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Bill Offline
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Post: #1
Hospitality tent discontinued
Their email said that "Factors included in this decision were attendance data, feedback, rising costs, and our inability to provide the best experience possible."

It's gone downhill ever since the Downtown Dining Alliance pulled out but, even after they did, $10 for 2 alcoholic beverages and a plate of food was a great deal. Too bad they can't figure out a way to make it work.
05-11-2022 03:23 PM
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14SemesterDuke Offline
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Post: #2
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
Tailgaitin' is better 03-zzz
05-11-2022 06:52 PM
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Deez Nuts Offline
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Post: #3
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
Hospitality tent used to be a steal with the downtown thing like Bill said. We made it a point to go. Since that went away it seemed like a chore to go to the tent and cash in on those beers with a pile of rice and potato salad. 14SemesterDuke said it best.
05-11-2022 09:00 PM
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Bill Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
I’ve set up tailgates 100 times, in the 90s at U Arizona games when I lived in Tucson, in the 00s at ECU games when I lived in GVegas, and our first few years of JMU games in the old ‘Hanson lot’. I grew tired of the food prep, packing the car, unpacking the car, setting it up, breaking it down, packing the car, and unpacking the car. I'd rather sit down with my friends at a table I didn't have to set, grab some good food I didn't have to make, drink some cold beer I didn’t have to chill, clean up nothing and walk out of there and maybe hit some friends’ tailgates. JMU needs to bring back the DDA and do it right. It was so popular that you used to have to get there when it opened just to get a seat.
05-12-2022 05:55 AM
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Longhorn Offline
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Post: #5
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 05:55 AM)Bill Wrote:  I’ve set up tailgates 100 times, in the 90s at U Arizona games when I lived in Tucson, in the 00s at ECU games when I lived in GVegas, and our first few years of JMU games in the old ‘Hanson lot’. I grew tired of the food prep, packing the car, unpacking the car, setting it up, breaking it down, packing the car, and unpacking the car. I'd rather sit down with my friends at a table I didn't have to set, grab some good food I didn't have to make, drink some cold beer I didn’t have to chill, clean up nothing and walk out of there and maybe hit some friends’ tailgates. JMU needs to bring back the DDA and do it right. It was so popular that you used to have to get there when it opened just to get a seat.

Agree.
05-12-2022 06:30 AM
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JMad03 Offline
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Post: #6
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
Well, damn. That was one of the reasons we upgraded this year.
05-12-2022 07:06 AM
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Polish Hammer Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 05:55 AM)Bill Wrote:  I’ve set up tailgates 100 times, in the 90s at U Arizona games when I lived in Tucson, in the 00s at ECU games when I lived in GVegas, and our first few years of JMU games in the old ‘Hanson lot’. I grew tired of the food prep, packing the car, unpacking the car, setting it up, breaking it down, packing the car, and unpacking the car. I'd rather sit down with my friends at a table I didn't have to set, grab some good food I didn't have to make, drink some cold beer I didn’t have to chill, clean up nothing and walk out of there and maybe hit some friends’ tailgates. JMU needs to bring back the DDA and do it right. It was so popular that you used to have to get there when it opened just to get a seat.
I also agree with you Bill. I love to tailgate, but the prep work can be a lot at times. This will be just my 4th season and between moving spots, Covid and other factors it hasn’t been conducive to getting set for a worthwhile tailgate. So I thought for $10/person the tent was a great way for us to roll into the games and not have to worry about cooking, cleaning, setting up and tearing down.
05-12-2022 07:12 AM
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JMURocks Offline
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Post: #8
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
I enjoy tailgating, but it seems like this would be worth $20-25 if done right. It's hard to get more than McDonalds or Subway for $10 now.
05-12-2022 07:14 AM
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DooX Offline
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Post: #9
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
The DDA was great and we hit that pretty much every game. We're not local so it helped open our eyes to some of the establishments in Harrisonburg and we made a point to solicit those who participated when we stayed down there. Was very disappointed with the quality when that was discontinued and rarely went afterward. When the tax rules changed and it was no longer a donation benefit we never purchased passes.

