East side concessions

[AppStateNews]

Like what?

I've suggested this before: Back in the late 80's/early 90's there were long wooden tables full of small (16 oz, I believe) Souvenir cups with Ice (and they may have already been filled with Coke/Sprite, etc). As you walked in under the West Concourse, you veered to the right, picked up a cup, paid in Cash and went to your seat.

There's no reason these stations can't be set up under each concourse, cash only (yes, it's old school) with Coke/Diet Coke and water bottles. No one would ever stand in line longer than 5 minutes.

Also, Drink Vendors in the stands (although I hate the distraction) could be a possible solution.

For the record, my 10-year-old wanted Pizza yesterday. So, we headed down from the East Grandstands, saw the Stephen Jones TD. Hit the bathrooms under the East Side (concession lines were minimal at that time), walked over to the Hungry Howie's Food Truck, Stood in line during the band performance, grabbed a $10 Pepperoni Pizza and were back in our seats comfortably before the second half kick.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s a typical crowd was in the neighborhood of 12-15k. There's really not room in the concourses for tables like that now with the attendance double that.

People also carried cash.

They need to again because those that don't are part of the problem.

Wait... so you are saying tapping a card on a scanner, waiting 3 seconds to confirm and verify is longer than paying in cash and waiting for the change? A card transaction is infinitely quicker than a cash transaction -- unless the proposal is zero change back.

You can literally order, tap your card on the reader (no need for swipes any more), and walk away with product in hand in under 20 seconds if the process was set up right. People not carrying cash aren't the problem. The problem is the lack of employees and the use of antiquated technology.

[AppinVA]

Lines would move quicker if the workers didn't have to disappoint people by telling them "We have Pepsi products".

So, if we go back to Coke products the lines die down. Makes sense.

[WASU 93]

I've suggested this before: Back in the late 80's/early 90's there were long wooden tables full of small (16 oz, I believe) Souvenir cups with Ice (and they may have already been filled with Coke/Sprite, etc). As you walked in under the West Concourse, you veered to the right, picked up a cup, paid in Cash and went to your seat.

There's no reason these stations can't be set up under each concourse, cash only (yes, it's old school) with Coke/Diet Coke and water bottles. No one would ever stand in line longer than 5 minutes.

Also, Drink Vendors in the stands (although I hate the distraction) could be a possible solution.

For the record, my 10-year-old wanted Pizza yesterday. So, we headed down from the East Grandstands, saw the Stephen Jones TD. Hit the bathrooms under the East Side (concession lines were minimal at that time), walked over to the Hungry Howie's Food Truck, Stood in line during the band performance, grabbed a $10 Pepperoni Pizza and were back in our seats comfortably before the second half kick.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s a typical crowd was in the neighborhood of 12-15k. There's really not room in the concourses for tables like that now with the attendance double that.

People also carried cash.

They need to again because those that don't are part of the problem.

Wait... so you are saying tapping a card on a scanner, waiting 3 seconds to confirm and verify is longer than paying in cash and waiting for the change? A card transaction is infinitely quicker than a cash transaction -- unless the proposal is zero change back.

You can literally order, tap your card on the reader (no need for swipes any more), and walk away with product in hand in under 20 seconds if the process was set up right. People not carrying cash aren't the problem. The problem is the lack of employees and the use of antiquated technology.

If it is tapped, you are correct. However, I still see a ton of chip cards and credit card swipes in today's transactions. If technology is an option (don't know budgets or cost), there is a snack counter in the E Concourse in the CLT airport where you sit the items you want to purchase in an area, their image is scanned (not barcodes like a grocery store) and you run your card with no employee interaction. Even a self-scan area with one worker supervising three or four checkouts (like a grocery store) would be an option for simple items. (drinks/peanuts/chips/candy)

There are plenty of ways to fix this, it just has to be a priority. Again, if our goal is to be the best 30,000 Seat Stadium in the country, we have to have the best (or even adequate) service for the casual fan. They should tell their friends how good the experience is and want to come back. Long lines and quarter-plus waits for simple concessions are not in line with our goal.

[HkyMtneer]

What-to theT-to the Efff?!?!?!
The amount of revenue lost each game day and the continuous cluster eff that is the east concourse in general due to long waiting lines is becoming comical.
Fix it….pretty please!

I haven’t bought any concessions in a couple of years now. I don’t look forward to driving up for games only to miss over a quarter of the action just to get a bag of peanuts and a diet Pepsi.

This week, for the first time , I smuggled a bottle of water in because at the Coastal game I really needed some H2O but couldn’t get any without missing serious game time. DG really needs to get a handle on this. The new facilities and our big crowds are great but hiding under the surface is a serious problem that is badly hurting our game day experience.

