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In-Depth

Washington aims to wow on the waterfront


Washington

Seattle

Stadium:

Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium

Capacity:

70,138

2015 average attendance:

61,919

Of note:

The Huskies ranked 25th nationally in average attendance last season and third in the Pac-12 behind Southern California and UCLA.

Building:

After completing a $282 million renovation of Husky Stadium in 2013, the school two years later sold naming rights to the field to Alaska Airlines for $41 million over 10 years.


Through the eyes of...
Roy Shick, senior associate athletic director for external affairs

Turning point
No school is more poised to take a leap forward in college football than Washington. It has what amounts to a new stadium on one of most picturesque pieces of football real estate in the country, next to Lake Washington. To go with one of the nation’s finest facilities, the Huskies two seasons ago won the Chris Petersen sweepstakes by finally luring the coach out of Boise State. Washington’s commitment to football is evidenced by Petersen’s $3.6 million salary, thought to be the highest in the Pac-12.

Photo by: Washington

Revenue generation
When the Huskies were going through the feasibility study on a renovated Husky Stadium, the country was coming out of the recession, so Shick said the school began exploring new ways to create nontraditional premium seating areas.

NFL teams, like the Seahawks, were doing more at field level, and the Huskies went all in with that idea, creating 20 field-level patio suites. These suites sell for $3,000 a person for the season, with $2,500 going toward a donation and the rest toward the suite ticket.

“The suites at field level are about 15 to 20 feet from the end zone with their own private club behind it and a private server,” Shick said. “It’s not as large as a regular suite, so you get a much more intimate experience with a smaller group. They’ve sold out each season, and now we’ve got a waiting list.”

Signature moment

Photo by: Washington

Fans arriving by boat in Union Bay don’t tailgate, they sailgate. The Huskies sell season passes for boaters to park in a marina near the stadium. Those passes range from $250 to $945 for the season based on the size of the vessel.

Once those sell out, boaters must anchor in the bay. The Huskies typically run a shuttle service to transport those fans to shore.

“Nobody has sailgating like we do,” Shick said. “I know a lot of places tout that they can boat up to the stadium, but we sell season tickets for boat passes and that’s a really unique thing.”

Idea other schools might steal
Parking a problem? Getting in and out of the stadium a headache on game day? The Huskies have one solution for fans who don’t mind biking to the game. They offer free bike valet parking at a spot on Rainier Vista, which connects the Burke-Gilman Trail to Husky Stadium. The vista walkway leads right to a student-specific stadium entrance called the Dawg Pack.

The Huskies also reseat their fans every five years based on their giving and a points system.

“It incentivizes fans to keep giving, and we see giving go up in those reallocation years,” Shick said.

Idea taken from somewhere else
The field-level patio suites were conceived after seeing how the Seahawks were able to give their own fans a unique location and create new inventory.

Additionally, the Huskies are looking at a business called Tailgate Guys, a turnkey approach to tailgating. Shick was on the administrative team at Texas when the Longhorns hired Tailgate Guys. The company, through partnerships with schools like Texas, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, TCU and others, sells its tailgating service, which includes tents, catering, etc., to their fans.


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