Stadium issues

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Gate D

We entered through Gate D and the wait was awful--at least 30 minutes. The female lines moved through much quicker as my wife and girls were in our seats a good 10-15 minutes before my I was.

They should move up the outside band performance as this created a gridlock with people watchign the band and then trying to get in the stadium. I think the band should end by 5:00 outside so people that want to watch can get through the entrance and into the stadium if they want.


Do they let people in through the gates on the plaza or just at A and E on that end. The plaza area is so wide they would be able to pat people down much quicker than just a few guys at each of the other gates
 

Threefinesweethams said:
Long lines, crowds, wait times...this is life at a sold-out venue, folks! It takes a half hour or more to get into the Big House before a game, and the streets around Camp Randall are a mess for hours after the game. We have all been spoiled by a half-empty dome these past 30 years I guess.
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I am sorry, I didn't know Michigan built a brand new stadium that also was designed to keep all lines 30 minutes long an hour before the game.
 

GopherTwin said:
I too thought that the lines at the gates were way too long. However, I did talk to a couple of people that went into the gate nearest their seat (Gate B) and they said entry was breeze. I think that too many people wanted to enter via gates A or E.
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I entered through gate B. I got in line at about 5:15 and it took about 25 minutes to get in, so gate B was definitely not a breeze at that time.
 

I'll echo many of the previous thoughts with this additional input:

1. Liked the tailgating lot - the garbage logistics were thought out and lots of portables with no waiting;
2. Likewise the facilities in the Bank were clean and efficient - no troughs for the men;
3. Sightslines were excellent from the second deck seats;
4. Nice tribute to the people who built the Gopher Football tradition.

Some things to work on:

1. Security, unacceptably slow, as mentioned in earlier posts, there's a lack of realistic threat management;
2. The Band was muted and missing in the second deck - get it miked;
3. On the other hand, the PA booms up top, but we were in 209, close to the scoreboard so I'm not sure how it sounded in the bowl end;
4. Heard that the consession lines related to a software problem with the vending system - come on, this is a first class institution, that needs to work properly starting with the CA game;
5. The concourses might lighten up when the vending issue is solved, but perhaps separate kiosks (even just for water) would spread the high traffic around and mitigate some flow issues.
6. Were's the other scores? I'd rather see an up to the minute listing of out of town scores than more advertising to the left and right of the scoreboard;
7. Thought we left the silly scoreboard games at the Dump. This is college football, leave the stupid games for the short attention span folk that attend the pro game!
 

GopherTwin said:
Why not tailgate or go to a bar and let traffic clear. Why do you think tailgating was started anyway. Transportation systems are not designed to get large amounts of people out of an area quickly and nor should they(too costly for the number of times needed). Yes they can and I am sure will come up with traffic solutions, but relax and factor in a little post game fun into the experience.
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Amen. I've been to lots of stadiums around the country and I have yet to see a major sports facility that allows you to get up, leave the stadium, walk to your car and start your drive home in less than 30 minutes. It just doesn't happen.

My biggest fear with this complaint is that people will do the opposite and start leaving the game early because they have to, "get to the shuttle before the crowds" or the dreaded, "beat the traffic."
 


And regarding the concession lines I have always thought the mentality of the concession workers in the dome (and apparently also in the new stadium) is WAY too laze faire. The workers at other stadiums that I've been to really put an emphasis on being fast, to the point where if you don't know what you want they have you move to the side and they take the next person in line.

I'm not sure if other stadiums give the cashiers a cut of the profit at the end of the night or what but IMHO the workers need to be incented to move people through as fast as possible.
 

Yes--having cash registers would increase profit.....it's a no brainer.

I do have a question regarding the "Male" "Female" lines to get in to the stadium. Do they mean if you are a male, you go through the male line and females go through the female line? Or does it mean that men are doing the pat down searches at the male line and women at the female line? If I'm a male can I go through the female line if I don't mind being patted down by a woman and vice versa?

