TCF Stadium Concession Rant

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Triple D

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So I go out at halftime to get my son and I a couple of waters because it was so hot, went to 3 different stands on the visitor side where we were seated in Section 110 and was told that they were sold out of water at each one, by halftime!! I saw many others trying to buy water too and they left empty handed without buying anything. I saw two older fans who were seated on the floor in the concourse and who were being attended to by EMTs, I overheard one of them making plans to bring a lady to North Memorial due to heat exhaustion, I sure hope it was not for lack of any cold water to stay hydrated. I even offered to buy warm waters but was told we don't have any water left, zero.

This brings up two concerns for me:

1) Our team and athletic department missed out on a lot of lost revenue by not having enough water, at $4 a piece that is a lot of lost revenue. I'm sure food sales were down due to the heat so the extra water sales would have been nice.
2) Let's chase a lot of the casual fans away who don't come to too many games by not being properly stocked.

It's not like the vendors didn't know it would be hot, it was in the news all week that it would be a hot one, and the stadium would be pretty full for the home opener. Who is in charge of the supplies, the athletic department should be mad, like me. I felt bad for the lady at the concession stand who was getting a lot of angry customers.

I was lucky enough to get some free tickets but I know I will think twice about attending again on a hot day, much less purchasing tickets on a hot day since the concessions are lacking, that's for sure. Had a great experience otherwise, the 9/11 tributes and seeing Coach Kill take the field with that girl Mia were awesome. Get well soon Coach.
 

I bought a bottle of water, and refilled it from the sink in the men's room. It's the same water as the fountain. There was a line of at leat 50 people at one of the few water fountains. I expect they will have more water available, they just hadn't anticipated the demand.
 

I got a bottle of water at halftime at the subway stand on the visitors side and there was only one person ahead of me. It's too bad they ran out of it at some stands, but it's probably a difficult logistical problem to manage.
 

Triple D said:
So I go out at halftime to get my son and I a couple of waters because it was so hot, went to 3 different stands on the visitor side where we were seated in Section 110 and was told that they were sold out of water at each one, by halftime!! I saw many others trying to buy water too and they left empty handed without buying anything. I saw two older fans who were seated on the floor in the concourse and who were being attended to by EMTs, I overheard one of them making plans to bring a lady to North Memorial due to heat exhaustion, I sure hope it was not for lack of any cold water to stay hydrated. I even offered to buy warm waters but was told we don't have any water left, zero.

This brings up two concerns for me:

1) Our team and athletic department missed out on a lot of lost revenue by not having enough water, at $4 a piece that is a lot of lost revenue. I'm sure food sales were down due to the heat so the extra water sales would have been nice.
2) Let's chase a lot of the casual fans away who don't come to too many games by not being properly stocked.

It's not like the vendors didn't know it would be hot, it was in the news all week that it would be a hot one, and the stadium would be pretty full for the home opener. Who is in charge of the supplies, the athletic department should be mad, like me. I felt bad for the lady at the concession stand who was getting a lot of angry customers.

I was lucky enough to get some free tickets but I know I will think twice about attending again on a hot day, much less purchasing tickets on a hot day since the concessions are lacking, that's for sure. Had a great experience otherwise, the 9/11 tributes and seeing Coach Kill take the field with that girl Mia were awesome. Get well soon Coach.
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We stopped down at the concessions for water at halftime and had no problem getting a half dozen bottles. We bought from a vendor selling just pop and water. No line either. This was on the 'shady' side of the stadium.
 

Seems remarkable to me...not like the water is going to spoil if we have to sell it next week or the week after....not having enough is a health and safety hazard as much as it is bad business. As much as I hate losing games...I honestly hate our poorly managed athletic department more...and I suspect that they are related.
 


Fan fail. You should not complain about anything and just turn over your money to the U regardless of your experience or you are a bad fan. I can't imagine why we have attendance issues, but it's probably because of bad fans and nothing the U is doing.
 

/cheer for butthurts!!!

OT: Didn't notice the issue, but probably had something to do with I didn't leave my seat all game. Bought a water on my way down to my seat, then everytime a vender came down our way, we bought more water.
 