You don't need to snuggle it in. They allow one bottle of water per person. They made that announcement after the first game as a way to alleviate the issues.

Good to know. Now I can get a bottle of water in legit, leaving me room to smuggle in some peanuts.

I've occasionally brought in a sealed bottle water for a solid 15 years now without ever an issue. I usually see multiple people doing it while waiting in the bag check line and never have had to get rid of it. The only thing I have ever heard is that it can't be "massive" (I bring a 20 or 24 oz bottle) and it has to be regular "clear" water and factory-sealed.

[HkyMtneer]

So you want to pay $5 for M&Ms?

I'm pretty sure they're $5 now. All candy was $5 for the Luke Combs concert and I haven't tried to buy candy this football season...but was told at the Combs concert that the prices on the boards would be the prices for football, per the new catering company took over concession operations this season.

[bigdaddyg]

The inherent problem that we can’t avoid is that we only have one level behind the stands to accommodate restrooms and concessions. People are flowing into that area on both sides from the top and bottom sections. You also get a lot of students who hang there for long periods of time, many of which see the game as a drunk, social time. It only takes about 500-1,000 bodies (which is only .5/1% of the attendance to jam it up. I would think that a large percentage of the people at any game generally only want a water, soda or maybe a beer. People attending a 3:30 game have already filled up on tailgate food. Sure a relatively small number will want pizza, hot dogs, etc but most probably just want beverages. So if there were a few more beverage stations that would probably alleviate some traffic. It’s difficult enough to just maneuver around people simply to get to the bathroom or porta potties (which were nice to have).

[AppSt94]

So you want to pay $5 for M&Ms?

I'm pretty sure they're $5 now. All candy was $5 for the Luke Combs concert and I haven't tried to buy candy this football season...but was told at the Combs concert that the prices on the boards would be the prices for football, per the new catering company took over concession operations this season.

WOW! Had no idea. That’s insane. I’m glad I tailgate.

[mike87]

Team must be playing well. 3 pages of complaining about snacks.

[BeauFoster]

Team must be playing well. 3 pages of complaining about snacks.

Remember when cups and ice was our biggest issue? BigC remembers

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

Should build a food hall at the end of East stands and let private vendors rent booths to run concessions. Take out concessions under East stands and put more bathrooms in. You get constant vendor revenue and you don’t have to manage supply. You also take the fans out of the concourse and shorten bathroom lines. Could also put a rooftop lounge on top with access from 2nd level and make it for Yosef Club members only. That may drive up donations.

[appgrad95&97]

Totally agree with all these sentiments. Things like this have gone on long enough! The trend has been in relation to changes and progression only concerned with Big changes and Big money correlating with Big debt.

No attention to volume business and small quality. The lost revenue really does add up as well as the impact it has on returning fans and guest. The PTB need to learn to understand the smaller back burner issues with attention to detail. These things can have simple solutions/ easy fixes. The price gouging is irrelevant when no one is tempted to make a purchase due to missing the event they are there for in the first place. That's why people say I can watch from home and enjoy the game. This is why the stands look empty for periods of time during the game. Professional sports have venders selling in the stands to offset this as well as more access per capacity. If you go to the game make preparations and enjoy the game. Maybe someday they will realize the lost revenue and do something about it. If we ever add more seats they need to consider more concessions, more bathrooms, walk path design and sensible pricing first and foremost.

Like what?

I've suggested this before: Back in the late 80's/early 90's there were long wooden tables full of small (16 oz, I believe) Souvenir cups with Ice (and they may have already been filled with Coke/Sprite, etc). As you walked in under the West Concourse, you veered to the right, picked up a cup, paid in Cash and went to your seat.

There's no reason these stations can't be set up under each concourse, cash only (yes, it's old school) with Coke/Diet Coke and water bottles. No one would ever stand in line longer than 5 minutes.

Also, Drink Vendors in the stands (although I hate the distraction) could be a possible solution.

For the record, my 10-year-old wanted Pizza yesterday. So, we headed down from the East Grandstands, saw the Stephen Jones TD. Hit the bathrooms under the East Side (concession lines were minimal at that time), walked over to the Hungry Howie's Food Truck, Stood in line during the band performance, grabbed a $10 Pepperoni Pizza and were back in our seats comfortably before the second half kick.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s a typical crowd was in the neighborhood of 12-15k. There's really not room in the concourses for tables like that now with the attendance double that.

Actually during the late 80s and early 90s we were regularly getting around 20,000 per game and at times closer to 25,000. Concessions were run much better. For some reason it takes a long time to serve each customer even without having to count change. Should not take more than 60 seconds to fill any order with the limited options available.

