Dissappointed with fan experience

[Nook Su Kow]

I pay $13 to park in Tech Square. I look to my left the other night and my dad is eating his own food that he brought in himself (does this everywhere he goes, games, concerts, etc. never gets caught). And this guy behind had a 6 pack of 24 oz Colt 45s. DIY.

C-45s hahaha

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Most of the lots (decks too) on Spring St charge $20.00, unless they have gone up this year. I bought a season parking pass for the Tech lot behind the Varsity. Lots of good tailgating there, although the view isn't great. As far as food and drink within the stadium, if you are a season ticket holder, you get a clear plastic bag in which you can carry unopened non-alcoholic beverages (not just water); I'm not sure about food, but you can ask or find the info on ramblinwreck.com. I would imagine that any CLEAR plastic bag of suitable size would also be allowed.

 

[Declinometer]

C-45s hahaha

6 x 24 of those bad boys! Party!!!

 

[MonroeJacket]

6 x 24 of those bad boys! Party!!!

Yea, it was pretty awesome. He was an Asian fella wearin' shorts with argyle socks too.

 

[Joeb21]

The starting lineups and pregame hype videos were underwhelming to me. I miss seeing the individual players being introduced and the "history of GT" video played to Zombie Nation.

 

[Recleb]

If y'all weren't pathetic, you'd be adorable. Those of us that live out of state pay $500+ to go to a home game. Count your blessings. What the heck did you do with your Tech degree anyway.

 

[JacketFromUGA]

If y'all weren't pathetic, you'd be adorable. Those of us that live out of state pay $500+ to go to a home game. Count your blessings. What the heck did you do with your Tech degree anyway.

mines from UGA

 

[strong90]

So you parked in perhaps the best lot available (covered, short walk, practically on campus, near stadium) plus had lunch for two all for ~ $40...hmmm. No disrespect, but have you been to a movie with popcorn & a coke in the last decade?
In my opinion, GT offers one of the most affordable options you'll find anywhere for a major sports event. Anywhere. And it's done in the heart of a major city.

Last year I saw 3 different college games and GT was the least expensive total cost of experience, by far.

Try getting more than roach motel in Tuscaloosa for < $200 on Saturday against a cupcake opponent. Try parking anywhere near Auburn campus for < $20 (and no one to monitor the lot). Against a quality opponent, forget it...bring retirement funds.

Pro sports are outrageously expensive. Hockey, MLB, NFL, NASCAR...you name it. Much more $$$

The only good values left in major sports are minor league baseball and GT...! That's why I plan to return.

 

[TechCubed]

Most of the lots (decks too) on Spring St charge $20.00, unless they have gone up this year. I bought a season parking pass for the Tech lot behind the Varsity. Lots of good tailgating there, although the view isn't great. As far as food and drink within the stadium, if you are a season ticket holder, you get a clear plastic bag in which you can carry unopened non-alcoholic beverages (not just water); I'm not sure about food, but you can ask or find the info on ramblinwreck.com. I would imagine that any CLEAR plastic bag of suitable size would also be allowed.

You can bring in any food that will fit in the bag. It you park at Centergy/Tech Square, handful of inexpensive options to grab -- Subway, Moe's, Tin Drum, gyros, etc -- on your way to the stadium.

I know the Braves give season ticket holders a discount on the concessions, but I'd take the bag option over that any day.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

You can bring in any food that will fit in the bag. It you park at Centergy/Tech Square, handful of inexpensive options to grab -- Subway, Moe's, Tin Drum, gyros, etc -- on your way to the stadium.

I know the Braves give season ticket holders a discount on the concessions, but I'd take the bag option over that any day.

I eat where I tailgate, so I don't need to bring food in, but that's good to know. I tried to take cheese crackers into the stadium in Charlotte last year, and if I hadn't lied and told them I was diabetic, they would have confiscated them from me. Believe me, it's not that bad at Tech

 

[bke1984]

I like everyone's responses to the OG post, but I think Jerry raised a legitimate concern & there's 0 willingness to address it.

Issue 1: Terrible in-game concession options
...

Sodexo catering handles the concessions in my section. I honestly think the options are fine for a sporting event...it's the service that pisses me off. There are like 20 people working those stands, yet it takes 5+ minutes for one person to get through sometimes. I honestly don't understand how ordering one hotdog and one coke requires that amount of time. It's the worst service of any venue I've ever been to and it desperately needs to be addressed.

