Two years before a $55 million expansion of
Papa John’s Stadium is scheduled to open, the University of Louisville has sold a big chunk of the premium inventory tied to the project.
As of mid-September, Legends Global Sales, the ACC school’s sales agency, had sold 60 of 70 premium boxes and 500 of the 1,000 club seats planned as part of the renovation of the north end zone, said Mike Behan, Legends vice president.
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Louisville’s sold-out field-level suites are part of the stadium’s premium inventory.
Renderings: UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
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A dozen field-level suites, the centerpiece of the project, were the first premium option to sell out in April, two months after Legends kicked off the marketing campaign.
“There was a buzz about those suites,” said Mark Jurich, Louisville’s senior associate athletic director for development. “It’s going to be unlike any other collegiate experience.”
The field-level suites cost $45,000 annually plus the cost of season tickets, which this year run about $375 a game,
Jurich said. Terms are four and seven years. In addition, those suite holders are required to make a six-figure donation toward the project.
The cost to buy a field-level suite falls in line with the pricing of the 63 existing suites at Papa John’s Stadium, he said.
Field-level suites, and premium spaces at event level in general, are common in the NFL, but still relatively new in college football.
In 2013, the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium opened 20 patio suites in the east end as part of the facility’s $280 million renovation. One year later, Mississippi State debuted the Gridiron Club, a premium hospitality space in the north end zone connected to seats upstairs in the bowl.
Louisville officials modeled their field-level suites after AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. A few years ago Athletic Director Tom Jurich, Mark’s father, toured the Arlington facility with sports information director Kenny Klein and John Schnatter, founder, chairman and CEO of Papa John’s pizza. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, their tour guide, told them the field-level suites were the best thing he’s ever done at the stadium and he wished more would have been built when the stadium opened in 2009, Mark Jurich said.
At Papa John’s Stadium, the novelty of being at field level, close to the action was a big selling point, he said. The patio-style suites feature tables and chairs outdoors and an interior lounge supporting those spaces. The football team walks through a pathway in the middle of the 12 suites to get to the field, similar to the setup at AT&T Stadium and U.S. Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings’ new home.
Rosser is the project architect in Louisville. The school used Johnson Consulting to help determine the scope of expansion.
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New Era’s new look at Bank of America Stadium results in sales boost.
Photo: COURTESY OF NEW ERA
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> NEW ERA: The Carolina Panthers have signed a three-year deal with
New Era Cap Co. to upgrade merchandise locations at
Bank of America Stadium.
The agreement is tied to an influx of New Era hats and women’s and children’s apparel produced by 5th and Ocean, a New Era subsidiary. Those items are distributed among the team store on the main concourse and four smaller retail spaces in the upper deck and on the suite level.
The brand’s increased presence and the new look in general for merchandise displays resulted in sales increases of 30 percent for walk-in retail shops outside sections 513 and 540 during the Panthers’ two preseason home games, according to New Era officials.
Delaware North Sportservice runs in-stadium retail for the Panthers. Elsewhere, New Era has signed similar deals with the Rams, Redskins and Falcons.
> GREEN AND GOLD: The Jacksonville Jaguars, in conjunction with Sportservice, their new food provider, generated a $30 per cap during their home opener against the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Field.
It’s a record number for the Jaguars since Shahid Khan bought the team in 2011, and it’s 25 percent higher than the average spend at previous games, team President Mark Lamping said. Doing the math, the game generated about $1.9 million in food and drink revenue from a crowd of 63,179.
The Packers, who always bring a large contingent of fans to road games, were among the factors driving revenue, although the beverage mix shifted toward soft drinks over beer because of the hot weather, Lamping said.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @breakground.
