Random notes after talking with Ticket Office

[GoAUpher]

Let me preface this by noting that as always, info from the TO comes with a grain of salt based on their history of contradicting themselves. I fully expect someone else to have the exact opposite info in about 10 minutes.

- The donations for tailgate lots on the East Bank will remain unchanged.
- This will be the last fall for the Northstar lot. The TO staff member I talked to said another research building is going to be put up on that lot's location prior to the 11-12 season. Not a total surprise given the U's development plans for the area.
- Some lots may see reduced parking numbers. He said this in response to my questions regarding changing lots on the West Bank. According to the TO staff member PTS just gave them new parking availability stats yesterday. No real details on this so I'm going with this as unsubstantiated until the TO or PTS give more info.

 

[MrGopher]

I am a parking attendant for PTS. Maybe I can help a bit.

Word around the campfire is:
1. The hope is that after the first year, connections will have been made in the tailgating lots, in the bleachers etc. so that carpooling to football games becomes much more common, thus easing the demand for parking.
2. The hope is that people will have realized the true value of parking over in St. Paul. There is tons of room there and its quite a fun atmosphere as well. (They did say that working out the shuttle logistics is high priority because the shuttles for some of those games was quite a fiasco.)
3. The hope is that people will have scoped out places around the city to park and ride MetroTransit buses to campus. This would be especially useful for folks who want to park at any light rail stop, buy a ticket, get off at the dome and transfer onto the 16 or 50 headed right for campus. Its quite simple and people should start using it more.
4. The hope is that given a number of newly opened restaurants esp. in the stadium village area, people will find more to do immediately after the game other than just hop in the car and head back home. This should help ease traffic, albeit marginally.
5. You mentioned that the Northstar lot might be on its last season--i hear the same thing. However, in the district's master plan, there are three (3) planned new parking ramps in the area (with construction schedules TBD).
6. And of course we are coming upon the day when light rail will be going through campus. This might be a disaster for a season or two regarding campus traffic, but once its up and running, it should improve things quite a bit, especially on gameday.

If there are any other questions about PTS's plans just post them and I will ask the parking folk what the deal is.

 

[Schnauzer]

Weren't the donation lots half empty last year? Everything I heard made it sound like there were a lot of problems related to the communication of the availability of those lots (donations for fancy seat locations ALSO applied to tailgate lots requiring donations). Will they be half empty again? It seems like they'd want to fill those lots.

 

[SFBaygopher]

Unfortunately, our lot, Ski-u-mah always seemed empty until about 30 minutes before game time. Meaning people were coming, parking watching the game and leaving. I was very disappointed in the overall tailgating atmosphere. Hopefully that improves, but I don't think most of the people who have $1000 to pay for parking are as into tailgating as the people who have to save there pennies to buy tickets. Hopefully this changes.

 

[zman]

Unfortunately, our lot, Ski-u-mah always seemed empty until about 30 minutes before game time. Meaning people were coming, parking watching the game and leaving. I was very disappointed in the overall tailgating atmosphere. Hopefully that improves, but I don't think most of the people who have $1000 to pay for parking are as into tailgating as the people who have to save there pennies to buy tickets. Hopefully this changes.

I actually liked that about SKi-U-Mah. I was there more to socialize with the people I have tickets with. I thought it was nice having plenty of space to set up the gear and not have other cars on top of us. Different strokes.

 

[MNWolfman]

C89 was GREAT!

Hopefully they don't change a thing with our lots over on the West Bank....love it!

 

[the accomplice]

Thanks for the info folks.

My fear is that MrGopher's post is heavily reliant on positions of 'hope.' I have doubts because of all the hope.

And yes, the donation lots were fairly empty until 30 minutes before the game. Kind of a sad situation.

 

[RodentRampage]

I'd like to see more post-game activities, if some people stick around longer it smooths out traffic. I know they have a policy of not having other games on the same day as football games. I'd like to see that revisited. If there was a volleyball game in the evening, and you got discount VB tickets with your FB ticket, that would probably persude some people to stick around for the volleyball game.

Seems like a win for everyone if they can manage the logistics. Obviously, not everyone is going to want to go to a VB game, but maybe there would be a few hundred extra people there. Good for Volleyball, and it would be less people in the rush to get home after the game. The only problem that I could see is parking, but it might be possible to get around that.

Maybe student groups could have fundraising activities after the game, if they can think of ways to catch people's interest.

 

[MrGopher]

Thanks for the info folks.

My fear is that MrGopher's post is heavily reliant on positions of 'hope.' I have doubts because of all the hope.

And yes, the donation lots were fairly empty until 30 minutes before the game. Kind of a sad situation.