Before the DDA I think dining services catered the hospitality tent. I don't remember that being especially good or bad but it was a nice option to have. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to just have a few grills doing burgers, dogs, and brats and give folks a bag of chips and some beverages each week. Change it up and do wings or BBQ sandwiches every so often. Done at scale the costs come down. When there is a little bit of quality (like freshly grilled) it would be worth paying $15 or more for.
05-12-2022 07:36 AM
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bobbyjmu Offline
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Post: #10
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
Pun intended, I think the Duke Club has "a lot on their plate", and may not have the manpower or resources to carry this on with all of the new Sun Belt responsibilities. Unless they can get major sponsor(s) to help defray some of the costs and effort, don't see this returning. I enjoyed it back in the day as well.
05-12-2022 09:57 AM
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JMaddy Offline
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Post: #11
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 07:36 AM)DooX Wrote:  The DDA was great and we hit that pretty much every game. We're not local so it helped open our eyes to some of the establishments in Harrisonburg and we made a point to solicit those who participated when we stayed down there. Was very disappointed with the quality when that was discontinued and rarely went afterward. When the tax rules changed and it was no longer a donation benefit we never purchased passes.

Before the DDA I think dining services catered the hospitality tent. I don't remember that being especially good or bad but it was a nice option to have. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to just have a few grills doing burgers, dogs, and brats and give folks a bag of chips and some beverages each week. Change it up and do wings or BBQ sandwiches every so often. Done at scale the costs come down. When there is a little bit of quality (like freshly grilled) it would be worth paying $15 or more for.

Honestly the school would be better off letting some food trucks set up in the Godwin side where the hospitality tent was for ppl who don't want to hassle with the tailgating food. I think the beer sales would be the biggest sticking point because JMU is trying its best to LIMIT sales for liability reasons, and a beer truck would be a little harder to regulate as well as keeping ppl within a contained area.
05-12-2022 09:59 AM
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JMU2004 Offline
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Post: #12
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 09:59 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  
(05-12-2022 07:36 AM)DooX Wrote:  The DDA was great and we hit that pretty much every game. We're not local so it helped open our eyes to some of the establishments in Harrisonburg and we made a point to solicit those who participated when we stayed down there. Was very disappointed with the quality when that was discontinued and rarely went afterward. When the tax rules changed and it was no longer a donation benefit we never purchased passes.

Before the DDA I think dining services catered the hospitality tent. I don't remember that being especially good or bad but it was a nice option to have. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to just have a few grills doing burgers, dogs, and brats and give folks a bag of chips and some beverages each week. Change it up and do wings or BBQ sandwiches every so often. Done at scale the costs come down. When there is a little bit of quality (like freshly grilled) it would be worth paying $15 or more for.

Honestly the school would be better off letting some food trucks set up in the Godwin side where the hospitality tent was for ppl who don't want to hassle with the tailgating food. I think the beer sales would be the biggest sticking point because JMU is trying its best to LIMIT sales for liability reasons, and a beer truck would be a little harder to regulate as well as keeping ppl within a contained area.

Having a designated Food Truck area would be great.
05-12-2022 10:45 AM
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DoubleDogDare Offline
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Post: #13
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 10:45 AM)JMU2004 Wrote:  
(05-12-2022 09:59 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  Honestly the school would be better off letting some food trucks set up in the Godwin side where the hospitality tent was for ppl who don't want to hassle with the tailgating food. I think the beer sales would be the biggest sticking point because JMU is trying its best to LIMIT sales for liability reasons, and a beer truck would be a little harder to regulate as well as keeping ppl within a contained area.

Having a designated Food Truck area would be great.

I really like the idea, even though I fall into the "lets tailgate" group. I could get behind a "party area." Have the food trucks, a beer tent, the inflatables and corn hole boards they would set out on Godwin "field," quick fight song performance by MRDs as they head into stadium.

Similar to DDA alliance, charge a fee that gets you X items from food trucks and a couple beers. This would speed up the transaction time at the trucks and maybe help alleviate some of the liability risk with alcohol.

