Tailgating 2015

[Hilltopper]

Reading ZN.o this season it's obvious that one area they can improve on is the tailgating situation in regards to lot #9. If you could purchase a reserved space for an additional fee on top of what you already pay for parking what would it be worth? With a reserved spot you could show up when it's convenient for you and never have to worry about some Marshall or Can't fan being parked in your spot. If you wanted, you could buy multiple spots. I understand that the athletic department and others at UA want to improve the tailgating experience for Zips fans starting next season. I also know that the powers that be read ZN.o to get a feeling of what the fans want and need to make them happy. If you have other suggestions that I didn't include in my post them here.

[Balsy]

Another area that they can improve: When they have live music venue playing at ZipsFest (which is a nice addition, I'll give them Kudos for trying to make I more of a family event), make sure that the muscisians are DONE PLAYING WHEN THE BAND TAKES THE FIELD! There were three times (that I counted) where the stupid live music bands were playing at the same time the Band was. It was obnoxious and is kind of disgraceful when they're playing at the same time as our fight song. It's almost like playing music over the loud speakers while the band is on the field.

Change that.

[Dave in Green]

I'm surprised at the lack of comments for this poll. I know for a fact that people at UA read ZN.o looking for feedback and good ideas. I'm sure there's more than one person at UA tracking this poll.

I'm not even a tailgater but there's one thing that's pretty obvious to me: You can't have tailgating without tailgates, and you can't have tailgates without vehicles. So whatever that other area is that might have live music but no parking may be attractive to some who don't normally tailgate but it's not a viable alternative for hardcore tailgaters. People aren't going to carry their barbecue grills and coolers from a parking lot to a pseudo-tailgating area.

Every tailgater I've ever spoken with wants to be in lot #9 along with all the other tailgaters they've made good friends with over the years. Anything that interferes with this, like letting Marshall fans into lot #9 to take the parking places of loyal Zips tailgating fans, is a huge slap in the face that threatens to further reduce the fan base at Zips games.

I hope the real tailgaters will all make their voices heard in this poll.

[MaxZIP]

The voices have been loud and clear for a few years. I guess the athletic department staff can hear the voices of potential but yet to materialize $5,000 plus donors better than their own fans. Add this poll to the pile of posts advocating building a core of fans and seeming to care about some of the fans who have shelled out to watch the cap on the fields for decades. Sure I would pay $50 bucks to tailgate in lot 9 but then that would be a potential net loss of at least $4,950 at some point in the future when good money is thrown after bad football.

[Hilltopper]

The voices have been loud and clear for a few years. I guess the athletic department staff can hear the voices of potential but yet to materialize $5,000 plus donors better than their own fans. Add this poll to the pile of posts advocating building a core of fans and seeming to care about some of the fans who have shelled out to watch the cap on the fields for decades. Sure I would pay $50 bucks to tailgate in lot 9 but then that would be a potential net loss of at least $4,950 at some point in the future when good money is thrown after bad football.

You only need to be a $2500/year donor to get a lot 9 pass. http://www.gozips.com/zfund/benefits/index I donate more than that and my passes are for lot 10. Most of the people I know who sit where I sit are in lot #10 which has reserved spaces.

[LZIp]

I do not have much of anything specific to add. I lived right across from the stadium when I was in school, so usually had my own little tailgates before games. What I do have to say is that Akron fans should be put together. We don't have enough support to give priority parking to people who can afford to donate $2500 or whatever. Scattering the fans at random lots all over campus looks bad. The tailgating scene is depressing compared to ANY other D1 football game I have attended (not a knock on any of the regulars, you guys are awesome).

I would love to be a regular tailgater. Unfortunately, I am a lot more passionate than most of my friends, so they want to see that it looks like fun before they will make time to go. Lets get this fixed. Maybe start charging premiums to park in lot 9 once we actually have some real demand. Remember, UA is a non-profit.

[MaxZIP]

You only need to be a $2500/year donor to get a lot 9 pass. http://www.gozips.com/zfund/benefits/index I donate more than that and my passes are for lot 10. Most of the people I know who sit where I sit are in lot #10 which has reserved spaces.

So do you want to be in lot 9 and your >$2,500 donation was not high enough? I was told it was $5,000 in doantions for a lot 9 pass.

[Hilltopper]

So do you want to be in lot 9 and your >$2,500 donation was not high enough? I was told it was $5,000 in doantions for a lot 9 pass.

I'm not a tailgater so lot 10 is good for me.

[Captain Kangaroo]

So do you want to be in lot 9 and your >$2,500 donation was not high enough? I was told it was $5,000 in doantions for a lot 9 pass.

