Improve Attendance - Enourage On-Campus Tailgating

[Cusefan95]

I agree that free is better. When it becomes a place to go, people will get there early to stake out spots. Charging will kill the idea.

Free isn't always a good plan. When I lived in Albany my bank used to have stacks of free tickets to RiverRats hockey games, any time I went in I would pick up a couple to whatever the next 2-3 games were. I'd be surprised if I even went to 25% of the games I got tickets to, because I was out nothing when I didn't bother. And I never would pay for tickets to a game - why would I when I could always get freebies and move to better seats at the end of the first period? It seems like people here think lowering pricing is a magic solution to attendance issues...but the risk is that people will value the product based on the pricing and going cheap will not help at all.

The one thing I've learned today is we have the most frugal, stingy fan base in the country.

 

[sacuse]

I'll say this...i am a die hard Syracuse fan and a college football fan. I have tailgated at a lot of major college campuses and atmospheres. Been to Nebraska, Arizona state, atm, and was a season ticket holder thanks to the wifey at Texas. I've been to a lot of others as well...some of these people tailgating don't even go into the game. The people show up at six in the morning and stay until well after the game. I was at asu this past weekend for USC and asu. Had the grill connected to the back of a truck, large flat screen with direct tv. People playing the tailgate games like washers, bean bag toss, and many more tossing a football around. Not saying we need 35000 tailgating but it sure would be nice to see an atmosphere where people are out. That pic of the quad is depressing!

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

I'll say this...i am a die hard Syracuse fan and a college football fan. I have tailgated at a lot of major college campuses and atmospheres. Been to Nebraska, Arizona state, atm, and was a season ticket holder thanks to the wifey at Texas. I've been to a lot of others as well...some of these people tailgating don't even go into the game. The people show up at six in the morning and stay until well after the game. I was at asu this past weekend for USC and asu. Had the grill connected to the back of a truck, large flat screen with direct tv. People playing the tailgate games like washers, bean bag toss, and many more tossing a football around. Not saying we need 35000 tailgating but it sure would be nice to see an atmosphere where people are out. That pic of the quad is depressing!

It helps having a student body of 56,000, all of whom will take any excuse to party.

 

[Alcuse01]

Do the fans/students even know they can? I remember when I was in college (holy sh$t 10yrs ago) and my friends and I drove down to the lots all around the dome (the small lots that lead out to the quad) in hopes we could park and tailgate. We were told absolutely not. No chance parking there. We were then never told we could hang out and "tailgate" on the quad either. So back we went, back to our house on Euclid and pregamed there. We'd watch ppl walk up and down the street and head to the game. All while partying on our porch... but we really wanted to be on the quad.

If they had allowed us to 1) park up there, we'd have brought a ton of stuff and started it up. I know we would have been able to get large groups to come and 2) if it was ever confirmed you could actually tailgate. To us, the only ppl allowed were the big $ donors who had VIP parking (which amounted to maybe 10 cars).
So while we bitch and moan the students are trying to find any excuse, I can say for me who was always looking to party around cuse sports, as well as all of the friends I "forced" and their friends and so on, to b/c crazy about SU sports... that I tried but we were turned away.. both from parking and from not knowing. If they opened up Student only spots, and made it tied to tailgating or the Ottos army - type, I'm sure you'd get your diehards like we would have, and then it would grow and grow...
But then again, I thought they just did away with 2 lots and drinking????

 

[BlackKnight76]

I doubt many students even try. I stumble down to the Fine lot every weekend but that's just me. Aside from pregaming at houses on Euclid, or maybe the occasional frat doing something by themselves, I've never really heard of any student tailgates.

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

I tend to just BBQ and drink at the houses I've lived at off-campus. Last year was Euclid, this year it's Livingston.

 

[Tornado91]

Does the school do anything to generate gameday excitement?

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I agree. And if they were lenient on underage drinking, this would help student attendance a ton.

Not a good idea whatsoever... I tailgated for 3 years there between the ages of 18-20.. Never had an issue with it before entering the dome, just need to excercise some caution and be smart, kids need to understand that the law is the law and people have a job to do. Plenty of spots to pregame before a game, best weekend ever at Syracuse was Phish show Friday night at the War Memorial followed by the Miami game that Saturday, it was crazy. Student section was packed... Those were the days. Novemeber of 1994, the waether was great that weekend as well, the SU game was a bit of a let down but oh well

 

[Q3cuse(no more)]

Why not sell cheap - $100.00 - season pass tailgate easements all along the Quad and other nice areas on campus. The fee would perhaps include Syracuse University Football tailgate canopies and other items.
Food and drinks could be purchased through the University, etc, etc.