Yeah, that's true about the hope stuff. But seriously, if I asked people higher up, then I could get some much more concrete plans other than just rumors and feelings.

My own personal hope is that they pull back on some those ridiculous restrictions for tailgaters. Letting people have a good time would definitely bring the people willing to have a good time at the tailgating lots. The rules, I'm sure, sucked quite a bit of potential fun out of those lots.

 

[glovedgopher]

Yeah, that's true about the hope stuff. But seriously, if I asked people higher up, then I could get some much more concrete plans other than just rumors and feelings.

My own personal hope is that they pull back on some those ridiculous restrictions for tailgaters. Letting people have a good time would definitely bring the people willing to have a good time at the tailgating lots. The rules, I'm sure, sucked quite a bit of potential fun out of those lots.

What rules are you referring to? I don't think there were any rules that prevented people from having a good time.

 

[counselor]

We have an RV, and that lot was really, really lame. We got word today that they are moving us to the Minnesota lot. That'd be awesome, except the going rate for that lot went for $2500. I hope they come down, because that's not gonna happen.

 

[MrGopher]

What rules are you referring to? I don't think there were any rules that prevented people from having a good time.

The no kegs (of any size) rule comes to mind. So does the no glass bottles rule. Also no alcohol related games, aka no beer pong.
No charcoal grills doesn't really offend me, but i fully understand why that would not be allowed. However I'm sure some people would be disappointed in this rule.
No loud music. Don't know exactly what that means, or how they enforced that particular rule, but it could scare some party people away from buying a spot.

Its true that a good time could conceivably have been had, but imagine how hopping it would have been if these rules weren't there.

 

[gopherguy05]

The no kegs (of any size) rule comes to mind. So does the no glass bottles rule. Also no alcohol related games, aka no beer pong.
No charcoal grills doesn't really offend me, but i fully understand why that would not be allowed. However I'm sure some people would be disappointed in this rule.
No loud music. Don't know exactly what that means, or how they enforced that particular rule, but it could scare some party people away from buying a spot.

Its true that a good time could conceivably have been had, but imagine how hopping it would have been if these rules weren't there.

1. The no kegs (of any size) rule comes to mind. --Not a big deal. Cans work just fine, maybe students complain, but one would think once you are older then 25 or so you can live without kegs...

2. So does the no glass bottles rule.-- Open bottle of beer, pour into plastic cup, throw bottle into recycling bag. Easily done, and noone cares.

3.Also no alcohol related games, aka no beer pong--Again...no big deal. Once you graduate college, do you really need to play beer pong to have fun....

4.No charcoal grills doesn't really offend me, but i fully understand why that would not be allowed.-- Understandable. Frankly if I had to complain, he most pertinent no fun rules commmittee rule. However, can easily see why it is. The U doesn't need to invest in a large number of coal bins..it has bigger financial issues

5. No loud music. Don't know exactly what that means, or how they enforced that particular rule--You would really have to blast something to break this one. Plenty of groups in C89 and C86 were blasting music plenty loud last season...noone even batted an eye...

If these rules scare you from buying a tailgate spot....you really need to check how bad you really want to tailgate, they are completely non restrictive, and hardly if at all enforced.

 

[norman dale]

The University fails once again to seize an opportunity

It was quite evident during the ticket & parking selection that the University overestimated the number of parking spots that were going to be purchased on the East Bank. This did not surprise me based on the demographics (too "senior") and historical lack of tailgating opportunity of our season ticket base prior to the move back to campus. I can cut the U some slack in year 1 as they feared a parking and traffic nightmare come gameday.

What did the U do for year 2 on campus to improve the gameday atmosphere? NOT A FRICKEN THING TO DATE! Why not lower the required donation amount needed to secure an East Bank parking pass in order to drive up demand in the upcoming years? Once people get a taste of what a festive atmosphere can be like they will be willing to pay for that privilege.

The lots directly adjacent to the stadium, the Maroon, Gold and Gopher lots which require a $2500 donation to obtain passes were sparsely populated during the prime time tailgating hours. At OSU, Michigan, PSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc... these parking spots would be going for triple or more the donation amount and be filled to the brim hours before kickoff. What does the U do? Status f'ing quo for 2010.

Even with the $1000 donation lots on the East Bank that I witnessed, Ski-U-Mah and Northstar, there was ample room to double the capacity. Let's see, halve the price and and drive up interest in your product for years to come or just leave well enough alone.

Since the U's master development plan calls for construction on the site of the Northstar lot in the next year and Ski-U-Mah in the years to come I would think that it would be prudent to get more people interested in creating a gameday atmosphere now and drive up demand (and price) in the years to come when parking is at more of a premium.