You are off by a massive factor. Whomever told you it is 5k, or 2.5k, or whatever "k" is completely clueless.

[MaxZIP]

You are off by a massive factor. Whomever told you it is 5k, or 2.5k, or whatever "k" is completely clueless.

So how does one come by a coveted lot 9 pass?

[RowdyZip]

Probably a pipe dream, but I would love it if they made lot 9 a first-come, first-serve tailgate lot. "Relegate" all the donors to the paved surface lots by the ONAT. Still very close to the stadium entrances and then you really foster a tailgate atmosphere. If it was done that way, you'd have the closest thing to the inclusiveness of the Rubber Bowl parking/tailgate scene. Never thought I'd say it, but I miss those days.

There's nothing more frustrating as a fan than to be told that I can be placed on a "wait list" for a lot 9 pass and then when I attend each game, it's filled to about 60% (or less later in the year) of capacity. He'll, charge $20/car and I'd still probably pay it. If you up the price, how much are you really losing monetarily? Not much compared to what you're gaining in fostering a friendly tailgate community.

Don't get me wrong, the tailgaters of lot 9 do it right. The problem is that it's so difficult to join them. We hosted most of our tailgates in the visitor lot over at the NW corner of Spicer and Carroll.

[K92]

So, prospective tailgater, you want to get in on the action? How do you obtain a pass for a "tailgating lot"?

Clear as mud, right? According to the chart:

$500 donation should lock you in for Lot 8.

$1000 donation should lock you in for Lot 10 or Lot 8.

If you donate between $2500 & $14999 you are all in the same boat. You could be in Lot 9 or maybe in Lot 10.

Don't even think about Lot 6 unless you give $15000. Of course, they could put you in Lot 9 or 10 as well.

(See that little *)

When we re-upped season tickets last year a Lot 9 pass was part of the deal for Priority Reserved Seating. My question at that time was "what if a miracle happened and they sold out the entire P.R. section?" There aren't that many Lot 9 spaces. Not to mention one hell of a perk. $500 worth of seats gets you a $2500 parking pass!

I don't know what people are donating to the Z-Fund. That is a private matter, but I have a sneaking suspicion a majority of the people in Lot 9 are below the $2500 threshold. I know for a fact that the Marshall fans and the Pabst Blue Ribbon RV gave less than that amount.

Every year, people have been told they have Lot 9 passes when they purchased their season tickets and when they receive their package they have passes for another lot, so you have to call UA and try to get it worked out. There were some folks that had this happen to them this year who were told Lot 9 was sold out when they called to complain, which I am fairly certain was not true.

Bottom line is that nobody knows if they are going to get the lot they want until they receive their package a week before the first game and then be prepared to fight for what you want. This kind of set up doesn't exactly encourage tailgating. It's a crapshoot. The way it is set up now, anyone can be displaced by a person who wants to donate more money. The deep pocket folks haven't exactly been lining up at the ticket office, but if they did your tailgate plans could be altered at the 11th hour and your tailgating friends could be scattered.

UA needs to have a plan for tailgating. UA needs to utilize their plan to actively promote and encourage a vibrant tailgating community and culture. Unfortunately, there is no plan and the small number of tailgaters are in several lots presently. If someone appointed me Tailgating Czar, that would be my first order of business. Where do you want your tailgaters? I would think that the most logical lot that the U would want fill with tailgaters would not be Lot 9 but Lot 10. If we are going to continue the Roo Walk, Lot 10 needs to be full to greet the team. It is totally unrealistic to think that people spread all over campus are going leave their spots to hoof it over for the Roo Walk. The next reason Lot 10 should be the tailgating lot is because it is a nicer paved lot. It also has a green area on the east side of the IPF that is flat and suitable for tables, chairs and canopies as opposed to scoreboard hill in Lot 9. The third reason Lot 10 should be the tailgate lot is because the IPF is a windbreak. This should be reason enough to move for anyone who was in Lot 9 for the Eastern Michigan hail blizzard this year. That almost ruined the rest of my day.

Since UA had no plan for tailgating to begin with, people have gotten used to their spots and are not going to want to move now. Lot 9ers are not going to get their heads together and request Lot 10 passes instead because we are creatures of habit and Lot 9 is where we dwell. The U should boot all the tailgaters out of Lot 9. Make that the lot for donors that want to show up right before game time and park close. All tailgating should be done in Lot 10 until it is at capacity, then expand it over into Lot 8 if the community ever got that big.