FarmGopher said:
I got a bottle of water at halftime at the subway stand on the visitors side and there was only one person ahead of me. It's too bad they ran out of it at some stands, but it's probably a difficult logistical problem to manage.
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How is it a difficult logistical problem to manage? Any idiot can look at the weather forecast 3-4 days in advance and see that it's going to be hot and sunny. It's not like bottled water can spoil so they should have thousands of extra cases on hand.

Why am I not surprised at this?
 

B**ch when it's too hot; b**ch when it's too cold.
"I was lucky enough to get some free tickets but I know I will think twice about attending again on a hot day, much less purchasing tickets on a hot day since the concessions are lacking, that's for sure."
Because you couldn't get a bottle of water? As Rampage said, there are fountains & sinks.
 



The had a couple of young ladies in the concourse taking a survey on concessions. I noted last year at the Iowa game the hot chocolate was cold and they ran out. I usually buy food at the Alumni Center b/f the game starts because I don't want to stand in line. How is the food at TCF? I've never bought more than a fountain drink/water etc.
 

Nokomis said:
B**ch when it's too hot; b**ch when it's too cold.
"I was lucky enough to get some free tickets but I know I will think twice about attending again on a hot day, much less purchasing tickets on a hot day since the concessions are lacking, that's for sure."
Because you couldn't get a bottle of water? As Rampage said, there are fountains & sinks.
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I will back him if he couldn't get a water. For anyone that sat in the sun and out of the wind, it was deadly hot in there (even if it is 75). I had friends leave at half because they couldn't sit in the heat anymore (diehards). I don't blame anyone for not wanting to go if it was 80 without wind and not a cloud in the sky. I certainly wouldn't bring young kids.

I personally had 4 waters, ice thing, and a powerade at the game. I think i barely peed.

The fact that they took water from people at the game, and then ran out in places is a crime.

I myself didn't have problems, but I refilled.
 

I have to agree that the water thing was an issue, especially if you were on the sunny side. The stands were running low on sports drinks as well.

It was extremely hot out there, and there were at least three heat-related medical issues in the section around us, including one old guy who I honestly thought had died (he didn't, but it sure looked like it at first). My wife is pregnant, so we ended up watching the 2nd and 3rd quarters from the shade of the concourse - it was too hot for her to sit down in our seats. We did move back down for the fourth when the sun had shifted enough.
 

From my four game experience the Dome was better than TCF for concessions and restrooms. Until they add another concourse to the top of the stadium, the issues will continue. (I didn't have this issue until I got a wife and kids that couldn't hold their bladders and appetite for 3-4 hours. I will add to my list of things the male sports fan needs to consider when finding a partner :) )

There is no excuse for running out of anything at the 1st game of the season.
 



I will groan at many complaints about concessions but running out of water on a hot day is not one of them. You stock up on water for a day like that. I'm sure there are legitimate explanations that could be out there. But I don't doubt that most of them could also be countered with "water doesn't spoil so have more on hand early in the season". Dehydration and the health of your fans is not to be messed with.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
From my four game experience the Dome was better than TCF for concessions and restrooms. Until they add another concourse to the top of the stadium, the issues will continue. (I didn't have this issue until I got a wife and kids that couldn't hold their bladders and appetite for 3-4 hours. I will add to my list of things the male sports fan needs to consider when finding a partner :) )

There is no excuse for running out of anything at the 1st game of the season.
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Where the floop are you sitting at the Bank?? This is an outrageous claim and I cannot believe you. I get the water issue, that's a legitimate gripe... but to say the Dome was better with concessions and bathrooms?!! That's straight up false my friend.
 

I was surprised that they didnt have the same rule as Target Field. If you have have bottle of water that is sealed when you enter the gates then you can bring it in with you. We were surprised to hear that at the gate when trying to get in the game.
As for buying water once in the game I never had trouble. There were plenty of vendors on our side (visitor side) selling water all game and I never had trouble getting water from Dino's in the main concourse. My wife did find out though that they ran out of icecream but not water.
 

Formo said:
Where the floop are you sitting at the Bank?? This is an outrageous claim and I cannot believe you. I get the water issue, that's a legitimate gripe... but to say the Dome was better with concessions and bathrooms?!! That's straight up false my friend.
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I'm just saying that one of the biggest complaints at the Dome was lines and congestion in the concourses. The games I have attended, have been no better at TFC in terms of lines and congestion.

