient. If it was you could leave your seat and head before the bout ended.

Sounds like I sat in the same section as you, I actually left my seat before the end of each bout to be able to get photos of the boxers.

I didn't miss any action, + I could go on either side of the walkway.

You were not prevented from doing anything.

Why are you disagreeing with my version ???

whats your agenda ?

the bottom line is...

1. i didnt want to walk out while the boxing was still going on ! im actually a fan of boxing and i payed £40 to watch it in a seat.

2 . It took longer than 'a minute' for both boxers to get out of the ring...give an interview and then walk past us into the dressing rooms.

3 this process was repeated literally 3 minutes later with the next couple of boxers.

4 If your going to diss someone else's version...stick to the facts

5 personally i had reservations with the venue and the type of fans that Harrison and Khan attracts. you might be a sheep. but i expect better value for money. and decent facilities for the money being charged. this isnt the stone age.

[telboy66]

I have posted my thoughts on the Excel on many occasions basically for boxing it's a shithole I like another poster changed my mind about going to the Prizefighter this time just because of the venue

[funso banjo baby]

im not a fan of the big venues anyway but 02 is at least on the jubilee line..its do-able

[Boxingmad]

I was at Excel for boxing the first time the other night for PF and I hated it. Olympia was a good choice for the cruiserweight PF a while ago, shame they didn't use it for this one.

[Asterix]

This is what funso is talking about.

edit: damn it, didn't work. Was a pic of the walkway you weren't allowed cross.

Image shack isn't allowed on Boxrec due to a spammer.

Here you go:

[funso banjo baby]

thanks

this shows how stupid it was

and bearing in mind there were two little sheds for food and drink...and i was ushered down stairs to a complely different level for toilets....very shambolic efforts all round.


dont get me wrong though...i thought the arena itself was good...(but im sure it was cut in half like the earls court? didnt seem overly large and warehousey.

you just cant beat the york hall tho

[whicker]

but once again the O2 is quite a way out of central london so if the fight finishs late or you dont live local its a nightmare.

Agree!

The good thing about the MEN (and there are not-so-good things about it too) is that it's central, so lots of hotels within easy (and safe) walking distance.

[Srebmun]

The walk to/from the ring cut through a section between 2 of the seating areas. When the fights were over the loser would leave the ring immediately, then the winner after a short interview.

For this few minute period they created a clear walkway for the boxers to safely get backstage.

It wasn't that inconvenient. If it was you could leave your seat and head before the bout ended.

Sounds like I sat in the same section as you, I actually left my seat before the end of each bout to be able to get photos of the boxers.

I didn't miss any action, + I could go on either side of the walkway.

You were not prevented from doing anything.

Why are you disagreeing with my version ???

whats your agenda ?

the bottom line is...

1. i didnt want to walk out while the boxing was still going on ! im actually a fan of boxing and i payed £40 to watch it in a seat.

2 . It took longer than 'a minute' for both boxers to get out of the ring...give an interview and then walk past us into the dressing rooms.

3 this process was repeated literally 3 minutes later with the next couple of boxers.

4 If your going to diss someone else's version...stick to the facts

5 personally i had reservations with the venue and the type of fans that Harrison and Khan attracts. you might be a sheep. but i expect better value for money. and decent facilities for the money being charged. this isnt the stone age.

Bit touchy aint ya, lol.

Nor is your opinion, sorry facts, the only one/ones.

It wasn't that inconvenient. I said few minute, not a minute (apols I left out the s), + the security weren't that anal as I got across a cpl of times even when it was 'blocked'. I left my seat, didn't miss any boxing at all, and could move about as freely as I wished.

I agree the toilets were pants, I didn't eat, but had no problem getting a beer.

Baaa'aaa.

[16570]

When the barriers were up I just walked round the otherway behind the commentary box.

[funso banjo baby]

of course the security always let a few knobs through ;;-)

[Srebmun]

No idea what your problem is funso. You throw a hissy fit about agendas and the like above when I posted a different version of events to you. You have yours, I have mine. Simples.

'sides, I find with security at most events, it's the knobs they don't let through

[funso banjo baby]

No idea what your problem is funso. You throw a hissy fit about agendas and the like above when I posted a different version of events to you. You have yours, I have mine. Simples.

'sides, I find with security at most events, it's the knobs they don't let through

my problem is ur first post when you stated :

......'You were not prevented from doing anything.'


??? are you a psychic or something ?

we can agree to differ..but dont try and disagree with what i experienced, because you dont have a scooby.

i would also point out that most people agreed with me.

[Srebmun]

You're a writer, right? I didn't mean the -noun you. More in the sense the word You can also be used as the -pronoun of the second person(s) singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case.

As I said, sounds like I (-noun) sat in the same area as you (-noun), but from my (-noun) own experience you (-pronoun) were not prevented from doing anything.

I agree(d) elements of the venue are shite, elements of my (-noun) experience of the venue disagree with elements of yours (-noun).

No agenda, no psychicness, apologies for any misunderstanding.

[hitman_hatton1]

Basically, London sucks. That's pretty much what we are saying here. How on Earth the Tube gets away with shutting down before 1am in the 21st century I will never understand

yeah tell me about it.

been stuck in london overnight 3 times cos of the damn trains stopping at like just gone midnight. :x