This may have been discussed, but I had the opportunity to attend the game and participate in tailgating at a caboose before and after the game. From a stadium stand point, I think ours is actually in better shape. Our section was pretty low to the field and you couldn't see the game unless you stood up and looked over the players.
Jumbotron. I counted I believe about 5-6 commercials from the 1st to the 3rd quarter. The commercials didn't blast out as loud as ours when they played them, and a lot were just announcements for the school. They primarily just showed crowd pics with nothing really being done other than just playing music to get them fired up and showing the crowd. No kiss cam, ect. Just simple music and video. Loved the 2001 Space Odyssey song and it fired them up. They did have a Red Baron commercial that you had to pick the baron from behind the pizza and that was the only thing I saw that was similar to ours that I remember. I strictly paid attention only during TV time outs. Not between quarters and the half.
Tailgating- These guys have it down-period! They make so much money from utilizing the big donors to pony up and get into these cabooses, it's not even funny. We weren't at the school's caboose. We were across the street at the private ones. The owner explained that he owns the caboose outright and he gets 5 parking passes with it. He said he has had it since about 2002 and he paid around 200K to get it like he wanted it. They now go for around 300K. Theirs is in a fenced area with gated security and he receives 50 wristbands for every game. You have to have the wristband to get into the fenced area. In the center of this complex is a pavilion, which the HOA(yes they have an HOA) dues support a band that plays after every game until late into the evening. We had to leave to get back to the hotel at 6 pm and they didn't return until around 11. Game was over at 3:30. They cooked all day long and brought out different things as the day progressed. And that was similar at every caboose. I counted about 30 cabooses in the is one area across the street from the stadium.
He also informed me that parking passes up next to the stadium go for 30 to 40K and for that you get a concrete pad with power and cable hook up. And there is a waiting list. He said that they are able to use their caboose whenever they want, but the ones on school property can only be used on game day, similar to a suite in the stadium.
There were also condo's next to the cabooses that you can own and stay in. These are single story units and looks similar to an office park type building. These have a deck for each unit covered with an awning on the roof to view all that is going on.
Most of these cabooses are to the south end of the stadium. To the north is a huge parking lot. It was completely filled with tailgaters.
All in all, my perception was this. We give away parking places pretty close to our stadium based on your points for $100.00. We allow our fans to enter into most areas of the junction for free and set up a tent and hang out all day. We allow a company to come in and set up black ez-up tents, that probably cost them $100.00 and pay the university a royalty for this crappy tent that we rent and are crammed in there like sardines.
I would like to see some comments as to who would like to see us come up with some similar type facilities, while still keeping some of the junction area open to the regular fan base, that would cause the tail-gating atmosphere to be enhanced. I would love the opportunity to see some types of housing/structures that would be available for a season by season rental that are truly one of a kind. And there are many parking lots that are basically getting 50 cars at $100.00 per car that could easily support some type of temporary structure that could be wheeled in on the Friday before gameday and rented out for Friday/Saturday for say $2,500.00 per game. You put up 15 of these type of structures and that same parking lot near the stadium just generated $37,500 for that same parking lot that generated $5,000.00 for the cars. For a 7 game season-$262,500 versus $35,000. And imagine if you did it at a couple of parking lots!
Look at it like left field lounge near the stadium, but the school runs it or gets a company, similar to the Colonnade Group, to manage and lease out. And it would be temporary so it could be moved on Sunday. The Colonndae Group does similar things for golf events.
I just feel that we are doing everything possible to enhance the inside of the stadium and I think we don't need to lose focus on what's outside. Don't get me wrong, I think the Junction is gorgeous, but I would like to see some more upper scale options versus a Southern Tailgating tent with no ventilation down in the amphitheater.
Thoughts???
Jumbotron. I counted I believe about 5-6 commercials from the 1st to the 3rd quarter. The commercials didn't blast out as loud as ours when they played them, and a lot were just announcements for the school. They primarily just showed crowd pics with nothing really being done other than just playing music to get them fired up and showing the crowd. No kiss cam, ect. Just simple music and video. Loved the 2001 Space Odyssey song and it fired them up. They did have a Red Baron commercial that you had to pick the baron from behind the pizza and that was the only thing I saw that was similar to ours that I remember. I strictly paid attention only during TV time outs. Not between quarters and the half.
Tailgating- These guys have it down-period! They make so much money from utilizing the big donors to pony up and get into these cabooses, it's not even funny. We weren't at the school's caboose. We were across the street at the private ones. The owner explained that he owns the caboose outright and he gets 5 parking passes with it. He said he has had it since about 2002 and he paid around 200K to get it like he wanted it. They now go for around 300K. Theirs is in a fenced area with gated security and he receives 50 wristbands for every game. You have to have the wristband to get into the fenced area. In the center of this complex is a pavilion, which the HOA(yes they have an HOA) dues support a band that plays after every game until late into the evening. We had to leave to get back to the hotel at 6 pm and they didn't return until around 11. Game was over at 3:30. They cooked all day long and brought out different things as the day progressed. And that was similar at every caboose. I counted about 30 cabooses in the is one area across the street from the stadium.
He also informed me that parking passes up next to the stadium go for 30 to 40K and for that you get a concrete pad with power and cable hook up. And there is a waiting list. He said that they are able to use their caboose whenever they want, but the ones on school property can only be used on game day, similar to a suite in the stadium.
There were also condo's next to the cabooses that you can own and stay in. These are single story units and looks similar to an office park type building. These have a deck for each unit covered with an awning on the roof to view all that is going on.
Most of these cabooses are to the south end of the stadium. To the north is a huge parking lot. It was completely filled with tailgaters.
All in all, my perception was this. We give away parking places pretty close to our stadium based on your points for $100.00. We allow our fans to enter into most areas of the junction for free and set up a tent and hang out all day. We allow a company to come in and set up black ez-up tents, that probably cost them $100.00 and pay the university a royalty for this crappy tent that we rent and are crammed in there like sardines.
I would like to see some comments as to who would like to see us come up with some similar type facilities, while still keeping some of the junction area open to the regular fan base, that would cause the tail-gating atmosphere to be enhanced. I would love the opportunity to see some types of housing/structures that would be available for a season by season rental that are truly one of a kind. And there are many parking lots that are basically getting 50 cars at $100.00 per car that could easily support some type of temporary structure that could be wheeled in on the Friday before gameday and rented out for Friday/Saturday for say $2,500.00 per game. You put up 15 of these type of structures and that same parking lot near the stadium just generated $37,500 for that same parking lot that generated $5,000.00 for the cars. For a 7 game season-$262,500 versus $35,000. And imagine if you did it at a couple of parking lots!
Look at it like left field lounge near the stadium, but the school runs it or gets a company, similar to the Colonnade Group, to manage and lease out. And it would be temporary so it could be moved on Sunday. The Colonndae Group does similar things for golf events.
I just feel that we are doing everything possible to enhance the inside of the stadium and I think we don't need to lose focus on what's outside. Don't get me wrong, I think the Junction is gorgeous, but I would like to see some more upper scale options versus a Southern Tailgating tent with no ventilation down in the amphitheater.
Thoughts???
