FAQs

Please call our security desk at 518.584.9330 ext. 148. If your call is not answered, please leave a message with your name, phone number, the show you attended, and a detailed description of the item.

The SPAC Box Office is open seasonally for in-person visits from mid-May through the last concert in September/October. View the current Box Office hours of operation

We receive a large number of requests and unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate all of them.

Please fill out this form

If approved, you will receive a voucher form for complimentary tickets to either New York City Ballet or The Philadelphia Orchestra (NO Live Nation Concerts).

For information on what you can bring to SPAC-produced events or Live Nation concerts, visit our Ground Rules page

Live Nation Concerts: 

Gate & parking times vary — see individual event listing for specific information. Parking in all lots is subject to a $10 fee per car. Parking in the Route 50 lot entrances can be paid via credit or debit card. There is additional $10 parking available throughout the Saratoga Spa State Park. 

For Saratoga Jazz Festival & Classical Performances: 

The main parking lot is located off Route 50 and is open from dawn to the end of the event. 

Gates open 2 hours before show time.  

There is additional parking available in the Saratoga Spa State Park. 

Tickets are available in-person at the SPAC Box Office during the season (late May – September) or online at livenation.com.  Tickets are not sold via phone.

As of January 1, 2024, we do not have any events with entry requirements. 

No. You cannot leave your vehicle in the parking lot overnight. It will be towed at the owner’s expense. 

The “Will Call” window is located off the Route 50 parking lot at the Main Box Office ONLY. We suggest you arrive at Will Call 1-2 hours prior to the show to avoid long lines. Please bring the original credit card used to purchase the tickets and a valid photo ID. 

Every ticket is assigned a section/row/seat for tracking purposes within our system. For general admission tickets, there is not an assigned row or seat and assignments (i.e. LAWN1, LAWN2, GA1, GA2) are just used to track tickets. 

Saratoga Performing Arts Center cautions guests against buying tickets from non-accredited ticket sources. Many guests that have purchased tickets from brokers or scalpers find themselves in possession of counterfeit tickets at inflated prices. This is especially true for sold out shows. A counterfeit ticket will not gain access to the event. 

That is the Orchestra Pit area in front of the stage.

View amphitheater seating chart

If your ticket says GAPIT for the section and has a row of GA0, GA1, GA2, etc., then the pit is general admission standing room only. If it says section 40 and has row letters A-F, then there will be assigned seats. 

All shows will go on rain or shine. No refunds will be given in the event of rain. For classical events, please check with the box office to upgrade your lawn ticket to a seat inside the amphitheater. For Live Nation pop/rock/country concerts, upgrades may be available on the day of the show (after you arrive inside the venue).

You may bring umbrellas that do NOT have pointed ends.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center offers a wide variety of food and drink options.

Learn more

Children two (2) and under are free for all events. If you are seated in the amphitheater, they must sit on your lap, or you must purchase a ticket if they require a seat. 

Kids 12 and under are free on the lawn and 50% off in the amphitheater (with an accompanying adult ticketholder) for Saratoga Jazz Festival and The Philadelphia Orchestra (excluding film nights and Laufey: A Night at the Symphony). For New York City Ballet only, Kids 16 and under are free on the lawn and 50% in the amphitheater. See full details on our Ways to Save page 

There is a team of Emergency Medical Technicians who are available to assist guests with special medical needs. If someone has a medical condition that requires syringes or special medical attention, they should alert the SPAC staff upon arrival who will notify the SPAC medical team to discuss your needs. 

The LED screens are a wonderful addition to the lawn concert experience. However, sometimes artists ask that these screens not be used for a specific event. While not common, it does happen from time to time. The screens are not used for pavilion only shows. 

For more information on where to stay (including campsites) and where to dine while in Saratoga Springs, please visit our Around Saratoga page

For more information about group sales for our Saratoga Jazz Festival and Classical events, please visit our Group Sales page

Group sales are not available for Live Nation concerts. 

