A few Post Game Observations from the East Side

[WASU 93]

1. We walked to the top of the hill to the single gate entrance on the East Side (near the Quinn Center/old Yosef Hospitality). There was no line (25 minutes before kickoff) and we walked right in to the top of the East Stands.
2. The use of the Quinn Center for the visiting locker room seemed to work really well (other than the walk up the hill for the visiting team). When the ETSU player was ejected, security in the stadium and managing the crossing at Stadium Drive where in place and handled everything well. ETSU fans had access to their players as they walked to the locker room, but there was security from stadium staff and an officer on duty for those just in case moments.
3. As soon as the games are over at Kidd-Brewer, the officials quickly move to the End Zone corner near the ticket office and board a van (it was a White ASU van last year), where they a typically quickly whisked up hill on Stadium Drive behind the East Grandstand and away from the stadium.
Yesterday, because Stadium Drive was blocked for at least 10 minutes after the game ended to allow the ETSU players and staff to exit the field. They were stuck in traffic in a van on Stadium Drive. That's probably one wrinkle that needs to be worked out by Doug Gillin and staff. Perhaps a motorcycle police escort, just to get the refs past the new "walkway" is in order.
4. An improvement that I saw from the new coaching staff. In previous years, we were notorious for getting the Defensive call onto the field late. Miami singed us in the first quarter because our defense was looking at the sideline while they were snapping the ball. Yesterday, I did not observe one instance of this. Our D was lined up and ready to go for every snap.
5. Likewise, it was great to see Tempo from our offense. Often, as soon as we gained a first down, were were getting set and snapping the ball within 5-8 seconds. Obviously, ZT's misfires affected the ability to do this consistently (we didn't have the offensive rhythm that we needed) and break a big gain. But, we'll work that out and have several 2 minute scoring drives this season, like we used to see with Armanti at the helm.
6. Concessions on the East Side were a big issue during the game with Soft Drink Lines longer than the Beer Lines and we ran out of ice (again). I don't know why we can't get a first game right from a Game Operations standpoint. When the race weekends were really big around Charlotte Motor Speedway, the local convenience stores would have an ice truck parked on site to hold extra ice. Can we not strike an agreement/sponsorship with a local ice vendor and never run out of ice again? In the past, we have run out of Hot Dogs (first half Miami), Hot Chocolate, etc. We have 5 more homes games this year (and hopefully six) . Why not start with a two game supply of everything for the first game of the year? Charlotte Motor Speedway used to bring in Cell Phone trailers which provided extra capacity, and we could certainly beef-up the wifi.
Apparently, we also do not have custodial staff in place to clean/maintain the bathrooms during the game.
These (ice, food, wi-fi, length of concession lines, cleanliness of bathrooms) are the types of things that hurt growing the fan base and cause the casual fan to leave at halftime.
I attended the Charlotte game Thursday night and although their crowd was smaller (a "sellout" of 16K in a mostly full stadium), they had all of this managed well. They even offered free Soft Drink refills on their $5.50 souvenir cup)

I love the experience at the Rock! I'd just like to see a little bit of work put into the details so that the In-Stadium Experience is in cue with the quality of our program and the great Game Day Experience that we offer from the beginning of the Tailgate until the final horn.

[moonshine]

“4. An improvement that I saw from the new coaching staff. In previous years, we were notorious for getting the Defensive call onto the field late. Miami singed us in the first quarter because our defense was looking at the sideline while they were snapping the ball. Yesterday, I did not observe one instance of this. Our D was lined up and ready to go for every snap.”

Looks like GS was dealing with this issue against LSU. I guess Sloan hasn’t learned from the past.

[AppSt91]

Completely agree on the East side concessions. Wait lines were ridiculous. Went to get drinks just after first TD with about 3 minutes left in 1st quarter. Got back to seats with 7 minutes left before half. Missed a full 10 minutes of game time plus the quarter break. There simply aren't enough points of sale for normal concessions.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

All very reasonable thoughts it seems to me.

