UW may add signage to tarps covering empty seats at Camp Randall StadiumGETTY IMAGES
The absence of fans at the Univ. of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium this season creates the opportunity for "thousands more square feet of advertising space for television broadcasts," according to Todd Milewski of the WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL. There are questions of how far schools can or are "willing to go in adding advertising spots." Badger Sports Properties VP & GM Scott Silvestri said that among the possibilities that they were exploring for the stadium were "ad spaces on tarps covering parts of the seating areas and on the padded wall in front of what normally would be the student section." UW Senior Associate AD/External Communications Justin Doherty said that Big Ten conference TV contracts "don't currently allow for banner advertising covering seats." Doherty: "If things change we would look to do everything we can to be good partners to our sponsors." The topic of soccer-style digital ad boards around the field also "raised questions of how they'd fit into conference TV regulations." Even if they are permitted, UW "has to decide whether they're too cluttering and give a negative impression for the viewer." Silvestri said, "It provides opportunities for revenue but there's something about the purity of a college football stadium that has minimal signage." One avenue that UW is pursuing includes "selling photo cutouts." A $60 fee "gets a picture of a fan or a pet on a cutout UW is calling a Bucky Board" (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 10/14).
