The location is reasonable to me and has its perks, being at the edge of a park and next to a train station. Signs all around the grounds warn of snakes, but you ought to be safe if you're with a massive group. However, once you get inside, whatever charm there was of being around nature is lost. The building was apparently built as a sports venue for an Olympic games that Brisbane (thankfully) never got, and has been awkwardly retrofitted into its now-primary use as a music venue. It hosts some fairly significant visitors. When made into a stage at one end, several seating sections are closed because they don't have good views, there are still bad seats in the house, and many people have to turn sideways in chairs that were rather uncomfortable to begin with and were built to face the center of the arena, which is turned into more seating. The look is badly dated, and amenities not strong, with lines for bathrooms for both genders and weak food options. There are no water fountains, presumably to boost bottled water sales, among other money-grabbing practices. Of course, if you see the right show here, it'll be worth going. I can only say that the venue will not enhance the experience. read more

Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Music Venues Near Me - Boondall, QLD

There's little I can say that hasn't already been written about. So let's summarise: + Here is where most of Brisbane's big concerts are held. It's inevitable. Get used to it and accept it. + Yes, it takes a bit to travel to. On the most recent visit here my friends and I drove. It took us approx 25mins from the inner-west and parking was a surprise $12. Leaving wasn't too bottle-necked but I imagine at bigger performances this might be different. + The bars and food vendors are cash only. Bring cash or prepared to be raked over the coals on the ATM fees. + On that note, unless you absolutely have to. Don't eat here. It's standard carvery style food - chips, deep fried, ice creams, and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). Like airports, there's a massive surcharge on these products ($4.50 for a bottle of 600ml water, for example) so avoid where possible and eat before hand. Other than that, it's an entertainment centre, yo! It's not pretty to look at but it's the acts that bring the space alive, right? read more

Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Michael Jackson Immortal Cirque Du Soleil world your - Music Venues Near Me - Boondall, QLD

Located with access to the Gateway Motorway and not far off Sandgate road with it's access to the tunnels and inner city bypass. Also within walking distance of the train station. Most midweek events still require time to get to the venue just because of peak hour traffic. Parking is $12 and not undercover in the event of summer storms. The venue itself is clean and laid out well. However places to grab a bite to eat after work and before an event are limited. When you have purchased something which is pricey (think airport prices) it can then be extremely difficult to find a place to sit to eat. This can prove very frustrating! I have been to a few shows at the entertainment centre and every experience has been different. The first was a concert and the sound system was fantastic. We used public transport for this one which was easy and extremely convenient. The second was a theatre show and we arrived early by car as we had moved closer to the centre and public transport wasn't an option. However we were directed to the furthest corner of the car park from the entertainment centre. We didn't mind as we presumed that meant we would be the first to get out. We couldn't have been more wrong. The car park attendants directed for everyone else to leave except our section. We were stuck for close to 60 minutes after returning to the car. Food at this event was better, the marque was in full operation in the forecourt and the line moved quickly. Our third show was a comedy show and again we arrived early hoping for a better experience with the parking system. This time we were parked at the closest car park to the centre. Food queues were long as you would expect but they moved quickly. Seating was an issue to eat, luckily we found a table to stand at as most chairs had been relocated by others. I observed many people having to place their trays of food on top of the bins and stand next to the bin to eat. Not ideal! I would recommend taking the train and eating before you go. The venue itself is well laid out and easy to navigate in a crowd. The sound system is fantastic and the venue is always clean and plenty of bathroom. More seating around the food areas would make this an even better spot. read more

Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Mrs Browns Boys. Stage and seating set out well. Appeared to be a good view for all. 2 giant screens in operation. - Music Venues Near Me - Boondall, QLD

If you're going to see a big band in Brisbane, chances are it'll be at the entertainment centre. Located in the middle of bumf--k, nowhere (oh, fine. It's at Boondall), the place can be a bit painful to get to. There is plenty of onsite parking but after a big show the parking lot jams up fast and traffic is crawl back to the motorway. My top tip: drive to the Boondall Train Station via Sandgate Rd and park there (only don't, that's my parking spot). Don't get the train because rarely does the final train line up with the end of the concert, and then you had to sell your body on the side of the road to get a lift home. Or get a taxi. Whatever. Anyway, I've sat or stood in pretty much every section of the centre because depending on the band I can sometimes barely afford to get in the door (although once I traded my kidney to get into row Y at Prince and an usher took pity on me and upgraded me to the front). Sound is pretty good wherever you sit and most of the bands will have big screens with their performance/ videos playing (Elton John's videos were clearly from the 80s). However, if you want to groove, go for the mosh or everyone around you will glare at you for blocking their view (whatever, 15-year-olds at Taylor Swift). All around, it's not a bad venue. Make sure you get dinner elsewhere though, unless you enjoy paying $15 for soggy chips. read more

