I did a little digging into attendance numbers for other teams, and could see our trajectory (again all hypothetical but in a good case), be something like that of coastal coastal Carolina that averaged 8,900 fans in 2014 as FCS members, but since transitioning in 2016, are averaging 18,000 fans post renovation and joining the SunBelt. Just something I was curious about.

oh wow that was from a minute ago. I think the same comment is still true though, anyone trying to justify a direct revenue business case for a big expansion is blowing smoke. The investment would have to be justified on indirect benefits, which aren’t necessarily without value. I think since writing that, the industry has shifted to have higher expectations from F&B, merch and non-traditional seating options.

I agree about the indirect benefits of a move to FBS and upgrade of stadium. Many have suggested waiting for more success in FCS before making a move. My thing about waiting for an FCS championship before a move up or facility upgrade is... More teams *don't* win the FCS championship, or even make the playoffs regularly, than do. And they still maintain their programs. And many of the good programs have or are considering a move to FBS. Not that I think this is who we should be following, but never winning an FCS championship never stopped Coastal Carolina, which has only had a football program since 2003, from moving to FBS. And I think we're in a better position for success than them. Heck, we never won a D2 championship before we moved to D1.

Once in the FBS, most teams (and there are SO many) *don't* make the FBS playoffs. But their programs exist anyway. And they still get to enjoy national coverage with smaller but still televised bowl games. The world gets to be reminded that they exist. Their programs, and thus their schools, remain nationally relevant. Cal, who finished 6-6 this year, is playing UNLV this year in a televised bowl game on ESPN. Our quarterfinal, after our best season ever, is on freakin' ESPN+, which apparently many of our members don't subscribe to (in spite of it being easy to sign up for--it's bundled with Disney+!!). It's an existential thing for the program as well as a prestige thing for the whole athletic department and university as a whole.

+1. I think Gary May’s whole comment about athletics being the doormat to a university (probably butchered that paraphrase), especially considering we are already a d1 program, truly would be echoed with an FBS move. For me, it’s just wild that we have a school with 310,000+ living alumni, and live in a metro of 20 million, and barely anyone sees our games, or even know we have a football team because they never see them on television, never see clips posted online by major sports accounts (partially because of that television thing), and don’t really get the UC Davis football brand spread through clothing, regional advertising, etc. I think Davis being scheduled against cal every other year, but then getting butchered, or having to explain that we would never regularly play, or face the likes of Stanford, unlv, Nevada, cal in the post season is not only confusing, but also deflates how excited people get. when I was telling friends we could be playing southeastern Missouri state or Illinois state in the playoffs, they were so freakin confused as average fans of not only who those teams were (considering again the FCS just doesn’t get national coverage very often), but honestly seemed less interested in the game itself then. Also, I know scouts can grab players from any level, but recruiting and pro prospects obviously are boosted by fbs membership and being shown on the national stage, as well as being impressed by new facilities.

We should also include a Wine Tasting room. I'm telling you most visitors would love to get a chance to try our local wines being so close to Napa. And since we are the #1 viticulture school in the world, I think this would do really well.

My buddy and UC Davis Alum, Jeff Fontanella, owns and operates a winery. (His wine is fantastic, and you should all join his wine club! I had his wine open at the APP tailgate.) I texted him last night and told him that the people are demanding a wine tasting room at the stadium, and that he should get his foot in the door, for probably only a ~$5M donation. He (very jokingly) replied with, "Done!" But, Flushman has been trying to get him out to games to pour some wine.

I get what you're saying. Ideally we would have won more games and had more fans in the seats the last 10 years or so. But we are making our move now so I say let the admin know what we'd like to see and try to make the best stadium we can. Give the "built it and they will come" thesis the best opportunity to succeed.

Nice- I love the idea of rooftop bar and wine corner.

I like this idea, to let public come in and check out a stadium any time. We were in Texas recently and checked out every stadium we could. TCU's stadium was wide open- we walked around sat in seats, enjoyed the vibe and want to come back and see a game in person. Texas Tech on the other hand was locked up like a prison. We found one partial view of the field but felt like we were unwanted. My 11 year-old son was scared, thought we were going to get in trouble and wanted to leave as soon as possible. We have no desire to see a game a Texas Tech-lol.