I'm not totally up on ABC laws, but the fenced in area might be a requirement if there is a beer tent. I'll be selfish and say throw up a little 3 foot white picket fence around part or all of the area anyway. I can let my 4 year old run free and mom will worry a little less about her wondering off from a single tailgate spot.
05-12-2022 01:18 PM
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JMad03 Offline
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Post: #14
RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 01:18 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  
(05-12-2022 10:45 AM)JMU2004 Wrote:  
(05-12-2022 09:59 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  Honestly the school would be better off letting some food trucks set up in the Godwin side where the hospitality tent was for ppl who don't want to hassle with the tailgating food. I think the beer sales would be the biggest sticking point because JMU is trying its best to LIMIT sales for liability reasons, and a beer truck would be a little harder to regulate as well as keeping ppl within a contained area.

Having a designated Food Truck area would be great.

I really like the idea, even though I fall into the "lets tailgate" group. I could get behind a "party area." Have the food trucks, a beer tent, the inflatables and corn hole boards they would set out on Godwin "field," quick fight song performance by MRDs as they head into stadium.

Similar to DDA alliance, charge a fee that gets you X items from food trucks and a couple beers. This would speed up the transaction time at the trucks and maybe help alleviate some of the liability risk with alcohol.

I'm not totally up on ABC laws, but the fenced in area might be a requirement if there is a beer tent. I'll be selfish and say throw up a little 3 foot white picket fence around part or all of the area anyway. I can let my 4 year old run free and mom will worry a little less about her wondering off from a single tailgate spot.

Since Godwin "field" is now a parking lot for high level donors, that isn't happening there.
Logistically, it needs to be someplace where many trucks could set up and where people could safely walk around. There might be some issues with selling food within the boundaries of JMU without it being owned by JMU.
My first thought was on the sidewalk of Godwin near the bookstore. There's a lot of space for the trucks, with decent room for people.
Another big consideration is making sure the trucks they bring in could handle the massive volume of customers and the high demand. Also since the food truck is on campus, there might be legal issues if something goes wrong (food poisoning, injuries, etc).
As most things, I don't think it's as easy as "hey, let's get some food trucks on campus for a football game!" "Okay, it's done!"
(This post was last modified: 05-12-2022 01:59 PM by JMad03.)
05-12-2022 01:54 PM
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DoubleDogDare Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 01:54 PM)JMad03 Wrote:  
(05-12-2022 01:18 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  I really like the idea, even though I fall into the "lets tailgate" group. I could get behind a "party area." Have the food trucks, a beer tent, the inflatables and corn hole boards they would set out on Godwin "field," quick fight song performance by MRDs as they head into stadium.

Similar to DDA alliance, charge a fee that gets you X items from food trucks and a couple beers. This would speed up the transaction time at the trucks and maybe help alleviate some of the liability risk with alcohol.

I'm not totally up on ABC laws, but the fenced in area might be a requirement if there is a beer tent. I'll be selfish and say throw up a little 3 foot white picket fence around part or all of the area anyway. I can let my 4 year old run free and mom will worry a little less about her wondering off from a single tailgate spot.

Since Godwin "field" is now a parking lot for high level donors, that isn't happening there.
Logistically, it needs to be someplace where many trucks could set up and where people could safely walk around. There might be some issues with selling food within the boundaries of JMU without it being owned by JMU.
My first thought was on the sidewalk of Godwin near the bookstore. There's a lot of space for the trucks, with decent room for people.
Another big consideration is making sure the trucks they bring in could handle the massive volume of customers and the high demand. Also since the food truck is on campus, there might be legal issues if something goes wrong (food poisoning, injuries, etc).
As most things, I don't think it's as easy as "hey, let's get some food trucks on campus for a football game!" "Okay, it's done!"

Sorry, that "would" was suppose to be past tense in that they use to set those out on the Godwin field, not that they would do it for the new "party zone."

