Raised viewing areas are great.Shane Wolford's family room in VA is sort of a continuous pit. The room is split into two halves, one half has a row of 9', the other half has a row of 7'. Each row has the tables placed side rail to side rail. Between each half is a raised platform maybe 5' in the air. It has tables/chairs, a wide railing on its entire perimeter, and steps on each end. It makes good viewing to watch a match from above, on any of the tables.