It doesn't bother me, but I can understand other's complaints.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
I'm just saying that one of the biggest complaints at the Dome was lines and congestion in the concourses. The games I have attended, have been no better at TFC in terms of lines and congestion.

It doesn't bother me, but I can understand other's complaints.
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I have to agree with this. I was really disappointed that the concourse at the new stadium is just as bad, if not worse, than what I ever experienced at the Dome. I make sure to eat before the game. Can't they set up small concenssion stands at the top of the second level, even if they're not fully stocked?
 

Hates Monikers said:
I have to agree with this. I was really disappointed that the concourse at the new stadium is just as bad, if not worse, than what I ever experienced at the Dome. I make sure to eat before the game. Can't they set up small concenssion stands at the top of the second level, even if they're not fully stocked?
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I had season tickets for 20 years or more at the Dome. I ASSURE you TCF is MUCH better in terms of congestion in the concourses and in the availability of concessions. Bathroom availability is much better as well. Formo is correct.
 

FWIW, the stands we visited at halftime we also out of water. I settled for powerade so it wasn't a big deal to me, but the elderly lady ahead of me sure had a problem with it.
Like many have said, how you run out of bottled water in the first game is beyond me. There's six more games to sell it at, and we've been through two seasons at TCF. I can't imagine that they sold as much water on Saturday as they did over an entire season in 2009 and 2010.
 

I've got to back a lot of these posters up - one of my seatmates also went down for water, and they were all out at halftime, went to a number of booths. Not sure if they restocked or I went to a different one, but I went in the 3rd quarter to the smoothie stand to get us some smoothies. They were out of them, but had water. Before that, I was too, refilling with the lukewarm water in the bathroom.

At the U2 concert, they actually had those huge coolers of water, and cups for people to get a drink. When it's on the verge of being a health risk, you kind of have to. They did that at Target field as well on hot days. Yes, you're losing a bit of revenue, but you get a lot of good PR for it.

As for the concourses, they are very wide, but do get very congested, as the Dome had an upper and lower level one. I feel it's about the same amount of congestion.
 


GopherLady said:
I've got to back a lot of these posters up - one of my seatmates also went down for water, and they were all out at halftime, went to a number of booths. Not sure if they restocked or I went to a different one, but I went in the 3rd quarter to the smoothie stand to get us some smoothies. They were out of them, but had water. Before that, I was too, refilling with the lukewarm water in the bathroom.

At the U2 concert, they actually had those huge coolers of water, and cups for people to get a drink. When it's on the verge of being a health risk, you kind of have to. They did that at Target field as well on hot days. Yes, you're losing a bit of revenue, but you get a lot of good PR for it.

As for the concourses, they are very wide, but do get very congested, as the Dome had an upper and lower level one. I feel it's about the same amount of congestion.
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IMO MetroDome had better concession stands, but I think the restrooms at TCF are much better. The problem with TCF is the flow of people You run into areas where 85% of the people are going in one direction, 10% at standing around talking(in the middle of the concourse) and the unlucky 5% are like salmon trying to swim upstream. This is only compounded by the concession lines extending way out into the concourse. I've just learned to either try to get everything taken care of prior to the start of the game or wait till the middle of a quarter.
 

If your stand is running out of water, you should call concessions and get some from another stand!! Common in most settings,but our school runs like the Gov.
 

I'm saying that it's hard to predict which food stand is going to sell more water than another. It's knowing which stand is going to run out and being able to restock it fast enough since there probably isn't that much inventory storage at each concession stand.
 

diefirma said:
I had season tickets for 20 years or more at the Dome. I ASSURE you TCF is MUCH better in terms of congestion in the concourses and in the availability of concessions. Bathroom availability is much better as well. Formo is correct.
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Thank you.

Of course, what ISN'T being discussed here are the times we are going to the concessions. I NEVER leave my seat between quarters/halves. NEVER. Never did I do that at the Dome or at TheBank. But, the difference between the two when you go to the concessions in the middle of a quarter/drive at the Dome, there still were lines that were pretty long. At TheBank, not so much. And if you bring cash, those lines are TYPICALLY shorter (thought I suppose it depends on the concession). No matter what time during a game you went to the bathroom at the Dome.. You had lines going out into the concourse. I have yet to find and/or wait in line for the bathrooms at TheBank (with the exception of after the games, and even then they were far faster moving than the Dome).

My point?

