Thoughts on BG's home game venue

[BGSU33]

Being that I live out of state, I do not get to make it back to BG for many home games. Aside from watching BG on TV every chance I get and making some road trips to stadiums close by, I don't get to nearly as many home games as I would like to.

However, I remember reading some posts here on this board about complaints about the venue on gameday in the past and I was wondering if any of these areas have improved? I remember people talking about long lines for will call tickets, the concession stands running out of food or having long lines, the limited number or lack of portable restrooms in the parking lots, etc. Hearing most of these topics discussed last year, I was wondering if any of these issues or others like them have benn improved this season (going off of the SEMO game)?

[hammb]

In short, no they haven't improved.

The Athletic department still has a long way to go in improving the overall gameday "experience" at the Doyt. At the SEMO game our tailgate area had only one portajohn and it was overflowing by 2:30 for a 6:00 game. There were no trash receptacles located in our portion of the lot, and the result was a mass of litter. We bagged our trash, as always, but still had nowhere to dump the bag, so we left it there, at least it was bagged. Others were not as considerate with litter strewn all over the open grassy area.

Once in the stadium the concession stands were completely out of solid food by halftime. Still the lines were impossibly long, just to find out that you couldn't get a hotdog. I don't know if having the students now able to use BiG Charge for the first time contributed or not, but still it is inexcusable.

Of course the game itself was awesome. The halftime show rocked, both the band & chorus sounded good. The fireworks show after the game was great as well. However, the athletic department still has a ways to go to put forth an air of truly professionally run operations on game day.

I personally believe we have to can the charity & youth organizations running the concessions. The lines are grotesquely slow most times. Running out food is inexcusable, and likely the fault of the athletic department. I really think they need to hire professional vendors. I'm sorry for the organizations that benefit financially from this opportunity, but its time to move into true Division 1 Athletics and get a professional operation. You shouldn't have to wait in line forever only to get to the front of the line and find out the reason is because a 12 year old taking your money cannot count change correctly. They're doing their best, I'm sure, but it just doesn't look good to those who may not come to every game. It certainly doesn't make them want to come back. Professional Vendors would also take the onus off the athletic department for ensuring well stocked stands.

In all the gameday experience is always a good time, but they really have a long way to go to make it look like a seemless operation. Hopefully they will learn from their "opening day jitters" and make improvements for homecoming.

[Schadenfreude]

In short, no they haven't improved.

The Athletic department still has a long way to go in improving the overall gameday "experience" at the Doyt.

Depends on your frame of reference.

I've seen these improvements:

-- Portajohns. Seems to me there was a time when they weren't out there at all.
-- The defacto "don't ask, don't tell" approach to tailgating.
-- The tent city.
-- The Falcon Club and kids zone areas of the south end zone.
-- The new scoreboard.

These are huge improvements. In my opinion, game day atmosphere has improved exponentially since Gary Blackney's good years.

That doesn't make your post wrong. Sounds like there were some problems with the SEMO game. And longer-term issues remain: After seeing the concessions available at Miami, we definitely still have room for improvement at BGSU.

But smart people are runing our athletic department, and I trust they'll work some of issues out that plagued the SEMO game.

I think matters are definitely moving in the right direction.

[mualum78]

Hi all-
I am coming up for the BG/WMU game. I am visiting a best friend (BG grad) and taking her son (future BG grad) to the game. I got online to buy tix but now have to figure out the difference between bench and chair seats. Which is better? Where are they located? I've been to the stadium many times, but always on Miami tix. (Sit in the same general area every time.) I'm not familiar enough with the venue to make a selection. A little help here? I appreciate it! (PS- As I have no BG gear, would anyone mind if I wore Red and White?) Just kidding! I'll find something orange!
GO BG!

[Schadenfreude]

The chairs are the first 20 or 30 rows near the field along both sidelines. I think they tend to sell quickly.

I prefer the bench seating. I like being higher up in the stadium.

[hammb]

In short, no they haven't improved.

The Athletic department still has a long way to go in improving the overall gameday "experience" at the Doyt.

Depends on your frame of reference.

I've seen these improvements:

-- Portajohns. Seems to me there was a time when they weren't out there at all.
-- The defacto "don't ask, don't tell" approach to tailgating.
-- The tent city.
-- The Falcon Club and kids zone areas of the south end zone.
-- The new scoreboard.

These are huge improvements. In my opinion, game day atmosphere has improved exponentially since Gary Blackney's good years.

That doesn't make your post wrong. Sounds like there were some problems with the SEMO game. And longer-term issues remain: After seeing the concessions available at Miami, we definitely still have room for improvement at BGSU.