If the lines in fact mean that men go through the Male and women Female, why are the lines 50/50 in split? I bet if somebody ran a check on the ticket database it would probably show a larger percentage of men have tickets......shouldn't then the pat down lines reflect that, so the lines move quicker?
 

Email the U about these issues

It seems like they really want to hear from people - any issues, and I'm guessing suggestions to make everything run smoother will be well received.

I think this is the email address they put up on the Jumbotron:
[email protected]
 

GopherJack said:
Yes--having cash registers would increase profit.....it's a no brainer.

I do have a question regarding the "Male" "Female" lines to get in to the stadium. Do they mean if you are a male, you go through the male line and females go through the female line? Or does it mean that men are doing the pat down searches at the male line and women at the female line? If I'm a male can I go through the female line if I don't mind being patted down by a woman and vice versa?

If the lines in fact mean that men go through the Male and women Female, why are the lines 50/50 in split? I bet if somebody ran a check on the ticket database it would probably show a larger percentage of men have tickets......shouldn't then the pat down lines reflect that, so the lines move quicker?
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If you are a man, you go in the man-line, and when you get to the front, a man will be waiting there. No choices, but i do see what youre getting at.

The larger percentage of men at the game is generally thought to be offset by the purse-factor. It takes longer to check women with purses, bags, etc.
 



The concessions need major work.

Most workers in concessions are volunteers raising funds for a group, that's how it is almost everyplace.
The menu is too large for the space they have, trying to offer way too much.
The equipment in the stands was bought before they choose the menu, so 75% of the equipment is a waste of space.
No registers is just silly for a menu like that serving 45,000, If you don't want registers you need a simple menu - like they offer at Williams.
 


It took me 45 minutes to get into the stadium through Gate B. I was very disappointed to miss all of the pregame festivities, including seeing Sam Maresh carrying the flag.
 




I Love Gold said:
It took me 45 minutes to get into the stadium through Gate B. I was very disappointed to miss all of the pregame festivities, including seeing Sam Maresh carrying the flag.
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I just wish someone would have unrolled it before they gave it to him. I thought he was supposed to be leading the team out, but he was in the middle. Just another piece of the pregame that felt rushed and not quite right.
 

I think some of the entrance line issues may have depended on when exactly you wanted to get in. We tried to get in roughly 40 min before ko, and we only had to wait in line maybe 5-10 minutes tops...I'd say closer to 5. We went in gate A. Our seats are in 101, which has a very nice perk: our seats are in row 12 which is literally 10 steps from the plaza area. We were out the gate probably 60 seconds after the last Rouser, ahead of most fans which meant little to no traffic for us coming out of the washington ave ramp. From the time the game was over to the time we hit 35W was 10-15 minutes.

My concern was this: I thought we were going to have a fistfight in our section - the first few rows wanted to stand the whole game, which i personally don't really have a problem with, after all, it is a football game, but there were some people a few rows behind them that were complaining about it immediately. It turned into a shouting match 30 seconds into the game. Eventually security showed up and a couple of the standers got taken out of there, although they returned shortly. I can see the sitters side too though, they were probably 50+ years old, and should they have to stand the entire game? I don't know the answer to the question of sitting/standing.
 

MHDGopherfan said:
I think some of the entrance line issues may have depended on when exactly you wanted to get in. We tried to get in roughly 40 min before ko, and we only had to wait in line maybe 5-10 minutes tops...I'd say closer to 5.
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I saw a lot of people standing outside the gate at the last minute too and I was angry thinking, "why didn't you people get here earlier?' but someone else brought up a good point. A lot of people want to enjoy all of the festivities outside the stadium before the game and then be able to get to their seats by kickoff.

The bottom line is they need to develop a system to get more people into the stadium efficiently.
 


Just a great experience, I couldn't have been happier last night. The stadium just absolutely boomed during every rouser, and after dealing with the acoustics at the dome, I got the shivers actually being able to hear it reverberate.

