Stormont Vail Events Center

I visited Stormont Vail Events Center in December to take my oldest daughter to Paw Patrol Live! She's been a big Paw Patrol fan and is likely about to out grow her passion for it so when I saw it was coming closeby I booked us some premium seats here so she could really enjoy it. Now, Topeka is a solid hour away for us and I wasn't sure what to expect. To be honest I was kind of shocked that the tour stopped in Topeka rather than KC since I think they would have filled up better in KC. All that aside we made the drive no problem and something nice about it being in Topeka is that parking is a BREEZE here. Stormont Vail Events Center boasts a massive parking lot, which is something I'm just not used to seeing at big events centers in cities. Compared to the Sprint Center here in KC where parking is a competitive sport, I literally just drove in and parked super close to the entrance and we walked right in. That was pretty great - definitely earned a whole star for that alone. Once you get inside it's very similar to any other large-ish event space. You get in line to have your ticket scanned and then you find your seats. My big beef with this whole event, and why to me it was 4/5 stars was the way they had merch stands set up. The first one was right when you got to the top of the escalator which caused a bottleneck and the line was pretty massive. We had paid for a merchandise voucher to save some money, so I wanted to let my daughter choose her toy before the show started, but the line was so long I figured there must be another one and we moved on to use the restroom and then use the merch spot on the floor, near our seats. We got in line at the merch table downstairs and after waiting more than 10 minutes someone shouted out that you can't use a voucher at this one and you have to go upstairs. Now, have you ever had to explain to a four year old that you have to leave the line you are almost to the front of to go upstairs and get in a longer line that you already had waited in? No, well you're lucky. That was a nightmare. We did it though, got what she wanted, and she did handle it like a champ once we got over the initial shock. Aside from that the production was good, the ease of restroom lines and getting in and out of the venue was a breeze, and overall it was a decent experience. I do hope they consider fixing this issue though, even if just with signage so you don't wait in a line you can't use.

This Place has gone woke! I liked it better when it was called Expo Center!!! Of COURSE they had to take away the sleek white color scheme and replaced it with "diverse" gray gay squares. Instead of having cool stuff like the Circus they have BORING stuff like Harlem globetrotters. Boooooo! Even the cow shows are woke now!

Poor little Expocentre. You can't help but feel sorry for this venue. It is like the Land that Time Forgot in so many ways.I go here once a year without fail for the AKC dog show. My friend is a breeder/handler and we make the trek to this arena faithfully. In all the time we have been coming here, nothing (and I mean nothing) has changed.There are some positives about this place and I always like to start there. There is ample parking. In fact, parking has never been an issue. The building is easily accessible, too. No problem with getting in-and-out quickly and you never have to walk five miles to get inside from the parking lot. There is plenty of room inside the venue. This is quite a large arena. It seems to be big enough to handle quite a number of events and the size allows it to be versatile. The building is clean and well maintained, too. The main negative about the Expocentre is the dated upkeep and amenities. It does not seem to have had many improvements in quite awhile. The parking lot is big and easy to access but there are many potholes and pits in the asphalt and sidewalks. We always have to watch our step because of the rough edges in the parking lot. On the main level there were not many water fountains and the concession stand made it very clear they would not refill water bottles with water or ice. Not sure that is a green attitude to have these days. I know they are just trying to get people to buy their overpriced water but still. This is not the fault of the Expocentre, granted, but maybe they need more dialogue with their vendors. I would think refilling water bottles would mean less trash, less cleanup. It's just the little things that need attention. A few updates here and there would make this place sparkling new. The lighting needs an upgrade, as well. The current lighting system makes this place look dingy, if that makes sense. It needs something to make it sparkle and shine. There is no reason this place cannot be a real player in the concert and event arena. All she needs is some TLC.

First of all, lets say we are so glad that "improvements" are in the works for this venue, but please don't do a "patch" job on the improvements, make them something that will be worthwhile!First of all, the current food being offered by the vendors is yucky at best! The popcorn is so salty you need buckets of pop to wash it down...or is that the goal? Then there are the "hot dogs"... don't even get me started....both the meat and buns taste horrible.The seats are in bad to really bad condition. You feel like the seat is going to "bottom out" whenever you sit down and what about "leg room" ...apparently this wasn't a consideration when the arena was built. And forget about the cheap, steep and narrow seats in the upper balcony. Maybe they would have worked in "1970", but not today. ...and did someone say elevator?? Really, this thing is slow and rickety and you just pray the doors will open on your floor. Why is the public not allowed to use the 2nd "hidden away" elevator that we discovered by accident behind closed doors one day?Let's see....a handrail or two...or two hundred might work well, since every time we try to navigate the unlit staircases there are usually about 20 kids doing races up and down them....and never any security to stop them....because wait....they are all at the entrances chatting each other up.Next is the issue of the "handicap entrance". I'm sorry, but you need to provide a main floor handicap entrance. Not one that we have to park 3 chuck holed parking lot miles from, then go up an elevator, then go outside to wait in the elements, because the doors are not going to open on time, even though the opening time is posted on the tickets.....and PLEASE do not ever keep the lights totally turned off, then tell us we can finally enter the arena 20 minutes after the opening posting time of our tickets and go find our seats?? Really, I'm surprised no one got badly hurt! We were told the Cirque Du Soleil Corteo people wanted it totally dark. Well we are happy for them as they are all acrobats and could jump and leap anywhere they want to in the dark, but we are not acrobats and we find this really UNACCEPTABLE as we tried to feel our way to our very expensive floor seats!We'll stop there for now....

This is big and got to be one of the bigger Expo Center I have been in. Definitely been used a lot with cracked sidewalks and not everything maintained perfectly but great for the very large Mother Earth News fair I went to.My main issue was all the food vendors sold the same low quality hotdog and hamburger meal with no variety.They had lots of workers well identified in uniforms to ask questions how to get places. It was very hard to figure out how to get from the expo floor up to where the food were on the second floor. I could see the place was designed more for games where they didn't want people accessing the floor then for Expos like this

Terrible. Their website gives an email address that is no good. An automatic response from that address gives another email address that is no good. Trying to contact the place to get off their email list. They keep sending junk I don't want.

Home of the Topeka Roadrunners... the team does a nice job with fun fan events & giveaways & suchlike. KU also plays hockey here, nice for the boys to have the opportunity to play in a large venue. But the facility itself is terribly dated and needs a facelift, stat. Seats are uncomfortable, concessions are limited, and the brats were cold.

Went to a Roadrunner's Hockey game. The sound system needs updating as it was difficult to understand anything the announcer said. The seats were really uncomfortable. However it was a great view!

Venue does not allow purses, only clear bags. Their rent a cop security are rude. Not helpful. They will tell you to put your purse in your car. Heads up: last time I did that at this venue, my purse was stolen out of my locked car! Their security did not care! Overall, a pretty pathetic place. It has been in decline for the past few years. One last comment: no purses, knives, or guns. Apparently, if there is a mass casualty situation, security is supposed to protect you. Lol! Half their security team was over 60. The other half had obviously never Been to a gym. Sad. I highly recommend avoiding storming Vail event center unless you like being harassed by out of shape rent a cops.​

I don't mind the search and such at the hockey games. A few seconds is worth a little safety precaution. But if your going to check, actually check. I walked in talking and engaging w the 4-5 people at the door and I walked right by. No wand/or bag check