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

I was amazed that I had to pay $25 to park at the Tech hotel. The lot was pretty full so I guess they feel justified in charging that much but damn that's a lot of money to park your car. Then I go inside and have to pay $4 for a hot dog and $4 more for a Coke. My son and I got two cokes a hot dog and a popcorn and it was $17. So I have shelled out $42 before I even take my seat.

I guess that's just the way it is now a days, but I think a lot of these vendors and the school could still make a nice profit and not gouge the pure T hell out of their so called customers.

Just one angry old man's view of the situation.

Go Jackets!

I understand why you're upset, that $42 was only $1.74 when you went to Tech in 1913. We won in a convincing fashion on Thursday night so I'm glad you started this thread, Tech fans need something to complain about.

 

[stevo0718]

I like everyone's responses to the OG post, but I think Jerry raised a legitimate concern & there's 0 willingness to address it.

Issue 1: Terrible in-game concession options.

• The proposed solution (eat at a private, off-campus establishment) yields $0 to GT's coffers. If anything, it might actually be a cost detriment to GT. Universities are major marketplaces with respect to consumers. By not satisfying the demand for food on campus, GT is driving consumption to nearby restaurants thereby making the real estate around GT's perimeter more expensive. How does that hurt GT? Well, we need to expand our campus. we got lucky buying up Spring Street (North Ave. - 5th) during the Great Recession. Absent another real estate crash, how much will we overpay to acquire the land west of campus for the new biomed hub? But for those few restaurants, "Midtown West" would be indistinguishable from Bankhead. And I'd hate to pay for the premium for the Midtown West brand.

• This above example is analogous (I assume) to the Home Park situation. By not addressing demand for student housing, GT funneled students off campus. The value of Home Park's location makes it cost prohibitive for a developer to buy en mass b/c of the classic holdout problem (I assume again). So, we have a neighborhood with an awesome location, separating GT from Atlantic Station, & it's filled with disgusting, barely livable housing, lacks street lights or any infrastructure to promote safety/commuting. Home Park locks GT's Northern expansion, the east is designated for GT-Emory, the South is no man's land (downtown), and the West is our future biomed industry hub. Where do students turn to for housing? $1,500 for a midtown condo? $600 for a rat-infested, unsafe shack with 3 roommates in Home Park? Or an $800 - $1,000 apartment 5 - 10 miles away from campus (hurts campus community and increases parking demand). I think GT made the right decision to invest in the university's future research impact rather than housing and campus dining. But this is nonetheless a huge opportunity cost that most people don't even think about. You hear people talk about the student loan bubble and rising cost of college education. Yes, it's true that tuition & books have risen at an astronomical rate. But what about student housing and student cost of living? If you allow the private market to be the solution, students are going to either pay an inflated market price (due to high student renter demand) for unkempt housing [terrible hotdog] or pay more than most working people can afford to rent a nice condo [buy food at a midtown bar]. The gov't will and does loan the student all the money they want ("COA"). Which option do you think students are choosing? maybe not all. maybe not most. but enough students that this whole game of charging a high interest rate [high price per hotdog] to subsidize the people who are defaulting [buying private food] won't last much longer. Deflation - the new, new normal. Nickle and Diming for bad products won't work in the new, new, normal. "innovation" is our only out. We need to offer a better product that more people will buy [like the awesome new (private?) student housing that's being built across from the cheetah].

• Does GT even operate the concession stands at the game? it seems like it's local community organizations who staff the concessions. I'm all for supporting the community, but I'd like to know the distribution of profits & why the food options have to be so awful and overpriced. The falcons stadium is a different beast than GT's in terms of revenue allocations from concession stands, let's not even go there.

Issue 2: You don't compete with the "big boys" by trying to maximize revenue of a bad product [cough, get rid of R, cough]. Instead, differentiate your product from the competitors, add value for the customer, and develop a brand that's worth more than a $5 box of popcorn.

• Ya'll talk about how Atlanta is a major selling point in recruiting. Well, one of Atlanta's attractions is its food scene. Why don't we incorporate any of Atlanta's awesome, unique, "innovative", pro-entrepenurship restaurants into GT's gameday experience? Inside or outside the stadium. Why must we settle for history and tradition when our history and tradition is the varsity (THE FOOD ISN"T GOOD. The atmosphere must have died off b/c NO ONE @GT goes there anymore) and $5 dollar off-brand hotdogs that are left over from the high school game on friday? I spare Coke from my criticism because Coke is ATL, although it would be nice if Coke reminded the people outside Atlanta of that every once and a while.

