What's Needed At The Alerus?

[nodak651]

On 3/22/2017 at 2:36 PM, Siouxperfan7 said:

What's needed at the Alerus?  Someone new to run it apparently.....

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4238752-operator-vikings-stadium-applies-run-grand-forks-alerus-center

 

 

Alerus Center negotiations with Spectra hit snag over potential Fargodome conflicts

[gundy1124]

What would you suggest for the University of North Dakota Football Game Day Experience Committee??

More peeps, more bathroom facilities

Tailgating arrangements/Parking arrangements

Game times?  If games were at 2:00 I know a lot more folks can get the kid activities out of the way and still make it.  (from Fargo area)

Kids/Adult entertainment

In game experience ideas

What ever is on your mind...........

[geaux_sioux]

7 minutes ago, gundy1124 said:

What would you suggest for the University of North Dakota Football Game Day Experience Committee??

More peeps, more bathroom facilities

Tailgating arrangements/Parking arrangements

Game times?  If games were at 2:00 I know a lot more folks can get the kid activities out of the way and still make it.  (from Fargo area)

Kids/Adult entertainment

In game experience ideas

What ever is on your mind...........

Not so many early games would help the atmosphere.

[UNDColorado]

Agreed, I think 1 PM is a bit early. Moving them back to 2 PM would definitely help.

[The Sicatoka]

Saturdays in the fall are when I prep the yard for winter.
Later in the day especially if you have to drive (so you can something else done) is better. 
I'd have no problem with 4 pm or later starts. 

[gundy1124]

I know UND is tied into 1:00 and 4:00 start times, via Roots Sports.  And, the hockey schedule may affect a late game.  But this does need to be looked at.

If UND had 10, or whatever the number, for RVs to pull in and camp out the night before a 1:00 start would we have anyone take advantage of that?  Or maybe just the opportunity to set up the night before??

[Irish]

Here's one of my problems - early starts work perfect for me - 2:00 would be great - however I can't make later or evening games.  When I went to get season tickets I could not get any game times and was told that would be out much later.  The result - no season tickets for me - I am not buying tickets if I can't use them.  They didn't seem to care much.

[Siouxperfan7]

52 minutes ago, UNDColorado said:

Agreed, I think 1 PM is a bit early. Moving them back to 2 PM would definitely help.

Bison home games have always been at 2:30 (except for the homecoming game which is at 1:00).  That time is pretty ideal.  Especially for fans traveling from out of town.  Not sure about what can be done about changing that the next 3 seasons we have in the Big Sky, but definitely something that needs to be looked at moving forward in the Valley.  

In regards to other changes, you don't have to look too far to see what seems to work.  NDSU has one of the best gameday experiences in the FCS.  Look at what they do and try to do that.  Obviously won't be the same, but worth a try.

[CMSioux]

It's a bit apples vs oranges in that SU fans are not being asked to shell out hundreds/thousands for hockey tickets every year so they can focus on the one sport and invest the money into their tailgating experience, which they quite obviously have many who have six figure investments. Five championships in a row can also make that easier to justify. 

How do you think it would go over at UND if the lots were locked until 5 hours before the game and everyone had to line up in their vehicles and wait? That is part of the SU experience. They do allow post game tailgating which I think should be considered. 

I do think that UND staff doesn't put a lot of thought or resources into the way they organize and track the tailgating spots. There are too many people who don't use their spots regularly yet UND continues to allow them to keep their prime spots which leaves gaps in the tailgating lot and takes away from the atmosphere. It would not be that hard to add in language in the agreement about useage and then monitor the useage of tailgating spots. 

I also agree that student tailgating should be mixed in with the general public - I am guessing they will say they are concerned about underage drinking but I think that can be dealt with. 

 

 

[jdub27]

3 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

Tailgating arrangements/Parking arrangements

Allow for a little bit of post-game tailgating (1 hour?). It is a pain to hop in the vehicle and be forced out, only to have to sit in traffic. On top of that, some of those rigs aren't real easy to handle in high traffic or with people walking around everywhere.

Also consider allowing vehicles/rigs to be left overnight, with the stipulation that they have to be picked up by 10am (or appropriate some time) the next morning. We are very cognizant to make sure we have a driver but it would be nice if it was at least an option to be able to leave our rig overnight. As it sits currently, or at least a few years ago, we were told that if we were to leave it overnight, our spots would be revoked. In theory, every group has someone designated to drive them home. In reality, we know that isn't how it works.

[homer]

Do what it takes to sell the tailgating spots to local businesses.  lots of big businesses in Fargo but spots and let their employees manage them.  One spot will bring 50-100 tailgaters.  Not all go to the game but it just adds to the atmosphere.  Find an an incentive to get them to purchase a spot.  

[JohnboyND7]

That would be news to me that ndsu allows post-game tailgating. Never heard of that before. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

1 hour ago, homer said:

Do what it takes to sell the tailgating spots to local businesses.  lots of big businesses in Fargo but spots and let their employees manage them.  One spot will bring 50-100 tailgaters.  Not all go to the game but it just adds to the atmosphere.  Find an an incentive to get them to purchase a spot.  

I agree with this. It would possess the most potential if businesses rather than individuals purchased the remaining spots. The spots shouldn't be purchased just for the sake of purchase; they need to be actually utilized by folks who want to be there.

