Improving the game day experience

[CMSioux]

Hopefully someone on the committee is monitoring here. Let's share some thoughts here.  

[jdub27]

1 hour ago, CMSioux said:

Hopefully someone on the committee is monitoring here. Let's share some thoughts here.  

Suggestions have been taken into account. There was another thread somewhere with a bunch and I feel pretty confident that at least one person on the committee saw them, if not more. Doesn't hurt to put them in a specific place though.

[UNDBIZ]

Tailgating:  Buying reserved tailgating spots guarantees you that many spots.  Where they are located depends on how early you show up.  Need to have all the tailgaters closer together, without people off on an island.  This includes the student tailgate, bring them closer to the Al.

Team entrance/intro:  Use the spotlights more.  Have them swinging around panning the crowd prior to the team's entry when the lights are down.  Increase the suspense and make the game feel bigger.

Concourse:  More UND pictures/colors on walls/pillars.  Make the lounge area south of the craft beer bar more of a destination.  Does it need to feel fenced off?

Endzone catwalks:  Attach a narrow bar (maybe 6") to the railing (4-6" from top of railing) for people to set their drinks on.  Also, could anything be done rather than metal link for that fence/railing?  Something that will make more noise when the fans are slapping it?

Noise:  Perhaps have a game or 2 (or all if funding is available) where the students have thundersticks or some other type of noisemakers waiting for them in their seats.  Also, particularly at pivotal points of the game, have the PA guy encourage everybody to get on their feet for all defensive downs, rather than just 3rd and 4th.  Also, we have a lot of new fans at these games, so perhaps a graphic encouraging silence while our offense is on the field is in order.

The new lights and speakers were greatly needed and sound like they should be good.  Kudos to the Alerus for finally taking that step.

[Siouxperfan7]

More pictures in the concourses.  Current and former players as well as big moments in UND football history.  More green flags, banners, etc inside and outside the Alerus.  Basically make the Alerus look like the home of UND football.  

[Hardcore Hawk]

Something as simple as a better, more expansive gameday playlist would be nice. You can only hear Crazy Train so many times before you want to lay your head in front of a crazy train

[CMSioux]

Champions Club Tickets: get better organized on when they are sent out. For example for the first time ever I have my Champions Club tickets in hand before the first home football game, however I know there are others that have not received theirs yet.

Get season tickets and tailgating passes out faster - it will generate excitement for the coming season. Does anyone have their season tickets or tailgating passes yet? 

Champions Club tent: love that they are very flexible and welcoming on bring guests/family into the tent.  

 

[northernraider]

Friday prep rally before home games would be pretty sweet.

[FSForever]

17 minutes ago, northernraider said:

Friday prep rally before home games would be pretty sweet.

To get the high school kids involved???

[nodak651]

Have a table for student tickets in the tailgate lot.  It was a pain to have to leave the tailgate lot, wait in line, and walk all the way back to the tailgate lot to get our tickets.  Having to wait for the ticket booth to open also created a huge line in the main entrance right before the game, and the extra congestion slows down the flow of fans into the Alerus.  The ticket booth should also be open when tailgating begins, whether inside the Alerus, or at the table that I mentioned.  I don't think it ever was, and I think I remember having to wait to buy a ticket.  Having a ticket table at the student lot would also push more students into the tailgating area.  

The student tailgate should be set up at the front of the tailgate lot.  The atmosphere for student tailgating was always terrible because we were so far in the back, with no cars or anything around us.

[GoHawks]

42 minutes ago, CMSioux said:

Champions Club Tickets: get better organized on when they are sent out. For example for the first time ever I have my Champions Club tickets in hand before the first home football game, however I know there are others that have not received theirs yet.

Get season tickets and tailgating passes out faster - it will generate excitement for the coming season. Does anyone have their season tickets or tailgating passes yet? 

Champions Club tent: love that they are very flexible and welcoming on bring guests/family into the tent.  

 

Just got my champions club tickets. Nothing yet on season or tailgating .....

[WiSioux]

11 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

Have a table for student tickets in the tailgate lot.  It was a pain to have to leave the tailgate lot, wait in line, and walk all the way back to the tailgate lot to get our tickets.  Having to wait for the ticket booth to open also created a huge line in the main entrance right before the game, and the extra congestion slows down the flow of fans into the Alerus.  The ticket booth should also be open when tailgating begins, whether inside the Alerus, or at the table that I mentioned.  I don't think it ever was, and I think I remember having to wait to buy a ticket.  Having a ticket table at the student lot would also push more students into the tailgating area.  

The student tailgate should be set up at the front of the tailgate lot.  The atmosphere for student tailgating was always terrible because we were so far in the back, with no cars or anything around us.

Why not just go to the student Union and pick up your football ticket in the two weeks prior to the game that they are available? No lines, no leaving tailgating...

[nodak651]

12 minutes ago, WiSioux said:

Why not just go to the student Union and pick up your football ticket in the two weeks prior to the game that they are available? No lines, no leaving tailgating...

I would most of the time, but I could rarely get my friends to, so I would end up walking in with them anyways.  It was a waste of like 30-45 min, when a table could be set up in the tailgate lot for free.  Why make things harder for students when a significant amount of them barely want to go in the first place?  Believe it or not, a lot of students don't decide whether or not to go until game day.  Also, if I remember correctly, there is a few hour window, ON GAME DAY, that tickets cannot be bought at the union or the Alerus center.  Ridiculous.

Remember, this is all about fan experience...  which way provides a better fan experience?  Of course the current system technically works, but it doesn't mean that the experience can't be improved.  And for pretty much free.