When we traveled to USC last week we noticed that there were tailgates/canopies through the entire campus - all of the canopies were USC colors, most had TVs and/or music and all of them were crowded.

Why not transform the SU campus into a large tailgate city for the home games - make the entire experience the kind that attracts all kinds of fans.

SU does not want people to tailgate. I was on the quad for years and lost my space this year because SU is turning the Q3 lot into green space. I was one of the few that would tailgate. Of all the parking spaces that were available, only 6 to 8 of us would tailgate. Those of us that did tailgate did it right. The tailgate mind set of the SU fan does not exist. I would get a huge crowd of people for before games and have a different crowd at halftime. My location made it a great place to meet. With the number of parking spots that were there, to get only 10% to tailgate is embarrassing.

 

[dollarbill44]

I doubt many students even try. I stumble down to the Fine lot every weekend but that's just me. Aside from pregaming at houses on Euclid, or maybe the occasional frat doing something by themselves, I've never really heard of any student tailgates.

That's how it was when I was there ('87-'91). Students pre-gamed in the dorms, although I don't remember there being much drinking before the games, we were just naturally pumped up for them.

I'm one of those guys that doesn't like to be hammered for sporting events. I am so into the game that I don't want to be distracted by constantly hitting the pee trough, getting more beer, etc.

 

[OttoMets]

Biggest problem hurting student tailgating is that S.U. won't recognize student parking passes on game days. You pay a fortune to have those things be valid 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, for the entire semester (or so you think), then the second there's a game they won't let you in. That way, S.U. can sell the same spot twice. In a lot of ways, Syracuse is really not student fan-friendly when it comes to sports, which seems short-sighted since they're going to need these guys to write big checks in the future. Don't get me wrong, now that I've graduated I'm happy they do it (more spots for me), but I feel a little guilty every time I see a student get tossed out of "their" lot, when I know they paid a lot more for their permit than I did mine.

Dude, the student parking pass is $300 for the academic year. Not much more than a dollar a day. Not only is that not a "fortune," it's well below market-rate. Throw in the fact that the huge majority of the student body lives within a 15-minute walk of the Dome, and I would say that most students have no business parking a car in those lots or garages during a Dome event. Donors pay real money for that privilege.

 

[OttoMets]

SU does not want people to tailgate. I was on the quad for years and lost my space this year because SU is turning the Q3 lot into green space. I was one of the few that would tailgate. Of all the parking spaces that were available, only 6 to 8 of us would tailgate. Those of us that did tailgate did it right. The tailgate mind set of the SU fan does not exist. I would get a huge crowd of people for before games and have a different crowd at halftime. My location made it a great place to meet. With the number of parking spots that were there, to get only 10% to tailgate is embarrassing.

Don't let the loss of your parking spot discourage you - come on up and have fun. The tailgating scene on the Quad is what we make it.

 

[chakka3421]

I think this is one of the best ideas in a long time - I feel like when i walk up to the dome I am about to enter a mausoleum - don't get me wrong, I think the atmosphere inside the Dome is tremendous as long as you get 45,000 or more fans in seats!

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

Honestly, after having lived in the south (south of Harrisonburg, VA) but not too far south, I honestly am starting to think tailgating is cultural as much as anything else. Tailgating at JMU games are much better than Syracuse, and JMU is FCS.

And then I drove by my local high school last Friday, and there were a ton of people tailgating, for a high school football game. And it was bumping. This is not a big high school football factory, or really even a very good football team. But there were many, many tailgaters (think in the thousands).

I honestly think most Southerners think football games = tailgating. You don't (and can't) have one without the other. Opening up the quad is a great idea, but I still don't think it would be this smashing success. I just honestly don't think it is ingrained in the culture in the Northeast like it is down here. I love tailgating and was surprised with how good it was at an FCS and high school game.

By the way, JMU's AD said JMU should definitely think about becoming an FBS team. Hello Big East's next member!

 

[OttoMets]

How about this (assuming the liability isn't too great): valet service for tailgaters?

Fans like the poster who used to park in Q3 pull their cars up behind the sculpture court off Sims Drive, unload their grill/beer/friends. Valet (student work-study employee) takes empty car, drives it to Skytop, then retrieves it after the game.

Am I crazy, or wouldn't everyone be happy to pay $10/car for this service? It's cheaper than parking, would be very easy for people who want to tailgate, and would allow for an improved experience on the Quad.

