2023 U.S. Nationals in San Jose

[Debbie S]

Inflation alert: The charge for the self-serve food at my local Whole Foods is now $11.99 per pound.

And oven-roasted deli turkey is now $16/pound.

The past 2 Nats at SAP, I remember almost no food places open until Saturday, and the ones that were had the standard arena junk and long lines. Unless there's been a major change, WF will be much appreciated.

For those staying in the Marriott/Westin/Hilton area near the convention center, there is a bakery/sandwich place across from the park, near what used to be the Fairmount, that was pretty good and reasonable in 2018. (Yes, according to Google Maps, it's still there.)

 

[TanithandBenFan]

And oven-roasted deli turkey is now $16/pound.

The past 2 Nats at SAP, I remember almost no food places open until Saturday, and the ones that were had the standard arena junk and long lines. Unless there's been a major change, WF will be much appreciated.

For those staying in the Marriott/Westin/Hilton area near the convention center, there is a bakery/sandwich place across from the park, near what used to be the Fairmount, that was pretty good and reasonable in 2018. (Yes, according to Google Maps, it's still there.)

There’s also Grace Deli on the corner opposite of the Hilton, though I think it’s only open on weekdays. But the sandwiches were really good.

 

[SkateSand]

I always thought the food at the SAP Center was pretty good as arena food goes. But what worries me is the post above about drink changes. The Ice Bar bartenders (okay, one guy, but he taught the others ) could put together a first class margarita that other venues could only pray to achieve. I may or may not have chosen my seat due to its proximity to the Ice Bar. I hope there have been no drink changes to the Ice Bar.

 

[Carolla5501]

Inflation alert: The charge for the self-serve food at my local Whole Foods is now $11.99 per pound. Arena food might be cheaper.

Inflation has hit the Arena too, it won’t be cheaper

 

[mattiecat13]

The recent TripAdvisor reviews of the Arena Hotel look credible and scary. Things seem to have deteriorated.

One of my friends stayed at the Arena Hotel in 2012 and found it no frills but clean and convenient to the arena. After reading the awful on-line reviews, we asked a local group member to check it out. Her findings confirmed the reviews' accuracy (the term "fleabag" was used) and we've now made reservations at a different hotel.

 

[mtnskater]

Are there any affordable hotels within walking distance to the arena other than the fleabag one? Or other options nearby to take an uber back and forth? I have my tickets and flights but no hotel because I’ve been shocked by the rates I’ve seen every time I’ve searched nearby. The last two times I stayed in San Jose for Nationals I stayed at the Fairmont for a reasonable rate and enjoyed walking back and forth about a mile each way. It was taken over by some group that really jacked up the rates.

 

[acraven]

There's a Motel 6 but it's beyond the Arena and I think it has a lower review score.

You might take a look at booking.com to see whether something pops up for the nights you need. Booking.com lists apartments as well as hotels.

 

[SkateSand]

The Flamingo Motel is a little farther from the SAP Center than the Arena Hotel. It's a no frills place, but the Trip Advisor reviews seem to be better.

 

[mtnskater]

Any idea how much an Uber ride might be from one of the hotels near the airport to the SAP Center? I can stay at the Sheraton 4 Points near the airport for $119 a night.

 

[tony]

Any idea how much an Uber ride might be from one of the hotels near the airport to the SAP Center? I can stay at the Sheraton 4 Points near the airport for $119 a night.

You can plug in the two addresses within Uber at different points in the day to get an idea of what you’ll pay when it comes time

 

[MacMadame]

You can probably get rides from locals for some of those trips too. I just checked and swinging by the airport on my way to and from SAP only adds 5 minutes to my trip so I would be happy to do it at times when our plans match. I do want to do some lobby-chicking but shoot me a PM and I'm sure we can figure something out.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Any idea how much an Uber ride might be from one of the hotels near the airport to the SAP Center? I can stay at the Sheraton 4 Points near the airport for $119 a night.

Back in 2018 it cost $20 for an Uber from the airport to a hotel about a mile from SAP, so add some inflation to that.

