Montana, I think, is the leader in the clubhouse in this area which explains their 8 home games and no FBS. They have 47 suites (sold out) that start at $14k. Add on the revenue from sold out season tickets and 24k capacity stadium, and their revenue dwarfs the others.

Imagine we had 20 and sold them for $10k.

I’m curious what market really is - percent of high-roller fans (or fan groups) vs business interests. My guess in Montana and Dakotas it is business expectation to be seen there. There are for sure big companies that have lucrative ties to our academic output, but is it a business expectation for Monsanto and Diamond Walnut to have suites? I don’t know. The other thing interesting about USD, is they pulled some of their suites down front field level. Florida State’s new stadium did the same thing, greater variety of types of premium seating and some of it lower than before.

AST suite!

There are 3 main categories: University partners (think Pepsi, Sodexo), football/athletic sponsors, and donors/fans. Davis has lots of parters in the first category but the central campus leadership has never leaned on this group to really jump in to athletics. Davis has very few of the second and third category that have expressed willingness to contribute the 25 to 50k that would be the going rate for suites. Montana has some cheap old boxes that aren’t terribly expensive. Davis will not be able to replicate that unless they want to tilt up some tents in one of the end zones.

20 x 10k would take decades to pay back the capital costs. SLO has 20 person suites in the 20k/year range.

my $10k is a low ball, hopefully it’s more in the $20k. That would be the equivalent to an increase of 2000-3000 tickets per game for a 6 game schedule. So I think we’d be comparing the cost of suites (and upgraded press and stadium room) with adding some 5000 seats if we thought we could add to our attendance.

It'd be nice if it was bring your own keg friendly in the Suites. Full bar? Food spread would be? If all these had options, man that'd be well organized and worthy of Aggie dollars.

Cache creek casino would be a deep pocket sponsor that already has significant ties to campus. The biggest problem is that the Chancellor’s office is very stingy about allowing other development offices to contact them. And our research partners run deep. Genentech, the various seed companies, Bayer, the start up incubator, wineries, dairy industry, race horse industry, the list goes on.

So this ELS architecture comapny has no football stadiums in the portfolio I can see. What're we thinking this "master plan" will include?

If nothing else, the chancellor will get a bigger space in the building so we can get rid of the terrible ‘chancellor’s club’ tent on the north berm

Is there going to be room in the Chancellor Suite for a horse?

Right. But they don’t currently have demand for either 2,000 additional paying spectators or 20 suite tenants. The difference is the seats currently exist for 2,000 people that might be willing to buy tickets. The suites do not currently exist and will cost many millions of dollars versus a revenue stream of a couple hundred grand. The real trick is getting one group of donors to fund the stadium expansion and suites and another group to lease the space. They should be trying to cultivate both audiences.

+1

seriously, it’s so crappy

the horse gets its own stable of course!

What happens when the person who funds a suite wants dibs on it for 5-10 years?

Will suites include an optional stripper pole?

just make it entertaining or luxury. People go to minor league games and usually don't care much about the score other than sort of wantimg the team to win.

SoCal Aggie is spot-on:

It's all about creating an "experience". As much as we love Aggie Football, the average person needs a reason to go to the game.

Giveaways, theme nights, all that. There is drawing power in a free t-shirt, especially with the student section. There should be items handed-out at every game, interactive giveaways like tuition, books, big screens, gift cards, all that. Continue to bring-in the families, the youth sports organizations, various community activities, etc. Out-market Sac in Sac, draw an hour's drive radius on the map and promote like hell. I'm not sure if the University has a specific football marketing department, but if we're growing, we need one.

A great beer garden is a must... take a look at Colorado State's New Belgium Porch (https://csurams.com/facilities/the-new-belgium-porch/2058) located in one of the end zones. Great set-up. There are plenty of breweries in the area, even up to Sierra Nevada in Chico, that might jump on it. Get our own brewing department involved. Cal Poly does something on a much smaller scale down on their scoreboard end, and I think 805 is the title sponsor there.

The wine garden is a great call. With Mondavi, the proximity to Napa/Sonoma, etc. and the fact that nobody in the country has one that I'm aware of, this could be a cute little gimmick.