It's unfortunate that this is our largest music venue in Brisbane. It's such a long way from anything that it can be very hard to plan your trip. $15 parking is the norm for an event held here, and trains stop running around midnight. I have been to many an event held at Brisbane Entertainment Centre and while most are well run, clean and give good sound and experience in-show I am not a fan of the location. Also the quality of food leaves something to be desired (think food carts you might find at a football stadium). We rarely if ever eat on site and will always go out of our way to eat a meal before attending. The various bars can be hard to access and are exorbitantly expensive, but the price at least is to be expected. read more

Solid sound system and plenty of space but lacking that bit of soul. I've been to many the arena gig and fact is they're all a bit samey. Good sound but not excellent. Plenty of expensive crowded bars but not so much to get excited about besides the band that you already know and love. A classic large venue which leaves you wishing you caught the band years ago. Regardless the venue would by no means preclude my attendance in the future, however wouldn't it be great if they served food that went beyond the culinary skills of a university share-house and drinks that had even some minuscule amount of charm. read more

Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Radiohead Nov '12 - Music Venues Near Me - Boondall, QLD

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There's not really anything to recommend the venue. It's kinda far away, but it has to be with its size, and its labyrinthine carpark. On the plus side, there's also a train station walking distance from the centre. The food is insanely overpriced, and I don't even bother with the bars. But let's face it, you're there to see the band, and in the end the venue matters little if they're good. read more

If I could give zero stars I would, the venue is rundown, it's not the 80's anymore but you couldn't tell once inside.... unless you look at the peeling paint that might give you an idea. The parking is a $15 and takes 30min to get out due to bottlenecks. The BCEC is heaven in comparison. Almost 30min out of the city and they dare charge for parking! Scum. The food is overprice and rubbish. If you like cold McDonald's go for it. At the BCEC (another venue) in Southbank there Is so many options for food and they usually don't care if you bring it to the venue. Don't even try to bring a bottle of coke to this venue, they run it like a prison. From a spectator point of view, the venue doesn't do basketball justice. There is no such thing as a good seat at the venue. Lastly, don't get me started on the state of the bathrooms.... ew. read more

the carparks are a bit of a maze. Quite a few different places to eat before going to A Show, Concert or Sporting event but get here early because it gets very busy very quickly. I would suggest getting public transport to the centre, if you are driving get here early so you can get a closer park. inside is a little bit dated but you really don't mind when you're just there to see a show. Rows of seating are very close together so be prepared for a lot of excuse me's and knee banging as people struggle to get past you if you are seated early. Even up in the highest seats you still get a good view. read more

The Brisbane Entertainment centre is quite mediocre, the location of it is quite far from where I live but that is just circumstantial I guess. But I live in the Brisbane CBD, so would it not be natural for the BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE to be located somewhere closer? The carpark was quite troublesome as it is a literal maze. Unorganised. Long amounts of traffic. Although the centre itself is alright, I believe it is quite small compared to Suncorp stadium which is quite disappointing. Still alright though. read more

Parking was atrocious. Slow and expensive considering there are few options if taking small kids. If you can, take the train. Parking attendants were sooo slow. It would have been much faster to have boom gates with automatic tickets like they have at shopping centres. Considering we paid a small fortune for the tickets, I naturally assumed that parking was inclusive. When we asked the attendants why the high cost, their reply was that parking costs in the CBD were the same. But this wasn't the CBD- its on the outskirts of Brisbane! Plus there isn't any other parking competitors like in the CBD; they have a monopoly on the space. Getting out of the place was even slower than getting in. I'd recommend taking the train if you can. I also understand that the train station has their own free parking bays too. read more

Hate this lifeless, soulless dump.The security are always over the top-many times had them standing behind my seat staring at the back of my head the whole concert-they just seem like middle aged nobodies that have been given & relish their 'power' trip-I hate them every time I go there and feel uncomfortable because of their bad attitude, they need a reminder that patrons pay a lot of money for their seat and should be treated with respect not as a potential problem. Many times this venue is just too big for the crowd size and it has no ' vibe'. It takes one helluva crowd & really rockin band to get any feeling into the joint. The seats are your typical 'average size' so if you are a tall or large person forget it & of course you always have other people wanting to crush your feet as they squeeze past or fall on you continually coming & going. I dread this dive, every single time I go there I hate it even more, overzealous security/ushers, crap borderline poisonous 'food' which is overpriced just like the $5 bottled water(small size of course), numerous bottlenecks resulting in suffocating crowds and not allowing patrons to go to their seats until they are ' ready' god knows what needs to be gotten ready-it's a big auditorium with seats man. The carpark jams solid for hours due to crap design and the mozzies from the swamp literally eat you alive while waiting for the outside gates to be opened. Carpark signage is designed specifically to confuse you in the dark that's if you can see 'em. The sound can be good if you are in front of the stage-side areas can be horrendous and ruin the whole concert. Nothing at all to like about this dump-I will travel south if I can to avoid this nightmare. I have experienced many concerts where I was really enthusiastic & excited but actually ended up bitter and disappointed due to the venue here. read more