(Written by kencraw)

I’m the type of guy who can never have too much information… and I’m willing to do the legwork to get that information. To that end, you know what the first thing I did when I got to my seats on Saturday?

I pulled out a tape measure, pen and paper and started measuring:

Dimensions of the Gold Zone bench seats, side view:

(Click on the picture to a full sized view)

Dimensions of the Gold Zone bench seats, front view:

(Click on the picture to a full sized view)

To be clear, I just measured my seats, which are the first seats above the handicapped seating platform at the the tunnel (note the railing at the front of the side view and across the front of the front view). Although I suspect this spacing is pretty consistent throughout the non-donor bench seating, I can’t be sure.

A few thoughts:

• 24″ total per row, after the first row, is pretty tight. Sit down and measure the distance from the back of your butt to the front of your knee to appreciate just how tight that is.
• On the other hand, 18″ of butt width is pretty generous for our otherwise cramped quarters. It’s wider than most airplane seats anyway.
• You an also see why I was so determined to get the first row in that section. 34″ (up to the wires, not the post) is a TON more space than 24″. That 10″ goes a LOOOONNG way.
• Also notable is the 5+” between the foot platform and the bottom of the seat in front of you. Wise people will make use of that space for their feet. Get your butt as far back as you can in your seat to get your knees back and then slide your feet under the seat in front of you.
• Also notable is how much space there is under the benches. One could even store a stroller there if so inclined. (and I’m not)

If you’d like the source for the graphics, you can find the Visio file here.