Start with the experience, grow the fan base, then add on to the facilities.

Cal Poly gave one quarter FREE Tuition to one student against Western Oregon. The incoming freshman students attended the game as part of their Week of Welcome activities. Every year they boost the attendance for a home game that is during WOW week, but usually clear out at halftime. To win the tuition they had to be present at the drawing at the end of the the 3rd quarter and probably 80%+ were still in the stands for the drawing. Cal Poly plans to do that at every home game this year.

Great call on their part. Scheduling for success on the first night that students are there is also a very wise marketing strategy. Nothing negatively impacts student attendance in 2025 more than kids thinking their team sucks. Find ways to make the game interactive with their cell phones and the scoreboard and you're on to something

My first game was the Hail Bakari finish in 2008. Didn't think much of everything, but the finish was what made me come back to many other games over three seasons, despite also being a big Cal fan.

I think that’s the only time the fans have ever rushed the field at Aggie /UCD Health Stadium right? What a night, I was a student too and loved celebrating on the field with the team.

In that era, things were pretty sterile - security taking Werthers candies away from little old ladies, cowbells away from old timers, field access forbidden, even the band was told they were too loud. So rushing the field was out of the ordinary then. It was more common at Toomey for the north end zone to empty out, or for the players to jump into the stands. But back then everyone was invited on the field anyway after the game. In the late Warzecka, Tumey, and Gould era I’m not sure why athletics, police, and fire department were in a circlejerk on making game day suck. Kevin Blue looked like a genius for deleting the dumb rules, so fans are now back to being invited onto the field.

It seems like Central Campus has this idea that football fans are too rowdy and that they must be monitored at all times. Look how long it took for beer to be served in the stadium - and there hasn't seemed to be any mass riots since then! I'm curious what Brew Fest will look like. I heard something about limitations on the number of drinks per hour - not a bad idea......as long number isn't something ridiculous like 2 sips/hour. It feels like Mrak Hall talks a good game about wanting high-level teams, but constrains the athletic department from taking steps necessary to do it.

years ago I hosted an event at Putah Creek Lodge and there was a whole calculation of how much alcohol the bartender was allowed to have on site. Basically the formula predicted how many drinkers I would have and tried to ensure I would run out of drinks if the rate exceed 1/drink per person per hour, but it missed the reality that you need extra on hand because you don’t know how many red vs white wines you are going to serve, even with responsible serving. They sternly assured me that a manager from Campus Unions or Student Affairs was going to come count bottles, which didn’t ultimately happen. But the campus event manager had suggested I fudge my attendance numbers up and the caterer was well acquainted with where to hide the backup hooch, so it was like a double secret that everyone was in on to satisfy some party pooper at Mrak.

AgAlum can tell you some stories of an event he hosted on campus!

Scrolling back through this thread the luxury boxes are a must. Keep the cost reasonable, offer good customer service, and they will sell. Include beer, wine, and soft drinks in the purchase price, maybe a bunch of sandwiches and popcorn. The professional sports model that I've experienced (only a few times) is that a company or individual pays for the suite, then the suite renter has to cover the bar and food tabs. I'd try to build it in at our level, or give them a set number of cases/keg and bottles. Include a couple big screens in there with the Ags on one and the ESPN Ocho late game on the other and you have a great Saturday night with a view

Suites can be rented in the off-season as conference rooms to both on- and off-campus entities. Won't make anything from that but it might help drive demand and bring potential donors to campus. Recruiting and marketing events, etc.

Just spitballin and spending other people's money, beats work. Come on Saturday

Suites can be rented in the off-season as conference rooms to both on- and off-campus entities. Won't make anything from that but it might help drive demand and bring potential donors to campus. Recruiting and marketing events, etc. — Pacifico

Being able to book a suite and watch the Ags at the stadium while the team is on the road would be kinda cool too. Like watch parties professional teams have when they open the arena/stadium for people to watch on the jumbotron.
Not sure if that kind of thing would sell at Davis with present demand...

Something I like about Idaho games is that they invite fans to take the field but ask them to wait something like 15-20 mins or so after the game ends. Never taken advantage of it but people seem to like that.