According to the media guides the average attendance was:

15,666 (1986)
13,313 (1987)
15,494 (1988)
12,775 (1989)
17,091 (1990)
15,562 (1991)
18,638 (1992)
13,446 (1993)

[YesAppCan]

Might as well throw my 2 cents in. Because the Athletic Center was not thought out prior to building- wasn't put back far enough to allow for wider concourse or expanded west side seating, we are locked in there. To me the solution lies in the south end zone. Hill would be eliminated, seating added straight across, closer to field which would allow for flat area for a terrace or food pavilion. Need to at least explore possibility of going back into mountain on south end-- that would probably be costly however.

[YesAppCan]

As a side note Doug Gillin himself was working at a concession stand on west side.

[mikeyosef]

Yep, my wife went middle of 2nd qtr to get a drink and popcorn, came back empty handed due to the lines being so long. I once always had peanuts and a drink at the game for starters, now I spend $0.

On a good note, I did see the portajohns had been added for this game

I did the same; walked out to get a drink, saw the cluster f#*k at concessions and turned right around. The problem as has been noted by others is, the concession and bathroom area was not designed and has not been updated to accommodate 30K+ crowds. Add to that, there are less concession stands open and you have a major problem. The biggest part of it, imo, are the bathrooms, the worst in college football; a designed bottleneck. You can pass on drink or snack but when you gotta go, you gotta go. For the life of me, I don't understand the need for all the stalls with sit down toilets in the men's room. I get it, if you need to take a dump you need a stall but I've been going to App State games for 40+ years and have yet use our bathrooms for anything other than liquid deposits. Michigan had it right with their men's rooms; a continuous trough running around the walls with few stalls....the most efficient bathrooms I've ever seen. Maybe they consider redesigning our bathrooms in the off season. I greatly appreciate the portajohns out on the concourse; so thank you Doug Gillin for recognizing a problem and addressing in some way for the short term. Some more permanent solutions need to be studied and implemented or these issues my hurt attendance; it already is costing significant lost revenue.

[TractorApp]

So you want to pay $5 for M&Ms?

Yes. Get the big bag and sell for $5. I'm telling ya, the key to fixing this is to make the process simple. If that is too much for anyone to pay, they don't have to buy them. Most people sure as heck are not waiting in hour long lines to buy them now.

And I hate to say this, but no ice, no cups, just bottles of water or soda. We can't handle cups with ice with our current set up.

[TractorApp]

As a side note Doug Gillin himself was working at a concession stand on west side.

Well that says a lot about the man. He knows he has a problem, and he is choosing to be a leader, not just the boss. A leader gets his hands dirty and works in the trenches to fix the problem. Very impressed. Thank you for sharing this info with us.

[AppSt94]

So you want to pay $5 for M&Ms?

Yes. Get the big bag and sell for $5. I'm telling ya, the key to fixing this is to make the process simple. If that is too much for anyone to pay, they don't have to buy them. Most people sure as heck are not waiting in hour long lines to buy them now.

And I hate to say this, but no ice, no cups, just bottles of water or soda. We can't handle cups with ice with our current set up.

I normally sit in the NEZ, but gave up my seat last game and sat on the East side. I didn’t venture up to get anything but I did see the line issue. The food in the NEZ is insanely expensive but I don’t have to wait.

[mike87]

So you want to pay $5 for M&Ms?

Yes. Get the big bag and sell for $5. I'm telling ya, the key to fixing this is to make the process simple. If that is too much for anyone to pay, they don't have to buy them. Most people sure as heck are not waiting in hour long lines to buy them now.

And I hate to say this, but no ice, no cups, just bottles of water or soda. We can't handle cups with ice with our current set up.

Whoa there fella, let's not get all crazy here

[Stonewall]

DG has expanded his resume to include ,"Pop Corn Vendor" .It's true , plain and simple, we can't find enough people willing to work

[BambooRdApp]

So you want to pay $5 for M&Ms?

Yes. Get the big bag and sell for $5. I'm telling ya, the key to fixing this is to make the process simple. If that is too much for anyone to pay, they don't have to buy them. Most people sure as heck are not waiting in hour long lines to buy them now.

And I hate to say this, but no ice, no cups, just bottles of water or soda. We can't handle cups with ice with our current set up.

I normally sit in the NEZ, but gave up my seat last game and sat on the East side. I didn’t venture up to get anything but I did see the line issue. The food in the NEZ is insanely expensive but I don’t have to wait.

We elected to try the NEZ food for CCU after choosing to eat in town before Marshall game. I believe the cheese steaks we had were like $137.91...lol not that bad...but we have decided to eat a pre-game meal going forward.