For Live Nation Pop/Rock/Country Concerts: 

Premiere Parking offers guests a reserved parking spot in the main Route 50 parking lot. A limited number of spaces are available, so we recommend purchasing tickets prior to the day of the event. Premiere Parking can be purchased at livenation.com or at the SPAC Box Office. Depending on availability, parking may be purchased on the night of the event. 

For Saratoga Jazz Festival & Classical Events: 

By becoming a member of SPAC at the Patron level or higher, one of your benefits is having the ability to park in our Patron’s Lot, which is located behind the Saratoga Automobile Museum. 

Learn more about becoming a SPAC member!

There isn’t a bad seat in the house! Some audience members prefer to sit closer to the stage in the orchestra sections, so they can be closer to the performers and see them more clearly, while others sit in the balcony where they can see the entire orchestra or ballet company at once. Many of our guests also enjoy the experience on the lawn to picnic or spread out with family and friends.

There is no dress code at SPAC! Feel like wearing jeans and a tee shirt? Awesome! How about a suit and tie or a cocktail dress? Great! You will see a variety in the way audience members dress. 

There’s no need to study before you attend a performance, just come and enjoy! Some concertgoers find the performance to be more enjoyable if they do a little preparation beforehand. This can be as simple as visiting the performance page on our website for details about the program or reading the house program when you arrive for the show. It’s entirely up to you, but the performance will speak for itself!  

Most classical concerts and ballets last approximately 1-2 hours with one or two 20 minute intermission(s). Select productions are 90 minutes with no intermission.  

Evening performances begin at 7:30PM, with Gates opening at 5:30PM and the House/Amphitheater opening at 7:00PM.

For orchestral performances, the concert will begin with the Concertmaster coming onstage. The audience claps as a welcome and as a sign of appreciation to all the musicians. After the orchestra tunes, the conductor and possibly a soloist will come onstage and everyone will clap to welcome them, too. This is also a good moment to make sure your program is open, so you can follow along with what is being performed.  

A symphony or large orchestral piece may be comprised of multiple movements (they will be listed in your program). The audience will applaud at the conclusion of the entire piece and tries to avoid clapping in between movements so as not break the concentration of the performers or the mood in the theater. This can be tricky, because there may be periods of silence in between each movement that make it appear as though the piece has ended. In general, watching the conductor and performers’ reactions is a good way to tell if a piece has concluded. If the conductor’s arms are still up and the performers’ attentions are still focused on their music stands, then most likely there’s more music to come. When in doubt, it’s always safe to wait and follow what the rest of the audience does. 

If you do applaud between movements, don’t worry, it’s only in recent years that audiences have stopped applauding between movements. After all, what’s most important is you enjoyed the performance!  

For ballet performances with live music, the audience will clap when the conductor first appears. Similar to movements of orchestral pieces, ballets have separate sections. Unlike the orchestra, however, audiences will applaud at the end of each section and the ballet as a whole, or even when a dancer does something impressive. Brava! 

Before the performance begins, we welcome photography and video of your SPAC experience — feel free to tag us on social media (Facebook/Instagram) and we may share it to our stories!

Once the curtain rises, please silence your electronic devices and refrain from using them until intermission or the end of the performance. The use of flash photography or any kind of recording devices is prohibited. 

Listen for the fanfare, a musical cue over the speakers, which will signal that the performance is about to begin or resume. If you are sitting in the amphitheater, please stay seated until intermission. Latecomers will be seated by ushers when there is a pause in the program.

Kids 12 and under are free on the lawn and 50% off in the amphitheater (with an accompanying adult ticketholder) for Saratoga Jazz Festival and The Philadelphia Orchestra (excluding film nights and Laufey: A Night at the Symphony). For New York City Ballet only, Kids 16 and under are free on the lawn and 50% in the amphitheater. See full details on our Ways to Save page 

In addition, we host family friendly programming, including Family Nights, film nights with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and more. Learn more on our SPAC for Families page

To learn more about the family workshops and interactive classes we offer as part of our education programs, visit spacschool.org.  

We have medical staff onsite and readily available. If there is an emergency, please call the Saratoga Spa State Park police: (518) 584-2004. 

Golf carts are available to assist guests with disabilities from the entrance to their seats. 

Please see our Accessibility page for more details