I honestly think the sticking point would be the quality of food trucks in H'burg versus the legal side of it. They legally figured out DDA, and how to serve alcohol in the stadium, and how to serve beer and wine at tons of other events on campus, and how to have what I'm assuming is third party starbucks and chick-fil-a serving food on campus. Alabama has done the food truck thing and we are basically them these days so lets do it. With all that said, as much as I like the idea, I'm still a tailgating guy and would prefer them focus attention elsewhere bc if you half @$$ a party......it ain't a party.
(This post was last modified: 05-12-2022 06:00 PM by DoubleDogDare.)
05-12-2022 04:40 PM
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hburg Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
The food trucks are a good idea, local vendors.
05-12-2022 05:23 PM
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Polish Hammer Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
And they already have a Starbucks truck down there on game day.
05-12-2022 05:32 PM
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14SemesterDuke Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 05:55 AM)Bill Wrote:  I’ve set up tailgates 100 times, in the 90s at U Arizona games when I lived in Tucson, in the 00s at ECU games when I lived in GVegas, and our first few years of JMU games in the old ‘Hanson lot’. I grew tired of the food prep, packing the car, unpacking the car, setting it up, breaking it down, packing the car, and unpacking the car. I'd rather sit down with my friends at a table I didn't have to set, grab some good food I didn't have to make, drink some cold beer I didn’t have to chill, clean up nothing and walk out of there and maybe hit some friends’ tailgates. JMU needs to bring back the DDA and do it right. It was so popular that you used to have to get there when it opened just to get a seat.

Totally get it, coming from the person who does that stuff. It does get old.
05-12-2022 07:13 PM
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PhillyDuke Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
I agree with 100% of Bill's sentiments.

This year is a transition year, and as others have said, the Duke Club has a lot on their plate.

I have confidence that JMU will "get it right". they always do. Whatever the right answer is, they will find in over the course of this year.
05-12-2022 07:21 PM
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JMad03 Offline
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RE: Hospitality tent discontinued
(05-12-2022 04:40 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  
(05-12-2022 01:54 PM)JMad03 Wrote:  
(05-12-2022 01:18 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  I really like the idea, even though I fall into the "lets tailgate" group. I could get behind a "party area." Have the food trucks, a beer tent, the inflatables and corn hole boards they would set out on Godwin "field," quick fight song performance by MRDs as they head into stadium.

Similar to DDA alliance, charge a fee that gets you X items from food trucks and a couple beers. This would speed up the transaction time at the trucks and maybe help alleviate some of the liability risk with alcohol.

I'm not totally up on ABC laws, but the fenced in area might be a requirement if there is a beer tent. I'll be selfish and say throw up a little 3 foot white picket fence around part or all of the area anyway. I can let my 4 year old run free and mom will worry a little less about her wondering off from a single tailgate spot.

Since Godwin "field" is now a parking lot for high level donors, that isn't happening there.
Logistically, it needs to be someplace where many trucks could set up and where people could safely walk around. There might be some issues with selling food within the boundaries of JMU without it being owned by JMU.
My first thought was on the sidewalk of Godwin near the bookstore. There's a lot of space for the trucks, with decent room for people.
Another big consideration is making sure the trucks they bring in could handle the massive volume of customers and the high demand. Also since the food truck is on campus, there might be legal issues if something goes wrong (food poisoning, injuries, etc).
As most things, I don't think it's as easy as "hey, let's get some food trucks on campus for a football game!" "Okay, it's done!"

Sorry, that "would" was suppose to be past tense in that they use to set those out on the Godwin field, not that they would do it for the new "party zone."

I honestly think the sticking point would be the quality of food trucks in H'burg versus the legal side of it. They legally figured out DDA, and how to serve alcohol in the stadium, and how to serve beer and wine at tons of other events on campus, and how to have what I'm assuming is third party starbucks and chick-fil-a serving food on campus. Alabama has done the food truck thing and we are basically them these days so lets do it. With all that said, as much as I like the idea, I'm still a tailgating guy and would prefer them focus attention elsewhere bc if you half @$$ a party......it ain't a party.

That makes a lot more sense. Thanks.
While I understand why they put a parking lot there, it really hurt the possibility of keeping something like that so close to the stadium.
Perhaps something could be done on the grass near Newman Lake, but that's not really the ideal spot as it's not that flat.
I didn't mean to shoot down the idea as couldn't be done... just that these things take a lot more preparation than we tend to think they do.
As for your last point... absolutely agree. If they are going to do it, they are going to go all out on it and make sure it's done right.
Good news is that this is JMU we're talking about and I really believe that almost everything they have done has been done right.
I don't expect JMU to do a ton differently this year as it's a transition year. Just having that excitement they don't necessarily need to do too much. However, if they do choose to improve something, I'd rather they focus their energy on the stadium and in-game stuff right now.
05-13-2022 06:54 AM
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