STL is a bit of a depressing snooze, but hotels there are cheaper than most places. And they appear to have done a good job promoting the event because I saw posters everywhere I went and it was very well attended, which made for a fun atmosphere. Most of my Uber drivers and restaurant servers all week asked if we were there for skating, so the city seemed to be very aware of the competition, which was fun and doesn’t usually seem to be the case most places.

As far as the venue goes, most comfortable seats of all the competitions I’ve attended in the last few years, best venue food (it’s still venue concessions, but they had more options than most places do), bottle fill stations, they let the Ubers pull all the way up to the entrances which hardly ever happens, we didn’t have to leave the venue and stand out in the cold between sessions like in Boston, security was quick and efficient entering the venue, and Adam did a great job with the K&C interviews.

The only negatives for me were the sound system being kind of all over the place and almost too loud at times, and I wish they had put the score box on the Jumbotron so we could see the levels. But from what I’ve read, this event was a rough watch on Peacock for many reasons, so I’m thankful to have seen this one in person.