• Parking is awful, unless you know what you're doing (i.e. have spent 4, 5, 6+ years on campus). So, to complain about a half empty stadium and then defend gauging people on parking, you're basically building a barrier to entry that will prevent you from attracting new attendees. I get that parking is scarce at GT. This is a much bigger problem than GT football. Honestly, we need tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment to solve this problem that's been kicked down the road for 1/2 a century. Until then, GT should do a much better job about generating "innovative" partnerships with nearby parking hubs (atlantic station, 14th & peachtree, BOA, etc.). I don't have anything in mind, but I could think of 100 ideas that would be a marginal improvement over our current don't do anything approach.

Ending on a positive: A few of the many things that we're doing right & I love about GT gameday

• Band making "Put On" a staple song during games (also, who can forget the Turnt Up game)
• ^ + not eroding our awesome traditions like the yellowwww - jacketsss, Budweiser song, etc.
• I like the new field-level ads and in-game ads from local companies that hire hard at GT. Airwatch comes to mind from a few season back. it helps build GT's brand value while generating game day ad revenue.
• KS1. I love how lax GT games are. perhaps others will disagree. I just haven't had a bad experience at Bobby Dodd. I think that's b/c our fan base is so respectable. Let people have a good time, so long as they don't make it toxic for others.
• Tailgating - 5th street bridge & Frats are the best tailgate experiences I've had. Seems like other people enjoy other parts of campus too. beautiful green space + lazie faire policing + city landscape = GT on the come up

Gotcha, so pay less for more quality food, $20 is too much for parking IN THE CITY and keep west midtown sketchy by opposing local business growth...

Food: it's stadium food, not amazing, pricy for what it is... If you're going to complain about it, eating at the game is a choice not a requirement

Parking: remember those 3 years that they offered a free ATL Station shuttle on game days... Oh yea no one ever used it. $20 is not much for parking, we don't live in the sticks or are surrounded by fields and empty lots. Marta round trip for 2 people is $10, I've paid $15 to go to a HS football game.

I get that there are extra costs for going to football games, I get that you want to support Georgia Tech monetarily, but you're asking GT to redefine the stadium eating experience and charge a less than competitive parking fee and you want all this for less than $30 ($20 Parking + $5 coke +$4 hotdog)

Get over it dude.

 

[Wrecking Ball]

I understand why you're upset, that $42 was only $1.74 when you went to Tech in 1913. We won in a convincing fashion on Thursday night so I'm glad you started this thread, Tech fans need something to complain about.

I cried laughing at this.

 

[GlennW]

You can purchase single game parking pass at several Tech lots for $10 (or more, depending on the lot), which is an easy "solution" to your problem.

http://events.lanierparking.com/ListEvents.aspx?Topic=10072&Product=10167&ProductType=10

If you are a Season-Ticket holder, you either were provided, or can get, a clear tote bag from the Ticket office that allows you to bring in sealed water and soft drinks, as well as snacks. That should solve your second issue.

 

[daBuzz]

If y'all weren't pathetic, you'd be adorable. Those of us that live out of state pay $500+ to go to a home game. Count your blessings. What the heck did you do with your Tech degree anyway.

Hmmm....well I happen to know Jerry from meeting him at many events. He's one of the die-hard guys who is there at EVERYTHING. Comes to the home games, is there at signing day, shows up for the weekly call in show, etc.

If a fan that dedicated is starting to question whether or not he wants to continue to come to games, then we have a genuine problem.

 

[Legal Jacket]

I was amazed that I had to pay $25 to park at the Tech hotel. The lot was pretty full so I guess they feel justified in charging that much but damn that's a lot of money to park your car. Then I go inside and have to pay $4 for a hot dog and $4 more for a Coke. My son and I got two cokes a hot dog and a popcorn and it was $17. So I have shelled out $42 before I even take my seat.

I guess that's just the way it is now a days, but I think a lot of these vendors and the school could still make a nice profit and not gouge the pure T hell out of their so called customers.

Just one angry old man's view of the situation.

Go Jackets!

Sorry to hear you are disappointed, but $4 for a coke or hot dog is pretty standard for any sports/entertainment venue - particularly in a major city. If it were less expensive we'd be talking about how cheap it is (say $6 total for a coke and a hot dog). $42 isn't expensive when you factor in how much you pay a month for cable and what you paid for your tv.