I am not sure how much space we have for storage but some of this can be handled better such as ice. Using Quinn for a staging area could be done. That place is big enough to pack away some extra supplies such as ice, drinks, food. Get a truck or two in at 9 AM Saturday morning. Unload it and get the truck out of the way in plenty of time before the parking is needed. A small golf cart could be used to move bags of ice and other items from Quinn to the Stadium. Sell and ad on the golf cart even. I assume Quinn is shut down Friday evenings before games anyway so this in not going to get in the way of students anymore than it is anyway.

[ukappfan]

How were the beer lines? And as for ice, I used to work concessions at Elon games in high school and they had a few ice freezers spread throughout the back of the concourse locked with a key. Never ran out of ice.

[sixtoes9134]

The regular East side gates were also fine 25 minutes before game time and the beer lines were not bad. All in all, given everything going on around the stadium and with addition of beer, I thought the operations were very, very smooth.

[BUTCH1991]

Beer line was good. I went there to get water, it was quicker than the concessions line.

[T-Dog]

On the West Side, I saw outside the big concession stands that they had like 20-25 bags of ice outside of the door. So they had ice.

[97APP]

I was in line at the beginning of the 3rd qtr when extra ice arrived on the east side. So it appeared to be more of a delivery timing issue that hopefully will be corrected by next week. The lines were ridiculous in the 1st half - I went towards the end of the 2nd qtr to get water and ice and simply turned around and returned to my seat.

[t4pizza]

When I was in school in 88-93, I worked the concessions for the wrestling team. It was one of the many things the team did to earn money for the program. We sold the drinks and had guys marching the stands selling them. We always moved the lines fast and got everyone in and out quickly. Admittedly, it was just the drink line, and I can't even remember if we sold bottled water but I doubt it back then, but we always had enough cups, ice and drinks for whatever crowd was on hand. There is no reason that 30 years later we can't provide that same level of service. It really is just unacceptable for a program like ours, we aren't division III.

[T-Dog]

There were vending machines in the stadium with water and soft drinks for $4 a pop. They had card readers but they weren't working and could only take cash.

If you have cash, there's shorter concession lines at smaller POS locations on the hill and on the ends of the stands.

[AppinVA]

There were vending machines in the stadium with water and soft drinks for $4 a pop. They had card readers but they weren't working and could only take cash.

If you have cash, there's shorter concession lines at smaller POS locations on the hill and on the ends of the stands.

I rarely carry cash. I always carry cash in KBS.

[t4pizza]

Cash is king and I always have it on me, but I usually use a card for the points.

[Mjohn1988]

Crazy, all off season all we wanted was some football to talk about and now that we have it all we can talk about is everything but the actual game.

[WASU 93]

There were vending machines in the stadium with water and soft drinks for $4 a pop. They had card readers but they weren't working and could only take cash.

If you have cash, there's shorter concession lines at smaller POS locations on the hill and on the ends of the stands.

Part of my point is that we get a lot of "casual fans" on the East Side. Many made it to half time and either went under the stands or left. When some on here talk about growing the fan base (which i think is important), we need to give these "guests" a better than expected experience. We want them to come back (even if it's only for one game every year or two). My fear is that they are talking about the heat, lack of drinks/ice and long concession lines vs. the App. State Football Brand.

The same thing with our visiting teams. Hopefully, they enjoy their stadium experience (minus a victory) as much as we diehards do. That way any time their team is in Boone, it's a go to game.

As t4pizza mentioned, we had it down in the 80's. Enter the stadium on the West Side. Get in the line to the right and grab a Souvenir Cup with Ice (sponsored by Hardee's) and a drink and keep on walking to your seat.

