Mississippi State University has found a temporary solution to meeting the demand for premium seats at
Davis Wade Stadium.
The SEC school, in tandem with The Colonnade Group, which is the company that sells suites and club seats for MSU football games, has developed the new Scoreboard Club terrace cabanas that sit on the patio deck in the upper level of the stadium’s north end zone.
The eight cabanas sold out in two days after they were first marketed to those on a waiting list for premium seats, said MSU Athletic Director Scott Stricklin.
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The eight new cabanas at Davis Wade Stadium sold out in two days.
Photo by: MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
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The cost is $18,000 for the season. A cabana comes with 12 passes for each of the Bulldogs’ six home games, starting Sept. 3 against South Alabama.
The $1,500 per person covers the cost of a $340 season ticket and a $1,160 donation to the Bulldog Club, the school’s development program. Those individuals get access to the Scoreboard Club lounge next to the cabanas, Stricklin said.
Mississippi State invested $160,000 to build the cabanas and outift them with eight lounge chairs, two tables, counter space, 42-inch televisions and plantation shutter walls in the back of each unit for a higher-end finish. Food and beverage is supplied by Southern Foodservice Management, the school’s premium dining provider, and costs extra. Cabana users can grab something to eat inside the club or have food and drink delivered to their spaces, Stricklin said.
There is no view of the field from the cabanas, but patrons can watch the game from a drink rail set up 15 feet in front of the structures, said Robbie Robertson, The Colonnade Group’s president and CEO. The cabanas were set back from the field to create a social gathering space, Robertson said.
“They knew what they wanted,” he said. “The challenge was to make it a viable product. We work with the PGA [Tour] as its production company for 270 events and we relied on that model to put it together and fulfill the request in quality fashion.”
It’s an inexpensive way to create a premium-seat product and maximize space without a construction project, Stricklin said. MSU could potentially build permanent suites in the north end, but to this point, no decision has been made, he said.
“We see these cabanas being here for a while,” Stricklin said. “It’s harder for us to sell a half-price season ticket in the upper deck than it is to sell a high-end premium product.”
> POKÉMON UNPLUGGED: The “Pokémon Go” craze has spread to arenas and stadiums as game players chase and capture virtual characters inside the walls of those facilities at sporting events.
Some teams, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars, have officially embraced the game. Last month, the NFL team held a free event called Pokémon Safari that drew a crowd of 15,000 to
EverBank Field.
Darlington (S.C.) Raceway opened its doors a few days later for a similar event.
Others, though, have found it to be a nuisance. In Toronto, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment officials recently found about 50 kids knocking on doors at Air Canada Centre while playing “Pokémon Go,” trying to get into the arena on a dark day when there were no events scheduled at the building. For MLSE, it became a security issue: Officials told the kids that the arena was private property and that they could not come in the building, said Kevin Kempcke, the group’s senior manager of security and personnel.
“For me, it was Pokémon 101 trying to figure this stuff out,” Kempcke said.
> OH ATLANTA: Mercedes-Benz Stadium general manager Scott Jenkins has brought some familiar faces on board to help run the Falcons’ new facility, which opens next year.
Dave Duernberger, whom AMB Sports and Entertainment recently hired as director of stadium operations, worked with Jenkins at Lincoln Financial Field and Miller Park. Duernberger was most recently at MetLife Stadium, where he was vice president of facility operations for seven years.
Earlier this year, AMB Sports hired Brent Miller and Michael Halcomb in guest services roles that include a focus on fan experience and hiring and training game-day employees. Both worked with Jenkins at Safeco Field.
Apart from filling those jobs, AMB Sports is searching for a director of major event management in charge of stadiumwide events such as the Super Bowl, Final Four and CFP championship, all coming to the facility in the next five years.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @breakground.