Now, implementing this plan now will be painful and will really frost a lot of people, especially at first. Some may even boycott and not make the move. I do believe this would be the best thing for the tailgating situation and in time everyone would probably be happy in Lot 10.

My fellow Lot 9ers: Please do not send me hate mail.

Rant over.

[Dr Z]

Anyone ever tailgate for a Chargers game? One of the cooler NFL tailgating venues IMO. You almost don't want to walk into the game. I say we set up something similar at the Rubber Bowl next year during the games.

[Dave in Green]

... UA needs to have a plan for tailgating. ...

Your whole post was really good. The statement above really boils it down to the fundamental. UA needs to consider tailgaters as a separate group from all other customers with special wants and needs. They need to understand those wants and needs and come up with a well-thought-out plan for tailgaters. The sensible thing is to have all tailgaters in one lot that is good for tailgating. Part of the season ticketing process should be to identify tailgaters so that their special parking needs can be considered. I think the concept of having all tailgaters in a highly visible lot not far from the stadium makes a lot of sense because it helps create more of a game day atmosphere. Lot #9 is perfect for that because everyone passing by on Exchange gets to see all the interest in Zips football building up hours before kickoff. There may be other lots that would work. But they shouldn't be too far out of the way and out of sight. Charge a reasonable premium for tailgate parking and never, ever allow visiting fans to move in and bump tailgaters out of their regular spots.

[gozips19]

If anyone from UA is reading this......PLEASE PICK A LOT for all tailgaters. Lot 9, lot 10, I really don't care! I'll go to that lot if it means I'll be tailgating with as many Akron fans as possible. The only reason I want into lot 9 each year is because that's the lot with the most and imho the most die hard tailgaters.

Figure it out please

[Hilltopper]

It's time to bring this topic back to the top. The administration has been working on a major overhaul of the tailgating setup for next season. They have read your comments here on Zn.o and really appreciate the input. Some of the changes that could happen are the following;

Making lot 9 the official tailgating lot.

Having the ability to save spaces for your tailgating buddies when you arrive on game day.

Overnight parking for RV's.

There is going to be a much better marketing program to try and attract the 90,000 casual Zips fans who reside in NEO. Part of this plan is showcasing the fun that the diehard fans are having and trying to convert them to becoming more than a casual fan. Lots of changes are coming. Comments?

[K92]

I am looking to get an RV for 2015. I saw a really nice setup at the Ball State game and I want to get something similar.

[gozips19]

100 likes for lot 9 becoming the official tailgating lot. Make sure they don't price people out. The idea is to have that lot have an amazing atmosphere.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Lot 9 was already the tailgating spot.

You could already save spots for your buddy without any problem.

When people that don't drink spearhead policies on tailgating, it ends poorly. UA has shown me over the past 5 years that they have no clue regarding tailgating and what constitutes a "college game day environment." This crew succeeded in making a brand new, 65 million dollar stadium a worse place than the Rubber Bowl.

I'll keep doing what I've done for years. Hope the new "organized fun" works out great for everyone. Lot 9 will be rockin' on November Tuesday nights for sure.

[K92]

Make it easy to understand just exactly what it takes to get into lot 9.

Make sure your ticket reps don't mislead people by promising a lot 9 pass when it's not their call.

Mail out parking passes a lot earlier.

Make it affordable enough for anyone who has an interest in pregame festivities to get in. We will get them hooked. Raise the price on them later. They'll pay.

[zippy5]

Saving spots? Never actually have seen that anywhere. Seems like it would cause a lot of problems actually

[Captain Kangaroo]

Saving spots? Never actually have seen that anywhere. Seems like it would cause a lot of problems actually

It isn't actually a problem.

Tell you what...I'll save 30 of them for you each Tuesday night in November.

[zippy5]

Haha point taken. I've never been in lot 9,I guess it's only a problem if it fills up.

[Grub]

I think they should take the bands that are hired to play at Zipsfest and move them to Lot 9. Heck, I'm ok with moving the entire Zipsfest down to Lot 9. (Or the concrete pad outside the ticket office) Line the cheerleaders and marching band up on the street in-between the stadium and the track. Have the player's bus pull up Exchange Street and move the Roo Walk. I think a lot more fans would leave the tailgate for a few minutes to enjoy this event. I also think that the bands would add a lot of energy to the tailgate.

[johnnyzip84]

When you're selected as tailgater of the game, you should be recognized on the scoreboard!

Continue to bring the cheerleaders through Lot 9. That has been a positive experience all around. Maybe the band can come through as well?

Eliminate the frequent miscommunications between the Z-Fund and IMG. In my opinion, that is where all the trouble starts with fans receiving the wrong parking passes.