I have a feeling the U is just bidding their time until light rail is in place when they can promote mass transit as the only reliable mode of travel for Gopher football games and shoving the traditional tailgating scene over to Moo U. Tailgating to me doesn't feel right if you can't party in the same county as the stadium sits.

 

[Rouser]

I don't see how lowering the price does much if anything. If you buy premium seats, you basically have either already paid the $1000 for a lot or at least cut the price in half. The arguement for lowering price only applies to those who buy non premium seats but want premium parking. That seems odd to me that someone would choose better parking versus better seats but different strokes. As long as they give credit for premium seat purchases towards your parking donation, I don't see a need to lower those. Now, if the premium lots are all less than half full, you could consolidate the premium lots and open a new lot at a different rate i suppose.

Its the same concept as a rock band charging $100 and half filling the target center. They will still make more than a packed house at $25 a pop.

 

[norman dale]

Rouser, I see your point

and can see why the U is acting as it does in re: to gameday parking passess. My rant was somewhat rambling and probably accusatory towards the wrong entity. The U probably has their hands tied. On one hand they cannot give away parking passes closest to the stadium as those that have purchased passes have earned that right. But it does look "bad" to the common fan walking by these lots and asking themselves, "why can't I park here." Visiting fans may also be taken aback at the lack of support from the fanbase when the most ideal tailgating / parking spots are empty and the atmosphere is uninspiring. I'll undoubtedly be less bothered by this as the availibility of surface parking shrinks in the ensuing years.

 

[GopherLady]

It was quite evident during the ticket & parking selection that the University overestimated the number of parking spots that were going to be purchased on the East Bank. This did not surprise me based on the demographics (too "senior") and historical lack of tailgating opportunity of our season ticket base prior to the move back to campus. I can cut the U some slack in year 1 as they feared a parking and traffic nightmare come gameday.

What did the U do for year 2 on campus to improve the gameday atmosphere? NOT A FRICKEN THING TO DATE! Why not lower the required donation amount needed to secure an East Bank parking pass in order to drive up demand in the upcoming years? Once people get a taste of what a festive atmosphere can be like they will be willing to pay for that privilege.

The lots directly adjacent to the stadium, the Maroon, Gold and Gopher lots which require a $2500 donation to obtain passes were sparsely populated during the prime time tailgating hours. At OSU, Michigan, PSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc... these parking spots would be going for triple or more the donation amount and be filled to the brim hours before kickoff. What does the U do? Status f'ing quo for 2010.

Even with the $1000 donation lots on the East Bank that I witnessed, Ski-U-Mah and Northstar, there was ample room to double the capacity. Let's see, halve the price and and drive up interest in your product for years to come or just leave well enough alone.

Since the U's master development plan calls for construction on the site of the Northstar lot in the next year and Ski-U-Mah in the years to come I would think that it would be prudent to get more people interested in creating a gameday atmosphere now and drive up demand (and price) in the years to come when parking is at more of a premium.

I have a feeling the U is just bidding their time until light rail is in place when they can promote mass transit as the only reliable mode of travel for Gopher football games and shoving the traditional tailgating scene over to Moo U. Tailgating to me doesn't feel right if you can't party in the same county as the stadium sits.

+1000 - I cannot believe how they dropped the ball on this. With this brand new, beautiful stadium, gamedays could have been incredible.

I don't see how lowering the price does much if anything. If you buy premium seats, you basically have either already paid the $1000 for a lot or at least cut the price in half. The arguement for lowering price only applies to those who buy non premium seats but want premium parking. That seems odd to me that someone would choose better parking versus better seats but different strokes. As long as they give credit for premium seat purchases towards your parking donation, I don't see a need to lower those. Now, if the premium lots are all less than half full, you could consolidate the premium lots and open a new lot at a different rate i suppose.

Its the same concept as a rock band charging $100 and half filling the target center. They will still make more than a packed house at $25 a pop.

Rouser, I see your point, but personally, I am one of those people that doesn't pay for premium seats (because every seat in the stadium is fantastic - and we like budding up to the student section so we can tons of room and any of our friends can come and sit with us). However, I'd love to get a tailgate spot. Our group had about 20 that would come and go, and we had one spot, that left GA's car packed with stuff for all of us. The year before, we had about 7 spots, so we were never limited on what we could bring.

I see that the U has to gauge people for $, so how about, instead of lowering the prices - let all the of the people who bought spots for $1000 buy an additional spot at $500 or $200 until space runs out? That way, it's all additional revenue, you reward the people who forked over the cash, and your lot isn't 1/2 empty.