[NoLongerLurking]

1. We walked to the top of the hill to the single gate entrance on the East Side (near the Quinn Center/old Yosef Hospitality). There was no line (25 minutes before kickoff) and we walked right in to the top of the East Stands.
2. The use of the Quinn Center for the visiting locker room seemed to work really well (other than the walk up the hill for the visiting team). When the ETSU player was ejected, security in the stadium and managing the crossing at Stadium Drive where in place and handled everything well. ETSU fans had access to their players as they walked to the locker room, but there was security from stadium staff and an officer on duty for those just in case moments.
3. As soon as the games are over at Kidd-Brewer, the officials quickly move to the End Zone corner near the ticket office and board a van (it was a White ASU van last year), where they a typically quickly whisked up hill on Stadium Drive behind the East Grandstand and away from the stadium.
Yesterday, because Stadium Drive was blocked for at least 10 minutes after the game ended to allow the ETSU players and staff to exit the field. They were stuck in traffic in a van on Stadium Drive. That's probably one wrinkle that needs to be worked out by Doug Gillin and staff. Perhaps a motorcycle police escort, just to get the refs past the new "walkway" is in order.
4. An improvement that I saw from the new coaching staff. In previous years, we were notorious for getting the Defensive call onto the field late. Miami singed us in the first quarter because our defense was looking at the sideline while they were snapping the ball. Yesterday, I did not observe one instance of this. Our D was lined up and ready to go for every snap.
5. Likewise, it was great to see Tempo from our offense. Often, as soon as we gained a first down, were were getting set and snapping the ball within 5-8 seconds. Obviously, ZT's misfires affected the ability to do this consistently (we didn't have the offensive rhythm that we needed) and break a big gain. But, we'll work that out and have several 2 minute scoring drives this season, like we used to see with Armanti at the helm.
6. Concessions on the East Side were a big issue during the game with Soft Drink Lines longer than the Beer Lines and we ran out of ice (again). I don't know why we can't get a first game right from a Game Operations standpoint. When the race weekends were really big around Charlotte Motor Speedway, the local convenience stores would have an ice truck parked on site to hold extra ice. Can we not strike an agreement/sponsorship with a local ice vendor and never run out of ice again? In the past, we have run out of Hot Dogs (first half Miami), Hot Chocolate, etc. We have 5 more homes games this year (and hopefully six) . Why not start with a two game supply of everything for the first game of the year? Charlotte Motor Speedway used to bring in Cell Phone trailers which provided extra capacity, and we could certainly beef-up the wifi.
Apparently, we also do not have custodial staff in place to clean/maintain the bathrooms during the game.
These (ice, food, wi-fi, length of concession lines, cleanliness of bathrooms) are the types of things that hurt growing the fan base and cause the casual fan to leave at halftime.
I attended the Charlotte game Thursday night and although their crowd was smaller (a "sellout" of 16K in a mostly full stadium), they had all of this managed well. They even offered free Soft Drink refills on their $5.50 souvenir cup)

I love the experience at the Rock! I'd just like to see a little bit of work put into the details so that the In-Stadium Experience is in cue with the quality of our program and the great Game Day Experience that we offer from the beginning of the Tailgate until the final horn.

haha... geez. I don't want a fanbase that relies on most of that nonsense.

[AppSt12]

Crazy, all off season all we wanted was some football to talk about and now that we have it all we can talk about is everything but the actual game.

There should be another section for this stuff on yosefs cabin. Its embarrassing to see how many people care so much about food. I dont judge people who eat, I personally would never eat at a game...we spend hours tailgating and dinner after...you have to be eating and drinking all day? Nevertheless, if you must just understand you will miss part of the game because you love the food so much.

Not noteworthy football talk.

[appstate77]

Football talk: No Turnovers.

[Mjohn1988]

Crazy, all off season all we wanted was some football to talk about and now that we have it all we can talk about is everything but the actual game.

There should be another section for this stuff on yosefs cabin. Its embarrassing to see how many people care so much about food. I dont judge people who eat, I personally would never eat at a game...we spend hours tailgating and dinner after...you have to be eating and drinking all day? Nevertheless, if you must just understand you will miss part of the game because you love the food so much.

Not noteworthy football talk.

I don’t have a problem talking about all the other stuff, I just figured the main conversation would be about the game

[Appster99]

its no secret that the current concessions struggle to keep up, especially on really hot days. DG said it, come early and stay late. Grab your goodies on the way in while the lines are manageable. Will your beverages stay cold the entire time? No. But a minimum amount of planning will keep you from dying of starvation or dehydration.