 

[OttoMets]

That's not totally accurate. It varies depending on the lot. Some of the lots cost students almost $1,000 per academic year (not valid during summer). These are not donor lots close to the Carrier Dome either.

OK, I might be ignorant about some of the lots. I was thinking specifically of Stadium West, Fine, and Standart. All of those are $300 for the academic year, $500 for the calendar year. I know Irving Garage is a bit more.

But the point does stand that those are heavily-subsidized prices for Dome-adjacent lots and I'd rather allow donors and Fine Lot guys be allowed to park there; they pay more for the privilege than students do. And I know of many students who "accidentally" forget about the rules and sneak their cars into Stadium West and leave them there during events without penalty.

 

[Alcuse01]

Maybe the Culture response is right... or maybe it's that SU "wants" the gameday experience, but really doesn't want to do anything to support it for fear of something bad happening?

All Iknow is that ru kills us in tailgating, and they are forced to walk a very very long way or jump on a bus. And why is that? Perhaps the culture thing is true, since I see a ton of R flags at giant games, so it's a family thing built from very young?

My friends from ru rented a rv and we drove up to a cuse game 3yrs ago and I remember we parked in the lot the night before and were 1 of 2 rvs to do so. And I remember how hard it was to get a response and a pass to allow us to come in the night before. Again, it was as if they are trying to keep certain ideas/traditions out...

I love tailgating, and wait in line for the gates to open at gmen stadium, but in the Cuse, it never really even crossed my mind again after the 1st rejection. Even to this day, I tend to hit the bars beforehand... that's 'tailgating' in the cuse.

 

[Tornado91]

I haven't been able to travel to the dome for a game in the past few years (among other things, weeknight games killed my chance this season), but what does the Fine Lot crew think of this. Is there value/feasibility to developing a tailgate scene on the quad?

 

[BlackKnight76]

I'm talking to one of the Dome marketing interns on Facebook, brainstorming stuff. I passed along the issue of tailgating.

I suggested trying a weekly version of what they do for the University-sanctioned portion of Mayfest, where they set up live music, food, and beer for 21 year old students at Walnut Park. If they did that on the quad before the games, I think it would at least entice some of the seniors to come back.

They're apparently working on some stuff for this week, so we'll see what happens.

 

[Tornado91]

Cold weather schools will always be at a disadvantage, particularly late in the season, but that mean tailgating can't exist. When I was living up there, we always hit faegans or 44s beforehand, but tailgating was not a part of the equation. I doubt it will ever compare to what most of our ACC brethren experience, but I don't think it's impossible to develop tradition. Frankly, if a scene developed, even on a small scale, if could go a long way toward encouraging alums in the northeast to head up for gamedays.

 

[MikeSU02]

I'm talking to one of the Dome marketing interns on Facebook, brainstorming stuff. I passed along the issue of tailgating.

I suggested trying a weekly version of what they do for the University-sanctioned portion of Mayfest, where they set up live music, food, and beer for 21 year old students at Walnut Park. If they did that on the quad before the games, I think it would at least entice some of the seniors to come back.

They're apparently working on some stuff for this week, so we'll see what happens.

Kudos to your efforts across the board.

I think you either have to be all in on tailgating to help cultivate and nurture the culture or you just let people fend for themselves. As people have alluded to, I think tailgating is a culture. You basically need the Fine Lot Crews of the world to gain steam, grow and then connect with each other. But it seems that between the layout and a failed backing of the university, each pocket of tailgating remains, basically, on an island.

Sophomore year I lived in Marion and I would wake up on Saturday mornings hearing the tailgating crew there setting up and drinking. Was the best alarm clock I ever had. Would peer out, get up and put on my drinking cap and get fired up for the game.

 

[Tornado91]

I think Walnut Park would be a great tailgating spot.

 

[Bayside44]

I think Walnut Park would be a great tailgating spot.

Block Party...

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

As long as it's a University sponsored event, such as something in Walnut Park, underage drinking will be impossible. See: the abortion that now is Mayfest.

 

[ForCuseSake]

Couldn't agree more w/ this thread. Grew up in Cuse and went to a Patriot League school w/ a decent football program - Lehigh. Every student in the school would go to the football stadium (almost all noon or 1pm kickoffs) and tailgate. Many locals joined in and the administration parceled out tailgating plots and had to regulate the time frame due to the popularity.

Aside from the obvious differences (i.e. size and competition level) the single biggest enticing factor was the open fields/parking areas around the stadium. If SU does build a new stadium on South campus w/open parking areas to hold all spectators then tailgating will grow improve exponentially. And this will have a very positive impact on attendance for all interested parties (students, faculty, locals, etc.)