But smart people are runing our athletic department, and I trust they'll work some of issues out that plagued the SEMO game.

I think matters are definitely moving in the right direction.

Perhaps my post came off overly harsh & negative. I don't mean to imply that things haven't improved, because they certainly have since the Blackney days. I was writing my post in comparison to last year.

The gameday experience is definitely 100x better than it was in 98-00 when I was first a student. I think the problems that are there now are mostly an issue of not yet being able to handle the larger crowds we're now attracting. Personally, I think this is a good problem to have, so long as the department realizes things are not all peachy yet

The tent city is great, the loose tailgating is excellent. I'm still luke warm on the Falcon club tent on the South side, because I think we might miss those bleachers if they remove the North ones for the SAC, but for now its a good idea. I still think we have a long way to go in the way of concessions, though, you are correct.

To the original poster, I didn't mean to sound overly critical as I think our athletic department has done a great job getting the crowds out to the Doyt. They have given extras for those that might not be as likely to go to the games & they have backed it up with a resurgent football team. Unfortunately my impression is that so much of the thought went into getting the people to the game, they overlooked how to deal with them once they got there. Not completely, mind you, but the little things. Portajohns are still inadequate, concession issues, and trash bins in the parking lot would do wonders in improving the gameday experience.

As for the gameday atmosphere? It was awesome for the SEMO game. We arrived about noon to tailgate and there were already a couple other groups of people congregating. The atmosphere was electric all day and I am also confident that the little issues I've mentioned will be addressed in time.

[BGFan]

Personally, I think the SEMO game took the atheletic department by surprise. We don't usually have that many fans in attendance for a game against a team like SEMO.....generally 12,000 if we're lucky. Apparantly noone paid enough attention to ticket sales or else they didn't have time enough to react and make sure that there were enough porta-potties and concessions available for the much larger than normal crowd.

[transfer2BGSU]

The SEMO game was four weeks ago?

There will be changes made and there will be a noticebale improvement from HomeGame 1 of the season to HomeGame 2.

[orangeandbrown]

I figured this would be the case. They had a nice break, clear ideas on what had to be fixed, and a desire to continually improve.

[bgbill]

The chairs are the first 20 or 30 rows near the field along both sidelines. I think they tend to sell quickly.

I prefer the bench seating. I like being higher up in the stadium.

Me, too. Avoid the first several chair rows on the west side - you won't be able to see over the people continuously walking in front and the students standing in their section.

[mualum78]

Thanks for the advice! Bench seating it is! Looking forward to a good game!

[factman]

deleted

[factman]

They have already added more Porta-Potties for this week. I noticed there were two in Lot L now, and there was only one the first game.
For any of you that think our situation is bad, you should have gone to CMU this past weekend. There was more trash on the ground after the game than the Wood County Landfill. It was a REAL mess, and the students were all heading for a small wooded area near the parking lot to relieve themselves until the campus police started "raiding" the woods.
It was hilarious to sit back tailgating and watch this all go on from a distance.

[Class of 61]

[quote="hammb"]In short, no they haven't improved..

I personally believe we have to can the charity & youth organizations running the concessions. The lines are grotesquely slow most times. Running out food is inexcusable, and likely the fault of the athletic department. I really think they need to hire professional vendors. I'm sorry for the organizations that benefit financially from this opportunity, but its time to move into true Division 1 Athletics and get a professional operation. You shouldn't have to wait in line forever only to get to the front of the line and find out the reason is because a 12 year old taking your money cannot count change correctly. They're doing their best, I'm sure, but it just doesn't look good to those who may not come to every game. It certainly doesn't make them want to come back. Professional Vendors would also take the onus off the athletic department for ensuring well stocked stands.
Brian, Fwiw, Jacobs field, and I believe Browns stadium both use "volunteer" groups to actually work the concessions stands... Food, obviously, is provided by pros but the groups use these efforts as fundraisers for their various organizations. 8)

[1987alum]

Our experience last year was OK, but it was the Kent game and there weren't but a dozen or so people with us in the stands - yes, that's hyperbole.

We're coming to the Western Michigan game this year. I'm expecting a sellout - it's Parents Weekend, plus we'll be on a five-game winning streak by then - so I'm interested to see what kind of experience we have.

I've said this many times before - the game is only part of the equation. For the program to be successful, each gameday needs to be an experience. From getting out the message about what's happening days (weeks?) in advance, to quick-moving lines with ample food (and selections), it all adds up to making people want to come back.