Don't be an idiot and go to the bathroom/concessions during breaks in the game. What I typically do is drink JUST enough to quench my thirst and that's it to avoid the bathroom breaks, and hit up the concessions prior the game for a brat/burger/etc. and then go to a Subway stand and get an Italian BMT and I save the Subway sammich for later in the game.

Of course there are times where I just HAVE to hit up bathrooms/concessions. And it's in those circumstances I sacrifice time away from the game and go during a Gopher offensive drive in the middle of a quarter.
 

Formo said:
Thank you.

Of course, what ISN'T being discussed here are the times we are going to the concessions. I NEVER leave my seat between quarters/halves. NEVER. Never did I do that at the Dome or at TheBank. But, the difference between the two when you go to the concessions in the middle of a quarter/drive at the Dome, there still were lines that were pretty long. At TheBank, not so much. And if you bring cash, those lines are TYPICALLY shorter (thought I suppose it depends on the concession). No matter what time during a game you went to the bathroom at the Dome.. You had lines going out into the concourse. I have yet to find and/or wait in line for the bathrooms at TheBank (with the exception of after the games, and even then they were far faster moving than the Dome).

My point?

Don't be an idiot and go to the bathroom/concessions during breaks in the game. What I typically do is drink JUST enough to quench my thirst and that's it to avoid the bathroom breaks, and hit up the concessions prior the game for a brat/burger/etc. and then go to a Subway stand and get an Italian BMT and I save the Subway sammich for later in the game.

Of course there are times where I just HAVE to hit up bathrooms/concessions. And it's in those circumstances I sacrifice time away from the game and go during a Gopher offensive drive in the middle of a quarter.
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Thank you. It drives me nuts that people whine about lines at the concession stands AT HALFTIME. Of course there are going to be lines. That's when everyone goes. And I don't know where people get the idea that the concourses at the dome flowed better than at the Bank. I've never had the claustrophobic feeling at TCF that I had every time I was in a dome concourse before/after games.

Lastly, for those who ran into trouble with bottled water, I'm sorry it was an inconvenience and they probably should have stocked more, but a serious health risk? I have a couple questions:

Were the drinking fountains out of water?
Were the concession stands out of Sprite?

If you're going to claim it's a health risk to not have bottled water, you better also be able to state that there weren't similar or lower priced alternatives to bottled water available.
 

Anticipating the heat plus my cheapness, I brought an empty plastic water bottle to make sure my son had enough H2O. When my bag was searched, the young lady took the lid but let us keep the bottle.

My son filled it several times until we had an extra stadium cup, which he got filled with ice and water.

I see how it can be an issue, but like bringing hand towels to wipe your seats down from the dew (or frost), as we gain our outdoor game legs again, most GopherHolers should be able to adequately plan ahead.

Go Gophers! In Kill We Trust!
 

I appreciate the responses so far. My point is that this was a negative experience for me. I attend about one game a year, so I don't know the ins and outs to the stadium as well as some of you that attend more regularly of where the good places are that might have had extra water available such as the Subway stand, etc. I'm more looking at it for more casual fans like me who may have been turned off about attending another game due to the bad stocking of a huge selling product (water) on a 90 degree day with no clouds.

To those that say I should have just bought pop, my analogy is this. If I go to a good restaurant and want a steak and am told they are out by 6 p.m will I order the chicken instead, yeah probably, but I won't be as happy and I might not be back to that restaurant very soon, I'm sure we can all relate to that.

To those that say it wasn't a health concern, I believe that they attributed part of Coach Kill's problem to heat, humidity and dehydration, and like I said and have been backed by other posters, there were EMT's there attending to people in the stands and concourses for heat related issues.

Lastly, if there was water available on stands on the shady side and they are running out on the sunny side, why is there no communication amongst the TCF concession staff/management to deliver more to where it's needed? I'm sure they have walkie talkies and a motorized cart that could be used to move product to where it will sell more.

I'm not a whiner, just looking to make the game day experience better for others in the future.
 

I remember going to games at Metropolitan Stadium, and there were hot dog vendors walking the aisles. I think that would be a great thing, it would take a lot of the pressure off the concourse. The have soda vendors going through (not often enough, really), and that helps, but if people had the option of getting real food from vendors, they would be less inclined to go to the concourse, and thus the concourse would be less crowded.
 

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