With any expansion of seats, increased parking has to be a consideration. I know the Davis Delusion… people will ride to town on busses powered by hope and recaptured burrito farts. The reality is people are going to drive and many wish to tailgate. Which tailgating doesn’t have to be at a car. At my local university all of the parking is in garages but reserved parking comes with a reserved plot on an adjacent IM field and it works. Actually quite well to keep the moving cars and the party separate. The other reality is occasional Friday or even Thursday night games are not out of the question. The universities I’ve been to cancel classes at noon and suspend normal weekday parking permit enforcement in this circumstance because there is not enough parking to support weekday operations plus 1000s of vehicles for a game. That eventuality would be an emotional bridge to cross for some professor types.

yeah i think a more structured parking system will be needed, which i think is totally possible. We have so much parking by the vet center and in the garages… just have to organize it for sure

structured parking can easily cost $20k or more per space to build, so it is expensive but regardless of anything athletics-related, probably something the campus will have to build more of as it grows and builds over surface lots. That said, I hope any future garages use speed ramps. This is how Disney and Universal do theirs with flat parking decks and a separate ramp system. The West Entry garage is a mess after events at UCU or stadium let out because people parked on the ramp have to back into stopped traffic.

getting out the stadium can be a mess, but the Pavillion is even worse. Getting INTO the Pavillion is often the worst part of my trip to a basketball game!

the parking lineup to pay the toll or the actual ticket checking to get into the arena?

the road into the arena. Either coming from the north or south, it’s often really slow getting in, especially when there are alot of students on foot or bike.

that was a tough spot 20 years ago even with the cross traffic between Segundo DC and the ARC plus Orchard Road overpass being a primary bike route to West Davis. I’m sure it has only gotten more busy with West Village filling in. It’s unfortunate the LaRue bike underpass 100’ north isn’t quite lined up with where the traffic wants to go, it was always underutilized. That parking lot has ended up landlocked as things have encroached from all sides.

My wife would absolutely love this!! To be fair I have the worst pallet in the world. I couldn't tell a good wine for a bad one, but my wife? Oh yeah she is all about it! Which means my wallet consents! I do like a good cheese though!

ha! I took my family to a Texas Tech game years ago...we tried to stay at Red Roof in....let's just say walking over homeless....and seeing police tape made us rethink our stay....I remember my wife and kids being like "Dad, I don't know about this...." "Don't worry it will be fine..." 10 min later....checking into the Hilton..."Well this is nicer!" lol

"Dad, I don't know about this...." "Don't worry it will be fine..." — Sailorgabe

Solid dad move!

Ellen Griswold: This is so dangerous, Clark. We have no business being in a neighborhood like this!
Clark Griswald: Oh I don't know, hun. This is a part of America we never get to see.
Ellen Griswold: [sarcastic] That's good!
Clark Griswald: Uh... no that's bad. We can't just ignore the plight of the inner cities. See the plight kids?
[gunshots are heard and a woman is heard screaming]
Clark Griswald: Roll 'em up!

"Don't worry it will be fine..." — Sailorgabe

I need this on a t-shirt. Preferably in Kirkland Signature black cotton with cut-off sleeves.

That eventuality would be an emotional bridge to cross for some professor types.

Love your posts - sound logic with a dash of humor.

Yeah- Lubbock didn't seem like the nicest place. My son probably had the right idea about wanting to get out of there- lol.

Remember when USC bailed out because we were not FBS? That was embarrassing. A premier university should not be subjected to that. We have to play with the big boys. Our rankings, endowment, alumni say we should be playing with the big boys. Football should say the same.

Are you kidding? $C buying out of that game is one of the best things to happen to Aggie football in years. Double dipping on revenue was really helpful. Also, people complaining about espn+ need to take a look at MW Network distribution.

Exactly. Embarrassing.

It worked out because they got money out of it, played Tulsa instead and won. Without that Tulsa win, they might not have made the playoffs in 2021. They were an 8 win team that season.

Not sure how an apparel store works at the stadium for 5-6 events a year. Costs have to be considered.

Our guests for the first playoff game said they loved our stadium and the grass berms for families.

So you’re saying no wine bar? ;)

Bring your own bota bag. <wink>

When i was at Weber, they had a nice little retail space built into one end of the stadium . You could put something reasonable (maybe 1/2 the Bruce Edwards room) in that space between the locker room and the equipment/ticket office.

as for the berm, i'd be content with grass under the scoreboard, and built up the other end including the grass. It would be nice to make that end of the stadium a large set of stands which would be tough for the other team. The one end of Montana's stadium is pretty daunting. I'm not sure we can get that kind of geometric effect with the layout of the stadium -> seems like upgrades are going to be far from the field. Steep = loud!