Also, I knew a lot of frat guys who would sometimes tailgate, without ever having the intention of going into the game (and they didn't).  If tickets were right there in the tailgate lot, I'm sure a few people who do this would grab a ticket and end up walking in, because it would be convenient.  Maybe they would end up liking it, and student attendance would increase.

[nodak651]

[UNDColorado]

34 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

I would most of the time, but I could rarely get my friends to, so I would end up walking in with them anyways.  It was a waste of like 30-45 min, when a table could be set up in the tailgate lot for free.  Why make things harder for students when a significant amount of them barely want to go in the first place?  Believe it or not, a lot of students don't decide whether or not to go until game day.  Also, if I remember correctly, there is a few hour window, ON GAME DAY, that tickets cannot be bought at the union or the Alerus center.  Ridiculous.

Remember, this is all about fan experience...  which way provides a better fan experience?  Of course the current system technically works, but it doesn't mean that the experience can't be improved.  And for pretty much free.

Also, I knew a lot of frat guys who would sometimes tailgate, without ever having the intention of going into the game (and they didn't).  If tickets were right there in the tailgate lot, I'm sure a few people who do this would grab a ticket and end up walking in, because it would be convenient.  Maybe they would end up liking it, and student attendance would increase.

Convenience is a key component to getting students to actually walk in the game. I had the same experience at UND where it was easy to get my friends to tailgate, but getting them to actually go into the game was a different story.

[gundy1124]

Game Day Committee is a 3 year commitment, partly due to the mapping already being set this year.  Maybe 2018 is new configuration and 2019 some slight improvements as needed.  Sources say something cool is in the pipeline for game#1, stay tuned.

[Siouxperfan7]

1 hour ago, nodak651 said:

I would most of the time, but I could rarely get my friends to, so I would end up walking in with them anyways.  It was a waste of like 30-45 min, when a table could be set up in the tailgate lot for free.  Why make things harder for students when a significant amount of them barely want to go in the first place?  Believe it or not, a lot of students don't decide whether or not to go until game day.  Also, if I remember correctly, there is a few hour window, ON GAME DAY, that tickets cannot be bought at the union or the Alerus center.  Ridiculous.

Remember, this is all about fan experience...  which way provides a better fan experience?  Of course the current system technically works, but it doesn't mean that the experience can't be improved.  And for pretty much free.

Also, I knew a lot of frat guys who would sometimes tailgate, without ever having the intention of going into the game (and they didn't).  If tickets were right there in the tailgate lot, I'm sure a few people who do this would grab a ticket and end up walking in, because it would be convenient.  Maybe they would end up liking it, and student attendance would increase.

Anthing to get more students in the doors and in the seats at football games I am in favor of!!

[WiSioux]

I feel like the negative one here but say you do get Joe Frat Boy in the door... Then you guys will just complain when he leaves at halftime because he doesn't actually care about football. I'd much rather have the students who picked up their tickets two weeks in advance and a smaller student section than fair weather fans who know nothing about the team or game.

[UNDMOORHEAD]

2 minutes ago, WiSioux said:

I feel like the negative one here but say you do get Joe Frat Boy in the door... Then you guys will just complain when he leaves at halftime because he doesn't actually care about football. I'd much rather have the students who picked up their tickets two weeks in advance and a smaller student section than fair weather fans who know nothing about the team or game.

For every potential Joe Frat Boy isn't there always a chance to draw a new fan that will want to be around for every game.

[Siouxperfan7]

Just now, WiSioux said:

I feel like the negative one here but say you do get Joe Frat Boy in the door... Then you guys will just complain when he leaves at halftime because he doesn't actually care about football. I'd much rather have the students who picked up their tickets two weeks in advance and a smaller student section than fair weather fans who know nothing about the team or game.

Disagree.  Joe Frat Boy may only be there to hang out with his Sig Ep brothers with no real intention to go to the game.  If there is a table right there at the student lot handing out tickets, he and several others may be more apt to attend the game now.  Doesn't really matter if he only stays at halftime.  You have exposed UND football to people that may not have intended to that day.  Joe Frat Guy could realize that UND football is a fun experience and he would be more likely to attend future games and even bring a couple of his buddies.  Its all about exposing UND football to new fans.  That is one of the goals every year.  Making games more accessible to fans (especially students) is a good thing and I am all in favor of it.

[nodak651]

2 minutes ago, WiSioux said:

I feel like the negative one here but say you do get Joe Frat Boy in the door... Then you guys will just complain when he leaves at halftime because he doesn't actually care about football. I'd much rather have the students who picked up their tickets two weeks in advance and a smaller student section than fair weather fans who know nothing about the team or game.

Joe Frat Boy has the ability to turn into a lifelong fan.  Have you ever become interested in something that you used to not care about?  I'm guessing that answer is yes.  Also, the hockey team seems to like their student support, even though a large part of the fan base only goes to games for the social scene.  

[forksandspoons]

Better halftime shows

[bincitysioux]

They should have the National Championship Trophy, the Nickel, and Sitting Bull on display in the Alerus.

[geaux_sioux]

2 hours ago, WiSioux said:

I feel like the negative one here but say you do get Joe Frat Boy in the door... Then you guys will just complain when he leaves at halftime because he doesn't actually care about football. I'd much rather have the students who picked up their tickets two weeks in advance and a smaller student section than fair weather fans who know nothing about the team or game.

So there's a 0% chance of any Joe Frat boy or Jane Sorority Chick to go to a game with no intent of becoming a fan and leaving a fan? No chance of Joe being like "Bros, Santiago is so fire. Let's do tequila shots in his honor and go to every football game cause this is siiiiiiiick!"

[Siouxperfan7]

So with the new lighting, does it mean we will see a return to the lights being out for the team running out and the intro video? 

[SlowHand]

Win and it will take care of itself.