Secondly, I agree that the student tailgate should be integrated into the reserved tailgate spots (tailgate alley). There is no reason to keep them separate as it seems to hurt the collective tailgate effort more than anything. 

[gundy1124]

44 minutes ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

I agree with this. It would possess the most potential if businesses rather than individuals purchased the remaining spots. The spots shouldn't be purchased just for the sake of purchase; they need to be actually utilized by folks who want to be there.

Secondly, I agree that the student tailgate should be integrated into the reserved tailgate spots (tailgate alley). There is no reason to keep them separate as it seems to hurt the collective tailgate effort more than anything. 

I like these ideas. 

Once we get tailgate alley organized UND needs to make sure that everyone knows when the team is going to walk thru 'tailgate alley'.(2 hours before kick-off)  Find a way to organize this better and make it totally nuts, something the players will look forward to and always remember.

[gundy1124]

4 hours ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

In regards to other changes, you don't have to look too far to see what seems to work.  NDSU has one of the best gameday experiences in the FCS.  Look at what they do and try to do that.  Obviously won't be the same, but worth a try.

As far as I know, NDSU didn't put any effort into their tailgating other than providing the space.  With the winning came the fans, with the fans came competition for the best tailgate set-up and the atmosphere fell into their lap.  Is my analysis incorrect??

[MadScout03]

While I don't believe we've ever been able to stick around for an hour after the game, there were times last year when we did hit the parking lot, pull out the cooler and a few chairs and enjoy the win for a bit.  I bet we sat there for 20-25 minutes with GFPD driving up and down the parking lot.  They didn't say anything to until the end when they said, "5 more minutes guys", we gave them a wave and they waved back.  We were probably there another 10 minutes or so but they never hurried us out.  When it was time to leave, we knew it.

Even so, I agree that an hour of post game tailgating wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. 

[YourInSiouxCountry]

 

11 minutes ago, MadScout03 said:

While I don't believe we've ever been able to stick around for an hour after the game, there were times last year when we did hit the parking lot, pull out the cooler and a few chairs and enjoy the win for a bit.  I bet we sat there for 20-25 minutes with GFPD driving up and down the parking lot.  They didn't say anything to until the end when they said, "5 more minutes guys", we gave them a wave and they waved back.  We were probably there another 10 minutes or so but they never hurried us out.  When it was time to leave, we knew it.

Even so, I agree that an hour of post game tailgating wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. 

It does state in the tailgating rules you have 1 hour to clear your spot after the game.  There were several games last season our group would stick around for a few beers after the game and used all of that hour without any trouble or being asked to leave.

[MadScout03]

4 minutes ago, YourInSiouxCountry said:

 

It does state in the tailgating rules you have 1 hour to clear your spot after the game.  There were several games last season our group would stick around for a few beers after the game and used all of that hour without any trouble or being asked to leave.

Good to know!  Thanks!

[Cratter]

1 hour ago, gundy1124 said:

As far as I know, NDSU didn't put any effort into their tailgating other than providing the space.??

3x cheaper tailgating on gameday?

[southpaw]

I think it would be a good idea if someone took the lead on Siouxsports recommendations for tailgating.  Gather some input from people who go, get email addresses from them and send a big email to UND with those recommendations.  It turns a handful of people discussing things here into a conversation with UND that has some force behind it because of the number of email addresses cc'ed.

[SIOUXFAN97]

1 hour ago, southpaw said:

I think it would be a good idea if someone took the lead on Siouxsports recommendations for tailgating.  Gather some input from people who go, get email addresses from them and send a big email to UND with those recommendations.  It turns a handful of people discussing things here into a conversation with UND that has some force behind it because of the number of email addresses cc'ed.

i do think part of the problem with coordinating tailgating from year to year is the turnover at the alerus...there is no continutity out there at all...seems like each year there is a new company in charge out there.

[CMSioux]

22 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

I like these ideas. 

Once we get tailgate alley organized UND needs to make sure that everyone knows when the team is going to walk thru 'tailgate alley'.(2 hours before kick-off)  Find a way to organize this better and make it totally nuts, something the players will look forward to and always remember.

I am there every home game and have missed the walk through a couple of times..perhaps we need a loud PA system to announce the arrival.

[geaux_sioux]

2 minutes ago, CMSioux said:

I am there every home game and have missed the walk through a couple of times..perhaps we need a loud PA system to announce the arrival.

It was less than inspiring when I played. They should have the band march and play through the parking lot and end up where the bus stops and have the team walk through. Hopefully that would gather up more people and build the excitement. 

[fightingsioux4life]

On ‎6‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 10:52 AM, The Sicatoka said:

Saturdays in the fall are when I prep the yard for winter.
Later in the day especially if you have to drive (so you can something else done) is better. 
I'd have no problem with 4 pm or later starts. 

Well, we opened the Alerus Center in 2001 with a bunch of night games before hockey started and they were quite popular. But then Dale Lennon started b!tching about not liking night games, so they pretty much stopped after that. I agree with you.

[WiSioux]

Assigned tailgating spots is stupid. Have someone at the driveway collecting ten bucks and park as close as you can. I wouldn't allow overnight vehicles because the Alerus doesn't want that responsibility/security concern. You guys are trying way too hard to force this. Just let it go with the flow and it'll work itself out with the people who want to be there.