Food lines sucked. That was expected. My gripe? The failure to frisk my entire waistband upon entry. Great job on the sides and front, but I could've had a weapon tucked in my pants behind the back. If the U is going to spend dollars on manpower to ensure my safety and the safety of others around me, invest in a competent security organization, not some half-assed, Mickey Mouse get-up.
 

Is this frisking everyone a Minnesota thing? I've had bags checked and had to take a coat off, but it's been a long time since I've been really frisked at a sporting event. I think the last time I was really frisked was at a concert years ago at the St. Paul Civic Center. I haven't been to a Gophers game in years, but many Twins games during summer visits and can't remember being frisked there. I've been to Mariner, Husky, Sounder and SeaHawk games in Seattle, but don't recall a real frisking. I've been to professional sporting events in many other states, and don't recall being frisked. Now, if someone looks like they are smuggling, then fine. But to frisk everyone seems to be a huge waste of time.

I also think they could do without taking Apple's from old people that may have a limited income and simply are doing all they can just to pay for the ticket.

Which brings up another point: They may find that they'll need to allow people to bring food into the stadium, as long as it's in lightweight, disposable containers. They could even license vendors to setup outside where fans could buy food to bring in. It doesn't seem like TCF can feed 50,000 fans, so this may be something they'll consider.
 

sec105 said:
I agree. I think people have forgotten the congestion around Memorial Stadium back in the day.

The long concession lines though, makes it look like someone "miscalculated". 21st century technology should be able to come up with a better system and it likely will. They lost a TON OF MONEY.

The shuttle system to and from the Fair grounds??? It works great for the state Fair right? Why shouldn't it work great for a Gopher Game. Somebody forgot not all 100,000 Fair goers leave at the same time. Because they din't allow any non lot parking anywhere near campus they better get that one worked out and fast.

Next weeks 11;00 A.M. start should lessen the rush to leave campus all at once but they have to run the shuttles longer than one hour after the game. Who ever decided that was not thinking clearly.
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I just wanted to clear up a misconception that I've heard mentioned a couple of times on this forum. The post-game football shuttles will be running for more than just 1 hour after the game. They will run for up to 3 hours after the game. And after that there will always be the regular campus connector shuttle that continues on its normal schedule. The statement in the fan guide was a bit misleading. It said something like "shuttles will run continuously for up to 1 hour after the game" This just meant that there will be a constant stream of shuttles for only about 1 hour or until the main crowd dissipates. After that the shuttle buses will be running on a schedule basis starting with a 15 minute frequency and then decreasing to a 30 minutes frequency later in the evening. So, people should not feel like they need to rush to catch the shuttle buses. They will definitely run longer than an hour.
 

This guy has a good point..

GopherTwin said:
Just a few thoughts regarding cooncerns mentioned on this board:

I too thought that the lines at the gates were way too long. However, I did talk to a couple of people that went into the gate nearest their seat (Gate B) and they said entry was breeze. I think that too many people wanted to enter via gates A or E. I also think that the frisking and scanning will eventually become faster.

Regarding concessions, no cash registers should not surprise anyone. The people that got the bid for the stadium do concessions at Mariucci and Williams and I believe that they do not use cash registers there either. That does not excuse them from trying to speed up the process in some way.

Regarding post game traffic. My group went to the McNamra Center after the game and watched the rest of the OSU-USC game. When we got out traffic was cleared. Why not tailgate or go to a bar and let traffic clear. Why do you think tailgating was started anyway. Transportation systems are not designed to get large amounts of people out of an area quickly and nor should they(too costly for the number of times needed). Yes they can and I am sure will come up with traffic solutions, but relax and factor in a little post game fun into the experience.

Also, I cannot remember, but there was either a phone or email addressed advertised on the big board that asked for feedback regarding your game expierence. I hope people take the opportunity to express their concerns via this vehicle.

