Concourses - what happened here?

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holereader

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holereader will forego any discussion about the game last night other than it was entertaining and proves why he loves Gopher football. holereader does have a question/issue though on the concourses. Why did they take away the outside option at halftime? holereader was totally bummed/pissed when the doors were labeled "no re-entry" when one used to be able to shoot outside for halftime refreshments and the always pleasurable experience of a porta potty. Why did they do this? - it made halftime agony in those packed concourses not to mention beer lines - does anyone have any insights on this? will it be like this all year? are the Vikings to blame for this? holereader needs to know?
 

I don't know the answer to your question but in the second quarter there were 5 registers not operable outside 111/211. It made the lines very long. Those dang registers strike again.
 

I didn't go outside, but are you saying that the outside beer garden is gone?
 


I don't have any insight on that but I did hear that it took forever to get into the stadium last night. Can anyone comment on that as well?
 


GophersInIowa said:
I don't have any insight on that but I did hear that it took forever to get into the stadium last night. Can anyone comment on that as well?
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I walked right in...the majority of the students were there but the general public was not.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I don't have any insight on that but I did hear that it took forever to get into the stadium last night. Can anyone comment on that as well?
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I was in the security/ticket line for like 4 minutes at gate A, of course I got went in at like 7:45 to watch the band.
 

holereader said:
holereader will forego any discussion about the game last night other than it was entertaining and proves why he loves Gopher football. holereader does have a question/issue though on the concourses. Why did they take away the outside option at halftime? holereader was totally bummed/pissed when the doors were labeled "no re-entry" when one used to be able to shoot outside for halftime refreshments and the always pleasurable experience of a porta potty. Why did they do this? - it made halftime agony in those packed concourses not to mention beer lines - does anyone have any insights on this? will it be like this all year? are the Vikings to blame for this? holereader needs to know?
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I got beer and used the restroom several times, never was in line for more than 5 minutes for beer and never for the urinal. No reentry has always been in effect at the dome, Mariucci, Williams.. why would TCF be any different? If people expect to have no lines at the concessions at half time reevaluate your expectations.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I don't have any insight on that but I did hear that it took forever to get into the stadium last night. Can anyone comment on that as well?
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Went in with 27 or so minutes until kickoff on the scoreboard. Maybe waited 5 minutes and that's 'cuz we picked the wrong line. Considering it was their biggest crowd ever and many of the temps were working their first game, things went quite well. EXCEPT that it took over an hour to get out of the parking ramp. Something about an accident on 4th Street snarling things up. Not much they could do about that either.
 



Ski U Master said:
I got beer and used the restroom several times, never was in line for more than 5 minutes for beer and never for the urinal. No reentry has always been in effect at the dome, Mariucci, Williams.. why would TCF be any different? If people expect to have no lines at the concessions at half time reevaluate your expectations.
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Not sure if this is what he's talking about, but you used to be able to go "outside" the stadium to buy beer and food. I think it was in between gates A and B. There was a sign that pointed you outside, where you'd go into a fenced area and you could buy concessions out there.
 

Iceland12 said:
Went in with 27 or so minutes until kickoff on the scoreboard. Maybe waited 5 minutes and that's 'cuz we picked the wrong line. Considering it was their biggest crowd ever and many of the temps were working their first game, things went quite well. EXCEPT that it took over an hour to get out of the parking ramp. Something about an accident on 4th Street snarling things up. Not much they could do about that either.
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That's good. I saw a few tweets near game time that made it seem like it was taking forever.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Not sure if this is what he's talking about, but you used to be able to go "outside" the stadium to buy beer and food. I think it was in between gates A and B. There was a sign that pointed you outside, where you'd go into a fenced area and you could buy concessions out there.
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Wasn't that just temporary for when none of the concession areas had tap lines?
 




Ski U Master said:
It probably was, but if you're trying to get in minutes before the kickoff that's on you.
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Two errors here--
1. You used to be able to leave Mariucci between periods. You got a "Pass out receipt". You'd go over to Station 19, have a beer, and come back. So, not always.

2. None of the concession stands in the concourse have tap lines. They sell beer in cans.
 

Just a suggestion would be to reach out to the Twins/Target Field on how to make the concessions a positive part of Gopher game day experience. Why not have some of the same amazing vendors and well staffed concessions? It would also help attract and retain some of the more casual fans.
 

GophersInIowa said:
That's good. I saw a few tweets near game time that made it seem like it was taking forever.
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Almost a 25 minute wait to get in gate A. Got there at around 7:40...by far the longest we've had to wait to get in. I'll take it for a full house and the atmosphere though!
 


Ski U Master said:
I got beer and used the restroom several times, never was in line for more than 5 minutes for beer and never for the urinal. No reentry has always been in effect at the dome, Mariucci, Williams.. why would TCF be any different? If people expect to have no lines at the concessions at half time reevaluate your expectations.
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you are misinformed Ski U Master - for the past several years you could go outside on the visitor side of the stadium and you could re-enter (most of the outside on that side of the filed was a big beer garden - it was pretty nice place to go at half time because there were no long lines and there was plenty of room to hang out - and now its gone - does anybody know why? I don't want to have to reevaluate my expectations
 

holereader said:
you are misinformed Ski U Master - for the past several years you could go outside on the visitor side of the stadium and you could re-enter (most of the outside on that side of the filed was a big beer garden - it was pretty nice place to go at half time because there were no long lines and there was plenty of room to hang out - and now its gone - does anybody know why? I don't want to have to reevaluate my expectations
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I would guess that it would have to do with the migration of beer sales right to the concession areas. The outdoor beer only sales area isn't as necessary, for a sellout I thought getting in the door at 7:45, concourses and concessions all ran reasonably. Longer waits that usual but nothing terrible.
 

As long as we're complaining, what in the hell is up with Sally's? Only two places to get beer, with a crowd like that? I went to the game with a bar owner, and the first thing he said when we walked in was "I would have 60 bartenders working tonight". They were also out of several beers at 7:00.
 

Bringing a female perspective here for the external porta-Porta - potty and beer area being closed: I happened to use the restroom in the first half but noticed it was particularly dark out there with plenty more security guards than usual. I am going to go out on a limb and say they would have kept that area open had there been daylight. Too much of a liability in darkness out there.
 

Went into the stadium at 6:30 when gates opened, watched warm ups, had a no lines at concessions, had a great night. I would highly recommend arriving early and enjoying the pregame warm-ups and I was very disappointed to see so many fans leave early. Truly a great night!
 

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