Stadium Thoughts
Its too hot in Texas to not have shade
The weather will be nice this August weekend, but. it usually isn’t. Texas is too hot for most people, and even if being tough and sticking through the heat is still a badge of honor, for the people who have more vulnerable persons in tow it makes sense to get int the shade. I have taken tiny children to games in the heat, in the cold, and everything in between. My wife has preferred the more comfortable, more safe environs than the more hellish elements. The fact is that people are not as used to being uncomfortable as they once were.
When Fouts was built in 1952, the nation had fought in a war. Air conditioning was — to this point — a luxury that was found in upscale homes or in businesses. I mean, for a while the primary appeal of movie theaters was the cool air.
It is time we rebuilt the stadium for the modern citizen. Make it smaller if you have to. Make it more comfortable so you can compete with the gigantic sofas and incredible televisions on offer.
The choice we have now is literally between A) sit on an aluminum bleacher (with no back) or B) sit in your own home and watch in cool luxury.
The value proposition is “the live experience” — the je ne sais quoi of the crowd roar, the collective feelings and all that — but that value has to be worth the squeeze. The collective experience of melting in the heat as you huddle in the shade of the concourse is not something that you sign up for excitedly.
So what is the solution? Well as the saying goes, the best time to have built a stadium with a canopy/or a roof was 10 years ago, and the next best time is now. Of all the donations requested throughout the years, the one I think I can best rationalize is the stadium fund. I will be using that, my family will be using that, I will spend time there. I want it to be enjoyable for me and so therefore I don’t mind throwing a little cash at a stadium improvement fund. Hint hint at anyone in charge of these things.
No, People Just Need To Get Over It
I mean, sure you can simply say “just do it” but the people aren’t children and the trend across the nation is of a dwindling attendance for non-SEC games. Phones and the superior technology in the entertainment industry has made the choice to stay home a much more delightful one. Movies, live shows, and the like have moved toward Premium Experiences to differentiate themselves from the old value proposition. Basically saying “You know what? This is better than your home set up, and you won’t forget it. So fork over $100 (or whatever)”
Any barrier to making a sale is a filter. Saying “come at 11am, through traffic” is two filters that make it hard to get everyone. There aren’t 50K people that want to come to UNT games every week. If we are lucky, it is about 25K. But some of those people have prior commitments — kid’s games, soccer, etc. If they are dedicated (another filter) they will have tried to organize their lives around this event. An 11am game makes it harder. I once flew into town, saw the game, drank a little, and flew back home in one Saturday. An 11am game makes it tougher to do that. At least for me.
At 2:30 there is more heat. You filter out kids, olds, and those who prefer comfort. Girlfriends, wives, people who just like to be seen aren’t going to power through much of anything if they don’t have to. Again, this is fine if you have 100K people waiting to get in. So its a little hot? Okay, you, young kid don’t come. This other guy is happy to pay to fill the seat. No problem. When the alternative is an empty seat, it damages the whole enterprise.
No, They Just Need To Win
Yes, winning fills seats. It brings casuals, it turns them into die-hards. Still, you have to acknowledge that putting a canopy over the seating is easier than investing $20 MM on the roster per year. Yeah? One sort of pays for itself, as the fans stay longer and come more often and the other is heavily dependent on circumstance.
Make it better, and we’ll have one less excuse for the fans who need it perfect to come to games.
Okay, What Do You Want?
A canopy. Something like the Bayarena (difficult), or Houston’s soccer stadium (do-able), or Energizer Park in STL (do-able, maybe).
If we want to get rid of the Wing and enhance the stadium/field-house area anyway, I think we can go with a little more sun protection. You can probably enhance the lighting as it is a pseudo-roof. You don’t need AC or anything as it will simply be cooler by being covered. You can still be out-doors without having to be FULLY outdoors (protected from the sun). Also, when it rains, if it rains, you get a little protection. It can make all the difference. Instead of sitting on wet, aluminum bleachers, you can sit on dry, aluminum bleachers.
The “good” seats are shaded by the boxes, but the wing, the student section, and the visitor section aren’t.
The stadium was built with the idea that the games would be played at night, when it’s cooler, or later in the season when the weather is cooler but not so cold. The truth is that I’ve endured some of the more awful weather-experiences at Mean Green/Apogee/Datcu. The 2013 UTSA game (frozen) and a couple of the 11am games where the sun seemed to have taken up residence in Denton.
I’ve been to scores of games over the years and now with having put out four children into this world, I will quote my wife: “I want shade, clean restrooms, and good food.”
Make it happen, y’all.