Go Gophers!!
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Ever try to evacuate from a city for a Hurricane? And that is with everybody trying to go the same basic direction with every road, one way, and freeway lane allowing only out bound traffic.

Nobody has ever figured out how to get large numbers of people away from a venue yet. He is right, unless you have young children maybe it's time to patronize the local establishments for awhile until it thins out.
 

sec105 said:
They lost a TON OF MONEY.
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Agree with this. I made my first venture to concessions about 3 minutes before the end of the first half. I got to the concourse and the line for food was 20 people deep, at a time that is normally lighter traffic. I didn't even bother, and went back to my seat. Something is going to need to be done about that.

Coming back here after the game, I was shocked to see that they were still using calculators and paper for ringing up orders. I too noticed this at the scrimmage (it took them a LONG time to process a simple order at the scrimmage) and just assumed that it was a finishing touch that wasn't done yet.
 

Gopher Nation said:
This was a failure of epic proportions. I stood there, also for 45 minutes, just dumbfounded by the incompetence. No one was directing anyone. They had no control of the situation whatsoever. What a complete disaster, one that unfortunately took off some of the luster from an otherwise great day and night.
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wow. you seriously need to get a grip. get over yourself.
 

Stadium Music

Did anyone else notice the large amount of "quiet time" during timeouts? I was in section 101 and couldn't hear the band. The crowd needs to be entertained during timeouts to keep everyone into the game. It was like we were trying to hard not to be Wisconsin. Play a Neil Diamond song or Cecilia and the crowd will go nuts....either that, or amplify the band.
 

Wonderful for me. The sight lines and seating are extraordinary. People are free and happy. There was almost no wait for food 45 to 60 minutes before game time. Who would expect to go to concessions at halftime?

The bathrooms are great. And, best of all, there are few stupid, trivial promos and none of that annoying piped in crowd noise from the Dome. It's football!

Thanks to Joel Maturi for firing Mason, firing Monson, hiring Tubby and above all, building and managing a wonderful Stadium. We'll see about Coach Brewster.
 

The stadium gets an A+. Its officially our House and what a fitting way to start off with a W.

The band in the upper levels of our section 237 was very muted. Please mike the band.

We shuttled from Moe's in Moundsview which was almost seamless. We had to wait for the bus for just a short time after the game as it got caught up in the traffic. We were dropped off on Univ. Ave between the Barn and McNamara. Those with concerns may want to consider taking shuttles from the burbs. $5 a pop with beer and water on the bus.
 

My few cents

I agree with what everyone have already stated...

Being on the upper deck, I would like to see more food/drinks concession guys come up more. During the entire game, I only saw one dude came up and it was in the 4th quarter and he had ran out of a lot of the drink selections on his tray. We only had Sprite or water to pick from!?? I believe that if we have more concession guys run around all the time, then concources wouldn't be so jammed during halftime!

Cellular phone issues for those of us with AT&T iPhones, can't make phone calls or text?!

Donations...I feel that those that donated money to get into the Premimum Seats ($500 per seat = $1000 for two seats) should've been recognized also on the Donation Wall or even in the game Program. After all, those Premimum seats donations are towards the stadium.
 

I think a few stands and some twine would greatly speed up Gate D. People just kept flowing into the front of the line instead of getting into line. The gal was in the stadium, bought a few things in Goldy's Locker Room, bought a hot dog and a Sprite, bought a program migrated up to the seat, ate her hot dog, took some pictures, paged through the program, noticed that Eric Small really does look like Jesus, and finished the Sprite before I got into the stadium.
 


Ever been to MIchigan?

Have 4th and University run in the SAME direction for 1 hour after the game. You'd get people quickly with 6 lanes.

I had no problem getting out of lot 37 last night. Traffic wasn't bad the pedestrians were, there should be cops at every lot entrance and every intersection. That would be a start to the traffic issues. If you really don't like the traffic, stay on campus for another 30 minutes or and hour after the game.
 

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