 

[Carolla5501]

So you can take the trolley system from near the airport to the SAP center. The problem is going back because it quits running at like 10 or 11


And I said I was done I wasn’t going -Jason is coming, I better start looking for plane tickets. Considering I’ve given up on Peacock and having to listen to Johnny and Tara talk through his entire skate is too painful I may just have to fly to California

 

[mtnskater]

You can probably get rides from locals for some of those trips too. I just checked and swinging by the airport on my way to and from SAP only adds 5 minutes to my trip so I would be happy to do it at times when our plans match. I do want to do some lobby-chicking but shoot me a PM and I'm sure we can figure something out.

That is very kind of you! I am still on the fence about whether I will spring for the $1500+ a closer hotel like the Westin will cost. But I will let you know when I finalize my plans. Thanks!!

 

[Lanie]

Kinda tempted with Jason coming back (we talked about it at SA but I had no clue he'd be COMPETING AGAIN ). We had Disney World plans that week since Nats in non-Olympic years is always around my birthday. But it's so pricey not living in LA anymore...

 

[aussieSKATES]

One of my friends stayed at the Arena Hotel in 2012 and found it no frills but clean and convenient to the arena. After reading the awful on-line reviews, we asked a local group member to check it out. Her findings confirmed the reviews' accuracy (the term "fleabag" was used) and we've now made reservations at a different hotel.

We're reminded of when we stayed at a Days Inn near Brookpark for the 2009 US Championships in Cleveland.

It was advertised as being a ten minute walk from the light rail (which I caught to the arena).

What they didn't say, was that the sidewalks were completely obliterated by snow, which meant having to walk against heavy traffic on the road each day.

That was scary.

 

[ice coverage]

Schedule | SAP Center

www.sapcenter.com

2023 TOYOTA U.S. Figure Skating Championships Tentative Schedule (subject to change)

...

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023
Junior Ladies Free Skate
Championship Pairs Short Program
Championship Ladies Short Program

Friday, Jan. 27, 2023
Championship Rhythm Dance
Championship Ladies Free Skate

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023
Championship Men Short Program
Championship Pairs Free Skate
Championship Free Dance

...

Follow-up to Sylvia's post from March:

Alterations to competition segments on Thu-Sat are shown in new USFS document (emphases added):

Thursday, January 26, 2023
Competition – Junior Women FS, Senior Ice Dance RD, Senior Women SP, Senior Pairs SP

Friday, January 27, 2023
Competition – Senior Men SP & Senior Women FS

Saturday, January 28, 2023
Competition – Senior Ice Dance FD, Senior Pairs FS

https://www.usfigureskating.org/sites/default/files/media-files/SanJose_PreAnnouncement.pdf

(same document that I have been citing in other threads )​

SAP Center page still is showing the old schedule as of March.

Schedule | SAP Center

www.sapcenter.com

 

[Carolla5501]

So are they planning to sell only full event packages

It seems like normally at this point we have at least championship packages and possible single events. I am looking at the seating chart and in spite of US figure skating’s unsupported optimism about the popularity of figure skating, it’s not sold out.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

So are they planning to sell only full event packages

It seems like normally at this point we have at least championship packages and possible single events. I am looking at the seating chart and in spite of US figure skating’s unsupported optimism about the popularity of figure skating, it’s not sold out.

An article in SKATING mag said single tickets will go on sale shortly before Thanksgiving.

Those are interesting changes to the schedule. So Thursday is going to be a bear instead of Saturday as it has been the last few years. The Thursday TV schedule only shows two hours in early evening, so I guess the RD and Pairs SP won't be getting much coverage?

Jan. 26, 2023	2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships	7-9 p.m.	USA Network
Jan. 26	2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships	10 p.m.-Midnight	USA Network

 

[TanithandBenFan]

There is a more detailed time schedule on the website now:

Schedule | SAP Center

www.sapcenter.com

Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

Official practice sessions - Junior


Tuesday, Jan. 24

12:00 p.m. - Junior Pairs Short Program

2:15 p.m. - Junior Men Short Program

8:00 p.m. - Junior Rhythm Dance

Wednesday, Jan. 25

9:00 a.m. - Junior Women Short Program

12:00 p.m. - Junior Men Free Skate

3:30 p.m. - Junior Pairs Free Skate

8:15 p.m. - Junior Free Dance

Thursday, Jan. 26

8:30 a.m. - Junior Women Free Skate

12:30 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Pairs Short Program

3:30 p.m. – Championship Rhythm Dance

6:00 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Women Short Program

Friday, Jan. 27

1:00 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Men Short Program

4:45 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Women Free Skate

Saturday, Jan. 28

10:45 a.m. - Championship (Senior) Free Dance

4:30 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Pairs Free Skate

Sunday, Jan. 29

11:30 a.m. - Championship (Senior) Men Free Skate

6:00 p.m. - Skating Spectacular

all times and events are subject to change

 

[Carolla5501]

Well USFS and the SAP Center have a creative new way to increase ticket sales.... this is what you get when you click on tickets on either the event website or the USFS website

PAGE NOT FOUND​

Sorry the page you were looking for cannot be found. Please visit one of the pages below.

You can get there from that page, but... c'mon guys! (and no they still only have all event so I may skip. Have hotel and flight but both can be cancelled and I can't go all week)


And the Junior Women free skate is at 8;30 in the morning... Wow, that's Fan Friendly (and they wonder why attendance is low)

 

[ice coverage]

To be fair, the ticketing glitch at the moment appears to be an issue for SAP Center in general, over which USFS would have no control.

At the link below, a message is coming up that says in part, "We apologize for the interruption: We are experiencing technical difficulties ..."

https://www.ticketmaster.com/sap-center-at-san-jose-tickets-san-jose/venue/229393

 

[TanithandBenFan]

To be fair, the ticketing glitch at the moment appears to be an issue for SAP Center in general, over which USFS would have no control.

At the link below, a message is coming up that says in part, "We apologize for the interruption: We are experiencing technical difficulties ..."

https://www.ticketmaster.com/sap-center-at-san-jose-tickets-san-jose/venue/229393

Blame Taylor Swift!

 

[Yuri]

I think Ticketmaster hasn't recovered from the Taylor Swift glitches. I have been trying all afternoon to purchase pre-sale tickets for the road 25th Anniversary Riverdance tour in my area and it crashes before checkout saying I haven't logged into my Ticketmaster account on my device. But it failed both on my phone and my computer. So I wouldn't be surprised if similar glitches are affecting US Nationals.

 

[skatfan]

There is a more detailed time schedule on the website now:

Schedule | SAP Center

www.sapcenter.com

Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

Official practice sessions - Junior


Tuesday, Jan. 24

12:00 p.m. - Junior Pairs Short Program

2:15 p.m. - Junior Men Short Program

8:00 p.m. - Junior Rhythm Dance

Wednesday, Jan. 25

9:00 a.m. - Junior Women Short Program

12:00 p.m. - Junior Men Free Skate

3:30 p.m. - Junior Pairs Free Skate

8:15 p.m. - Junior Free Dance

Thursday, Jan. 26

8:30 a.m. - Junior Women Free Skate

12:30 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Pairs Short Program

3:30 p.m. – Championship Rhythm Dance

6:00 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Women Short Program

Friday, Jan. 27

1:00 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Men Short Program

4:45 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Women Free Skate

Saturday, Jan. 28

10:45 a.m. - Championship (Senior) Free Dance

4:30 p.m. - Championship (Senior) Pairs Free Skate

Sunday, Jan. 29

11:30 a.m. - Championship (Senior) Men Free Skate

6:00 p.m. - Skating Spectacular

all times and events are subject to change

So they're not doing the "split the first group early for TV" thing anymore. Glad to see that, but holy moly Wednesday and Thursday look brutal.

 

[Carolla5501]

I sent an email to the San Jose sharks ticket email and they tell me that they hope to have other ticket options available within the next week or so

thought I would pass it on

 

[buffyfan02]

Thanks for the updates!! I was wondering when tickets for individual events finally go on sale!

 

[myhoneyhoney]

I’m approved to volunteer again! Anyone else?

 

[MacMadame]

What are are you going to be one @myhoneyhoney ?

 

[myhoneyhoney]

What are are you going to be one @myhoneyhoney ?

I’m going to see what days and hours I can get. I’m thinking they’ll have a mandatory orientation like last time?