Iām just curious what exactly people are looking for in the stadium experience? Iāve been to a lot of different sporting events in pro and college venues in a variety of cities and unless Iāve ponied up for really expensive premium seats, theyāre all pretty much the same: parking sucks/doesnāt exist, concessions suck/are too expensive, the seats are crowded/uncomfortable.
Good updates from Madia in the DP today:
- Corey Thomas playing nickelback and WLB
- Dre Walker, Kempton Shine, and Jam Jackson frontrunners at corner. Malcolm Greene depth but fighting nagging injuries.
- Same word on injuries to Boley, Wilson, and Tyree: hopeful but awaiting test results
- Suderian Harrison and Kam Courtney impressing at slot in Tyreeās absence
- Brian Stevens saying good things about Grant Ellinger, Jimmy Christ, and Houston Curry as O-Line depth options.
Iāve been to sporting events at all three major Dallas sporting venues and while theyāre definitely expensive, I would say they have generally decent food, itās easy to access both food and alcohol, staff are friendly and the seating is generally competent. Iād say the same of the Rockies game I went to this year too. I would not say any of those things were true for my last UVA football experience
What blows my mind (but at this point, shouldnāt) is how out of touch the university is with the average fan. All that intellectual prowess, and they canāt even see (assuming they care) that this is a bad solution to a very small problem.
We already have a hard time creating a memorable experience at games, why take away something that actually makes the UVA football experience unique? And as others have said, is fun for kids and helpful for families? Especially those who may not be able to afford 4 $80 tickets for the lower level.
There just seem like obvious things we can do to increase excitement and engagement within the fan base- for one, why the hell arenāt we doing a drone tour of the brand-new football facility and showing it off every chance we get? Why is practice content so hard to come by on social media? Why do fools fall in love?
Especially with FB ticket sales/gameday revenue being the biggest generator of $$$. It is very very hard to understand,
The hill is what made me enjoy uva football games as a little kid. So engaging even if your on field product sucks
Carla is the first administrator weāve had in a while that has even pretended to care about football, and while the results have been mixed so far, its better than apathy. I would like to start hearing what the next phases of the āathletics master planā pertaining to football are ASAP.
100% The Hill was a major part of my fan experience growing up. I sat there countless times and as a younger kid and even in middle and HS it felt so cool to be on the hill, see the students etc.
As far as other upgrades, some decent food would be awesome. There are no options in the stadium other than standard popcorn hot dog and dominoes/papa johns. The alcohol experience I had last year was okay, I didnāt have to wait in line etc. Everything is so generic about the gameday experience. You could close your eyes and be anywhere in the country. The Hill is the only thing that screams UVa and now they are restricting that.
Iād love to see them expand the outside experience similar to what a lot of baseball parks are doing the Battery down here in Atl or the whatever itās called outside of Nats park. A space with some vendors with food drinks etc. a proper kids zone. Those would be huge.
Ok, youāre listing off some of the top rated sporting venues in the country and youāre not exactly giving them glowing reviews from the sound of your post.
Itās been a while since I went, but the things that stood out to me were just how rinkidink the food and drink offerings were. It felt like randos rented out space to sell hotdogs for charity or something, not like a nice professional game day operation.
Maybe itās changed some since - I dont know. But nobody is expecting anything amazing, but if it felt like a real professionally run operation instead of feeling like something being hosted by some friendly volunteers thatād be nice.
But those are professional organizations with lots of money to spend. Not fair to compare them to UVaās set up, given the difference in resources.
It doesnāt have to be the same. My intent was saying creating a fan village of some sort. A more welcoming atmosphere for tailgating, and non tailgating enthusiast. Thatās well within the schools control.
Iām not asking UVA to build out a massive beer barn viewing area like Globe Life Iām just asking for base levels of competence
Kind of like what Davenport has in right field for baseball?
Did I just imagine there being food trucks on the JPA side of the stadium last year? I swear there were some different options over there behind the concourse. That not withstanding I think the most important improvement (certainly the first order of business) is to improve the results on the field. We cannot expect any real investment in stadium upgrades if we are not selling more than 50% of the seats.
Youāre actually not far offā¦. Most of the concessions workers are essentially there for a fundraiser. Think travel teams, church groups, stuff like that. I think they get something like a 30% cut for doing it.
Thatās all Ive wver seen work at Scott. I remember years back Wild Wings Cafe had a popup sort of deal there and with JPJ. That was the closest they came to real food and not another personal pan pizza sold by aome WAHS band member
White spot had a food truck for a few seasons, there have also been other pop up trucks lately. Better options than regular concessions atleast.
Thats what Iām talking about open up one ld those lots and bring in a rotating cast of local food trucks bring in a DJ. Instamade fanzone.
Its honestly not that hard
Who goes to a game to eat? Eat before and then drink Coors Lights at the game