Luxury box

The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most expensive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of the venue through private club entrances, to areas containing special restaurants, bars, merchandise stands, and lounge areas of the venue that are not otherwise available to regular ticketholders.

These special private seating sections located within stadiums and arenas (as well as within other types of sporting and entertainment venues) are typically located in the midsection, main stand or grandstand, or both. However at some tennis venues‍—‍‌where stadiums tend to be smaller‍—‍‌the luxury boxes are often (but not always) located at the lowest ring of seats, nearest to the playing court.

Stadium luxury boxes sometimes have indoor facility glass panels which can be opened to a balcony-type area, designed to increase a patron's feeling of being immersed in the action of the event.

The inside of a luxury box typically includes a bar, televisions, a small seating area, and a private bathroom. The boxes are usually catered, with guests enjoying corporate hospitality, with champagne, canapés, shrimp, and sushi being common favorites. The lease to a box usually comes with allocated parking spaces at the venue and access is usually provided with separate entrances, away from the general public gates.

Most luxury suites are leased by contract on a yearly basis, though some are bought in a manner similar to that for a condominium. These methods usually grant access to the box by the leaseholder or owner for every event held at the venue. A few venues rent them on a per-event basis. Prices vary from US$5,000 up to the millions of dollars depending on the venue and events held there.

Luxury boxes are a significant source of revenue for most professional sports teams and venue owners. Since the late 1990s, it has been proven that luxury suites and club seating are lucrative revenue-generating features that make pro sports teams financially successful in order to remain competitive long-term. While originally widespread among North American major pro sports, this trend is also gaining popularity in Europe. For instance, Emirates Stadium's revenue from premium seating and corporate boxes alone is nearly as high as the revenue from Arsenal F.C.'s previous stadium at Highbury.

Particularly in North American major professional sports leagues, luxury suite revenue does not have to be shared‍—‍‌unlike gate receipts, which are split with visiting teams‍—‍‌leading to teams demanding new venues that contain more luxury boxes.

There has been consternation that the rise of the luxury box, along with club seating, has degraded the game-day experience for the average fan, because placement of the boxes has moved the upper decks higher and farther away from the playing surface. Three current North American venues, Ford Field, Red Bull Arena, and Levi's Stadium, have addressed these concerns by placing all luxury boxes on one side of the playing surface, which allows the other sides of the venue to have closer sightlines than most modern venues. State Farm Arena in Atlanta formerly had all of its premium seating on one side of the arena; however, renovations that took place during 2017 removed the upper level luxury boxes and were replaced with a traditional upper deck and premium seating spread throughout the arena.