Wicomico Civic Center

Club volleyball tournament. Ridiculous policies. Athletes only allowed one water, sport drink and protein bar for the whole day. Spectators were not allowed even empty water bottles. No purses beyond 5*7. Water bottle was 3.50! What a racket. Shameful

We were here for a volleyball tournament and it was an experience that we won’t forget.
First, if you are going to host a large sporting event, it’s incredibly important to make sure you genuinely care about the players. Nowhere were there rules stated that our girls could only bring a water, a sports drink and a protein bar. This is not your job to dictate what our kids eat and what keeps them energized after hours of playing. 1 water so we can go spent $4 on a bottle of water after a single game?
Not to mention your junk menu. As a parent of athletes, chips and cheese or soft pretzels are not a meal. This isn’t a show or concert. These were athletes giving it all while under some sort of unnecessary and ridiculous dictatorship that they’re allowed a protein bar.
If you cared about more than the money, we wouldn’t be spending as much as we are to get in to watch our kids play and be told we also can’t have a single bottle of water. This is absolutely insane and should be looked into as it’s very negligent to “allow” an athlete very limited options. Nobody is here for your popcorn, we were there to watch our own kids play a sport they loved while we as parents are being overruled on what our kids are allowed to have.
Next- maybe making it comfortable for everyone and not freezing the entire building would be something to look into.
Lastly, the staff that was working during the event claim to work for the city. Whereas most were pleasant, there were plenty that could have retired years ago and stayed home. They have no business talking to adults or children the way they do and it’s appalling this type of worth either is tolerated. The lady working wrist bands was incredibly incompetent, rude and needs to go home and not with people. She is a great way to ruin a day!

I hope to never ever have to return to this horrible place ever again.

We recently attended a volleyball tournament at the Wicomico Civic Center and unfortunately, it was an incredibly frustrating experience from start to finish. If this facility wants to continue hosting events for youth athletes, it needs to take a serious look at its priorities.

There was no notice ahead of time regarding the strict food and drink policy. Families arrived expecting to be able to properly fuel their athletes throughout the day, only to be told that each child could bring in just one water bottle, one sports drink, and a protein bar. That is not only unreasonable, it’s irresponsible. These kids are playing multiple high-intensity games over the course of several hours. They need real nutrition and adequate hydration, not restrictions that force parents to buy overpriced junk food from the concession stand. The menu options were limited to soft pretzels, nachos, candy, and soda. That might be fine for a concert or show, but it’s completely inappropriate for athletes competing at this level.

What makes this worse is the excuse the Civic Center uses to justify this policy. The claim is that they would “lose their food service license” if they allowed outside food and drink. I actually called the Wicomico County Health Department to ask about this and spoke directly with Deborah, who confirmed that this is not true. The facility is not at risk of losing any license by allowing outside food during athletic events. The excuse being used is simply a lie and a way to push sales at the expense of basic athlete wellness.

On top of that, the building was kept uncomfortably cold the entire day. Parents were bundled in jackets and kids were shivering between matches. It was not a welcoming environment in the slightest. And while some staff were friendly, others were rude, dismissive, and clearly not equipped to handle events of this size. The woman assigned to manage wristbands was especially unprofessional, argumentative, and flat-out disrespectful to multiple families.

This facility has no business hosting athletic tournaments if it can’t support the needs of the athletes and families attending. Between the dishonest policies, unhealthy food options, freezing conditions, and rude staff, I can’t imagine ever choosing to come back. Wicomico Civic Center should be ashamed of how poorly they handled this event.