Texas’ new tailgate and street festival area is the namesake of its famous mascot, Bevo.Getty Images
In order to turn a busy game-day thoroughfare in Austin into an 800-yard street festival, the University of Texas called all hands on deck. What’s going to be known as Bevo Blvd. will transform tailgating for the Longhorns’ home games with concerts, parades, food trucks and beer gardens.
The mechanics of how it all came together required the vision of Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte, the execution of Executive Associate AD Drew Martin and the cooperation of several Texas business partners.
“It’s just a matter of creating something we thought the fans would enjoy,” Del Conte said. “We don’t have a ton of tailgating space around the stadium, so we decided to bring the party to the fans.”
Months of festival planning with multimedia rights holder IMG College culminated with the formation of Bevo Blvd., which the school announced earlier this month. Longhorn IMG Sports Marketing will oversee the space, but several other agencies will have a role as well.
Sodexo, the school’s concession partner, will identify a pool of food trucks that will rotate through over the course of the season. Sodexo also will manage the beer gardens.
GoVision, the Texas-based company that supplies mobile LED boards, will place two jumbo boards along Bevo Blvd. so fans can watch other games already in progress.
The Longhorns’ official retailer, Fanatics, will sell Texas merchandise along the parade route.
On the other side of the stadium, UT will sponsor free game-day concerts on the LBJ lawn. Dubbed Longhorn City Limits, the dates will be booked by concert producer C3 Presents, whose festival credits include Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza.
IMG College will sell sponsorships. Everything from a title sponsor to vendors in the Bevo Blvd. footprint are on the table.
At least two major national sponsors are expected to bring their college football activation to Bevo Blvd. this season — Nissan’s Heisman House and Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour. Another national sponsor, Nintendo, is expected to make an appearance.
“It is an investment in the fan experience, but any time you can gather this many people in an area, you have the opportunity for sponsors to be a part of that,” Martin said, noting that the space will open five hours before kickoff for home games. “Sponsorships will be presented in a fan-friendly way, with games like Spin the Wheel to win prizes and Nintendo bringing in its gaming. They’ll help us afford to do all this.”
While the Longhorns intend to recreate the tailgating experience outside the stadium, Del Conte and Martin also have been revamping the game presentation inside Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium as well. More music, more videos, more fireworks and fewer scripted timeouts are just part of the plan.
“You see so many venues that have the same old scripted plan,” Martin said. “So, no matter what’s happening during the game, they bring out somebody, give them a game ball and everybody claps. If we’re coming off a score, we need to keep the energy going and keep the emotions high. Maybe that’s not the right time to do a sponsor element. … It’s like being an offensive coordinator. You don’t know what play to call until you know the situation. That’s what I’m asking the staff to do.”
