I thought last Saturday was the worst crowd management I've ever experienced at Nippert. I entered the stadium from Tangeman just before the parachuters were landing.

Inside, on the concourse there were people standing there chatting, viewing the field from the rail behind the last row of seats - and some just there to stay in the shade.

Then when the parachuters landed, many stopped to watch. I didn't...I kept moving because I wanted to get to my seat before the National Anthem. Some woman watching the parachuters gave me a dirty look as I pushed on through. Normally very polite, this time I wasn't apologetic. MOVE!

The ushers need to keep people away from the rails and keep people from congregating on the stadium's west concourse.

I didn't think it was any different than any other capacity crowd game at Nippert. When there are that many people moving around is going to be a problem. And obviously there were a lot more people than there are seats available.

I will say this - I was very impressed with at least one police officer - I think she was with Hamilton County sheriff's department. At the base of section 201 at halftime she was watching over well over a hundred or more people and I saw her very quickly rush to the aid of two people having trouble with the heat.

I thought UC did a good job given the weather and it being their largest crowd ever.

Why dont they rope off the concessions[/align] lines? Waited in line for an hour to get water partly because people kept cutting to the front. And that's another thing, they didn't have water bottles left so i had to be pay 3.75 for a cup of soda and fill it with water....

People milling around not in seats is a tradition at Nippert, as prior generations went to games to
see old friends. The area above the student section used to be a hangout for the singles crowd.
Arrive early.

Oh, the horror of it all!

The only thing that bothered me was the classless behavior of the Purdue fans.

Not shocked though.

(09-03-2013 02:25 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  Why dont they rope off the concessions[/align] lines? Waited in line for an hour to get water partly because people kept cutting to the front. And that's another thing, they didn't have water bottles left so i had to be pay 3.75 for a cup of soda and fill it with water....

Write to Whit especially if you have a solution to the problem. I think he gets that it is all about the fan "experience" based upon his comments. 2 Ideas for you:

Maybe at hot weather games they should have a dozen or so vendors stationed around the perimeter selling from coolers filled with cold water bottles. Fast service for the many just looking for water and shorter lines for those in the other concession lines.

Or maybe a tent somewhere behind the end zone area that exclusively sells bottled water (or maybe also bottled soft drinks). Make sure there is an announcement on the scoreboard or on the PA about it every quarter so fans know exactly where to go.

Had no problems getting through the crowds. Arrived early, and was able to get everything I wanted accomplished, done.

I got there 20 minutes early, walked straight to my seats with no problem. At halftime walked up into the shade, which was quite crowded. Walked back down with five minutes until the second half kickoff with no problems.

Sounds like it would have been tougher going to the bathroom and concession stands, but did the bathroom before entering the stadium and brought our own bottles of water in.

Good ideas about selling water out of coolers. This s/b the last game where this kind of heat ans un combined will be an issue.

I expected as much and did what I could to avoid the bottle necks. I dont think it was any worse than any other 30,000 + game at Nippert. Only thing maybe, the guy scanning tickets in my line had a bum scanner and had to do each ticket a few times before it registered, but what are you gonna do?

Did all my eating and drinking (except for one beer on the way in) before the game. Got up once at halftime to the plaza up top behind the Pavilion.

I avoid the press box side of Nippert like the plague. Enter on the pavilion side , sit in 210.

That said only a few more games to tolerate until things get a lot easier in 2015. I'd rather navigate a heavy crowd than be sitting in a half empty stadium.

Had no issues. Arrived extra early, knowing that there was going to be a huge crowd. I ate and drank at the tailgate beforehand to prevent me from needing to go to the concessions.

(09-03-2013 02:25 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  Why dont they rope off the concessions[/align] lines? Waited in line for an hour to get water partly because people kept cutting to the front. And that's another thing, they didn't have water bottles left so i had to be pay 3.75 for a cup of soda and fill it with water....

People do know that they can bring in bottles of water as long as they are not opened, correct?

Rath - some still are not aware of this. We had to tell numerous people, at our tailgate, you can take water into the stadium.

(09-03-2013 03:21 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  Had no issues. Arrived extra early, knowing that there was going to be a huge crowd. I ate and drank at the tailgate beforehand to prevent me from needing to go to the concessions.

I did the same. I actually had a easier time getting into the stadium then last year they did a better job with the lines getting people into the gates and then had two people in each gate area doing tickets. The one thing that is going to be a issue will be that they put the tv camera at the top of the bearcat lair and that has made that concourse tougher to get thru. It would be nice if during the reno that they could so something to get that above the snack bar up at the scoreboard area.

(09-03-2013 03:26 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  Rath - some still are not aware of this. We had to tell numerous people, at our tailgate, you can take water into the stadium.

We brought in about a dozen in a plastic Kroger bag for our group. I would never had made it to halftime otherwise. Melted like the flight of Icarus.

Its not a concessions issue, its a health and safety issue.

We walked into the stadium at 11:40, no line. Grabbed beers from the guys walking around. In and out of the bathroom.

Despite being unbearably warm, we had no real issues at all.

(09-03-2013 03:25 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  

(09-03-2013 02:25 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  Why dont they rope off the concessions[/align] lines? Waited in line for an hour to get water partly because people kept cutting to the front. And that's another thing, they didn't have water bottles left so i had to be pay 3.75 for a cup of soda and fill it with water....

People do know that they can bring in bottles of water as long as they are not opened, correct?

I did not...thank you, what a waste of an hour

I got to Tangeman about 50 minutes before kickoff but waited until 11:40 to enter the stadium. My issue is primarily through the west concourse. I'm a veteran and know how to handle Nippert and normally don't have problems, even though my season tickets are in the thick of the worst part. This time I think they just needed personnel to get folks away from the rails and keep them moving. There were so many people just standing at the rail watching the field.

I bought spare tickets and sat on the east side behind the band for this game, and not once did I see a water/soda vendor, but later saw someone walking up the stairs with...cotton candy.

At halftime the lines for concessions were enormous, but a cart that sold nothing but soda was empty. I told the kid we will revert back to standard practice of bringing our own snacks and drinks, but for Saturday's game I decided I'd make my life easier by handing him $20 and saying, "Do what you want with this money, but don't ask for anything else."

For the person who responded "Oh, the horror!" keep in mind that we can discuss ways to improve the experience without the sarcasm. There's a reason the concourse design will be changed with the stadium renovation. In the meantime there are reasonable ways to address certain issues.

It is obviously a wasted money making opportunity if people have learned to avoid the concession lines.