Considering a visit attending Monster Jam? I’m recapping our recent visit in Glendale, Arizona including our Itinerary, what I packed, what to consider, what it cost, and whether we would we go again.
Itinerary
When: Saturday, April 15, 2023
Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Seats: Section 121, Row 23, Seats 13 thru 18
Time Breakdown:
4:00 pm – Prepped everyone to leave for Dinner
4:45 pm – Arrived at Dinner
We choose to have dinner at a sit-down restaurant, The Cabin Whiskey & Grill, which was about 2 miles from the stadium. We called ahead and got reservations for 4:45 pm, with the goal of leaving the restaurant around 6pm. This worked out great, everyone was fed a good meal before the event instead of having to buy overpriced stadium food that had a very limited selection of options.
6:15 pm – Parking at the Stadium
When I bought our tickets I paid for the “VIP Parking” which was $25 more than regular parking, this allowed us to enter at Gate 2 (right where our seats were) and meant that when we entered and exited we had less traffic to deal with. Getting parked was super quick and easy.
6:20 pm – Security Check
State Farm Stadium is a Clear Bag stadium, so I had my RadRev Clear Sling, and a clear tote bag I got at a conference a few years back. It was a quick process to go through security and we were able to head right toward the entrance. Something I love about State Farm Stadium is they have a table setup where you can get a wristband for your kid, they put your name, phone number, and seat details on the wrist band so if you were to get separated it’d be easier to help you child locate you.
6:30 pm – Finding Seats + Checking Out Food, Drinks, and Merchandise
The thing you need to know about Monster Jam is there are a variety of pre-show activities you can buy upgraded tickets for. We are day of Monster Jam fans, so coming early for these pre-show activities wasn’t something that would have been worth the cost, but if you have a family member who LOVES the trucks and wants to see them up close and in person – this might be something you consider.
I’m sharing this here because something that surprised us when we were preparing to find our seats and checking out what the stadium had to offer was the Merch lines were LONG – probably nothing like T. Swift, but I saw people waiting an hour. We lucked out and our kiddos fell in love with Grave Digger Masks that were being sold with Cotton Candy at a separate booth. While getting costume masks weren’t originally in the plan of things I’d buy that night, the boys were thrilled when we said yes.
Food was pretty limited during the event, certainly not the full menu you’d see at a Football game played at the stadium. We were very happy to have had dinner before arriving.
Our seats were really easy to get to, we were seated in the End Zone – more on why I chose that later.
7:30 pm – The Main Event Began
There were three parts to the Monster Jam Event:
- Racing Competition
- Skill Challenge
- Freestyle Challenge
If you haven’t been to Monster Jam and want a breakdown of what these are check out the official Monster Jam 101 page. The boys thought the races were fun since that was their first introduction to the trucks, it helped them figure out who they’d want to cheer for during the evening. The Skills Challenge and Freestyle they really enjoyed because we were able to let them use our phones to live score the run after each truck went.
8:30 pm – Intermission
About an hour in there was a brief intermission period which we utilized to grab some snacks to keep the crew energized. Someone in our party was acting a little grumpy because it was getting close to bedtime, but nothing some M&M’s couldn’t fix.
9:30 pm – Winner Announced + Time to Exit
The event ended right about 9:30 pm, we, unfortunately, didn’t get to see Grave Digger or Son of a Digger do their freestyle as both vehicles were having technical issues, but that certainly didn’t ruin the evening. We had everyone use the bathrooms during the intermission so we were able to head straight to the car, and because we had VIP parking we were out of the parking lot and on the freeway within 5 minutes — it was spectacular and well worth the extra money.
What I Packed
Disclosure: some of the links in the blog are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
For Me:
I used my RadRev Clear Sling in Mustard. Inside my sling, I had:
- Google Pixel Buds Pro
- Klennex Pocket Pack
- Trader Joes Lavender Hand Sanitizer (Similar)
- The best portable phone charger with all the cords you need built in
- And all the important medical stuff:
- Single-Use Kids Benadryl
- Single-Use Eye Drops
- Albuterol Inhaler
- AuviQ Epi-Pen
For The Family:
The clear tote bag (similar option) held a factory sealed 16.9 oz water bottle for each person in our party (this saved us at least $20) and our hearing protection. We brought these over-ear headphones, but upon arrival, we discovered our Pixel Buds Pro provided the same quality noise cancellation in a more comfortable fit. The kids wore the over-ear headphones the whole evening, really just taking them off between the different competition sets.
If you’re wondering how we got to bring water in, be sure to check your local stadium’s policies – almost all the stadiums near us allow this option. Here is where I found our stadium policy.
What to Consider
Here are a few things you’ll want to consider when attending Monster Jam:
- Where to Sit – Want great seats in the lower level without paying a premium? Look at the seats in the Endzone! The Racing Competition is the only event I felt like it may have been an advantage to be along the sidelines versus the Endzone, but that is only 30 minutes of the 2 hour event. By getting tickets in the Endzone we saved a lot of money and actually got to see up close some major tricks during the Skills + Freestyle competitions. Two additional where to sit considerations:
- Did you know the first 15 or more rows in the lower level are covered with plastic? This means if you’re in row 20 you’re really in what’s row 5 of available seating.
- If you’ve got kids who like to move, consider looking for tickets that start on an aisle! This way you can get up as many times as you need without ever having to ask someone else to move.
- Pit Passes and Other Ticket Options – Have a huge Monster Jam fan who wants to get up close and personal with vehicles and Drivers? Check out the many options for how you can arrive early and visit the Pit
- Parking Upgrades – Don’t love crowds and want to get in and out quickly? I can verify that upgrading to VIP parking was my best purchase for this event
- Devices for Scoring Events – Bringing multiple kids? I highly recommend making sure you either have a phone or tablet that can be connected to wifi that each kid (or kid at heart) can use to score the Skill and Freestyle events
- What Can You Bring – Does your stadium require clear bags? Do not forget to check your stadium’s policies! Most will make exceptions for diaper bags, but be sure to read ahead of time to know if you need to make a special request to bring one thru or go to a certain gate for check-in. Also, if remember to check if you can bring bottled water to save yourself from having to buy it at the stadium.
What it Cost
- Price Per Ticket: $45.00 ($180 for 4)
- Fee Per Ticket: $20.05 ($80.20 for 4)
- VIP Parking Pass: $50.00
- Merchandise: $40.00 (2 – Grave Digger Masks with Cotton Candy)
- Snacks: $17 (2 – M&M’s + 1 – Dibs Chocolate Ice Cream)
Bonus Tip for Saving on Tickets:
Be sure to check if Rakuten is offering cash back on the site you’re purchasing tickets from! When I bought our tickets through SeatGeek I got 1% back. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it does add up over time and they pay out quarterly. If you haven’t used Rakuten before my affiliate referral link will earn you $30 back on a purchase of $30 or more in addition to the cashback from the site you’re shopping.
Would We Go Again
Yep! We had a great time, and even though our family had never really been exposed to Monster Jam ahead of time everyone enjoyed themselves. The event was well coordinated and had great ways for fans to interact (the scoring really kept the kids involved in watching the event).
If you’re thinking of attending Monster Jam and have any questions, let me know! Happy to add any details I may have missed.