Unfortunately, our lot, Ski-u-mah always seemed empty until about 30 minutes before game time. Meaning people were coming, parking watching the game and leaving. I was very disappointed in the overall tailgating atmosphere. Hopefully that improves, but I don't think most of the people who have $1000 to pay for parking are as into tailgating as the people who have to save there pennies to buy tickets. Hopefully this changes.

It was - that's our lot. I don't get that either. If I wasn't planning on tailgating, I'd just purchase the $100 ramp spot.

 

[Viperman69]

I wouldn't want the lots completely full. I'm in the Ski-U-Mah lot and if every slot was full you couldn't get your car around all of the grills ect. It's nice to have a few slots open to move around. There are a lot of late arrivals in our lot. But to each his own.

 

[GopherLady]

I wouldn't want the lots completely full. I'm in the Ski-U-Mah lot and if every slot was full you couldn't get your car around all of the grills ect. It's nice to have a few slots open to move around. There are a lot of late arrivals in our lot. But to each his own.

A few slots is nice, 1/2 the lot is a waste.

 

[kuhlou99]

The tailgating in the Moo U lot was fun, and at $10/game very affordable. Lots of room to set up and roam. We are only beginning to learn the "real tailgate experience" at Minnesota. Thankfully, the tailgating experience went the opposite direction of the gopher's play on the field as we got deeper into the season. I expect the tailgating to continue to improve as time goes on, and respectfully suggest the Moo U lot is an economical and really fun choice!

 

[GoGophers2005]

Are the donation lots around the stadium really that empty for games?

I am over in C88 on the West Bank and only walked through the lots around the stadium after the games, so I never got a good idea the extent.

Our lot was pretty pathetic for most the year and I was surprised at the lack of tailgaters. By the end of the year our lot was maybe 3/4 full and maybe 10 cars tailgating.

I love our lot though. It's perfect.

On the charcoal grill thing, I thought it was funny that at the Signing Day Social they had a live auction of a Weber charcoal grill. The auctioneer was promoting it as 'a great tailgating grill'. I know it was donated, but thought it was ironic.

 

[Rouser]

As has been posted before Ski-U-Mah is filled but not until game time. The tailgating aspect is half filled I'd say. The possible solution would be to provide a close "premium" lot that is not designated as tailgating for those that arrive just before game time. This might free up a lot for non premium seat holders to get a good tailgating lot up close.

I don't think reducing the price during the season is a good idea because you canabalize the price for the future. If someone pays $200 and someone pays $1000, thats just not right, especially if everyone can renew the next year.

 

[harley_gopher]

It was interesting that Lot C58 (next to the Sports Pavilion) was listed as SOLD OUT midway through the selection process. C58 is a great traditional tailgating lot because of it's campus location and scenery. The only time that the lot was full was for the Air Force Game and after that it was usually about 2/3 full. This is a great parking location because there was room to move around and enjoy some great tailgating.

 

[Viperman69]

A few slots is nice, 1/2 the lot is a waste.

I'm not sure 1/2 of the lot is open. I'm in the Ski-U-Mah lot and there are a lot of late arrivals. But if people are willing to put up the $1000.00 to help the U, they are free to join us.

 

[vinko bogataj]

It was interesting that Lot C58 (next to the Sports Pavilion) was listed as SOLD OUT midway through the selection process. C58 is a great traditional tailgating lot because of it's campus location and scenery. The only time that the lot was full was for the Air Force Game and after that it was usually about 2/3 full. This is a great parking location because there was room to move around and enjoy some great tailgating.

Agree- C58'er here. Our lot was a really nice spot and the row along 4th Street was pretty much filled each week. Go to the rows behind that and it got thinner as you went back. The small grassy area was usually full as well (not a real friendly group of people though). I thought PTS did a pretty good job regulating the lot, right mix of enforcing the rules and allowing fun. The UMPD was very visible in the lot and did a pretty good job. I'd like to see the AF or MSU vibe. I think 11:00 AM starts were tough on that as we were usually amongst the first cars and stayed that way until 9:00 or so. Great spot though, close to stadium, row, victory walk and the trees between lot and sidewalk were much nicer than we expected... Can't wait to get back.

 

[GoldenGuts]

i was in lot 37 last year and it was very empty for the entire season. we got one spot and had any where from 25 to 50 people (all alumni who graduated in the last 5 years) show up each game to party with us most of them do not have tickets and then left when we went in the game. we had ZERO problem with any of the rules. we would play beer pong and flip cup with loud music every weekend. the cops whould even walk by and they never did or said anything to stop us. the atmosphere in the lot was horrible however. its tough to have a good atmosphere when you have a parking spot with at very least 10 open spots open on either side of you for every game.

i really hope they do something to improve the gameday atmosphere