 

[motynes]

Like a previous poster said, have you been to a movie lately. I drop $100.00 every time I take my kids to the movies. I consider the games fair comparatively. I do wish they'd up grade some of the selections like some of the other college venues, but it's no biggie to me. Love my jackets.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I understand why you're upset, that $42 was only $1.74 when you went to Tech in 1913. We won in a convincing fashion on Thursday night so I'm glad you started this thread, Tech fans need something to complain about.

I sympathize with Jerry on the parking, but we used to park a couple blocks east and just walk out passport of the traffic bottlenecks. In the (19) 70s I remember my wife and I eating an entire weekend for $20. (Eating like crap.) But recently, going to the games and feeding hungry college students cost >$500 a game weekend. The price of the tickets was a small % of the total, and most of the cost was a donation.

 

[Golden Balaam]

I like everyone's responses to the OG post, but I think Jerry raised a legitimate concern & there's 0 willingness to address it.

Issue 1: Terrible in-game concession options.

• The proposed solution (eat at a private, off-campus establishment) yields $0 to GT's coffers. If anything, it might actually be a cost detriment to GT. Universities are major marketplaces with respect to consumers. By not satisfying the demand for food on campus, GT is driving consumption to nearby restaurants thereby making the real estate around GT's perimeter more expensive. How does that hurt GT? Well, we need to expand our campus. we got lucky buying up Spring Street (North Ave. - 5th) during the Great Recession. Absent another real estate crash, how much will we overpay to acquire the land west of campus for the new biomed hub? But for those few restaurants, "Midtown West" would be indistinguishable from Bankhead. And I'd hate to pay for the premium for the Midtown West brand.

• This above example is analogous (I assume) to the Home Park situation. By not addressing demand for student housing, GT funneled students off campus. The value of Home Park's location makes it cost prohibitive for a developer to buy en mass b/c of the classic holdout problem (I assume again). So, we have a neighborhood with an awesome location, separating GT from Atlantic Station, & it's filled with disgusting, barely livable housing, lacks street lights or any infrastructure to promote safety/commuting. Home Park locks GT's Northern expansion, the east is designated for GT-Emory, the South is no man's land (downtown), and the West is our future biomed industry hub. Where do students turn to for housing? $1,500 for a midtown condo? $600 for a rat-infested, unsafe shack with 3 roommates in Home Park? Or an $800 - $1,000 apartment 5 - 10 miles away from campus (hurts campus community and increases parking demand). I think GT made the right decision to invest in the university's future research impact rather than housing and campus dining. But this is nonetheless a huge opportunity cost that most people don't even think about. You hear people talk about the student loan bubble and rising cost of college education. Yes, it's true that tuition & books have risen at an astronomical rate. But what about student housing and student cost of living? If you allow the private market to be the solution, students are going to either pay an inflated market price (due to high student renter demand) for unkempt housing [terrible hotdog] or pay more than most working people can afford to rent a nice condo [buy food at a midtown bar]. The gov't will and does loan the student all the money they want ("COA"). Which option do you think students are choosing? maybe not all. maybe not most. but enough students that this whole game of charging a high interest rate [high price per hotdog] to subsidize the people who are defaulting [buying private food] won't last much longer. Deflation - the new, new normal. Nickle and Diming for bad products won't work in the new, new, normal. "innovation" is our only out. We need to offer a better product that more people will buy [like the awesome new (private?) student housing that's being built across from the cheetah].

• Does GT even operate the concession stands at the game? it seems like it's local community organizations who staff the concessions. I'm all for supporting the community, but I'd like to know the distribution of profits & why the food options have to be so awful and overpriced. The falcons stadium is a different beast than GT's in terms of revenue allocations from concession stands, let's not even go there.

Issue 2: You don't compete with the "big boys" by trying to maximize revenue of a bad product [cough, get rid of R, cough]. Instead, differentiate your product from the competitors, add value for the customer, and develop a brand that's worth more than a $5 box of popcorn.

• Ya'll talk about how Atlanta is a major selling point in recruiting. Well, one of Atlanta's attractions is its food scene. Why don't we incorporate any of Atlanta's awesome, unique, "innovative", pro-entrepenurship restaurants into GT's gameday experience? Inside or outside the stadium. Why must we settle for history and tradition when our history and tradition is the varsity (THE FOOD ISN"T GOOD. The atmosphere must have died off b/c NO ONE @GT goes there anymore) and $5 dollar off-brand hotdogs that are left over from the high school game on friday? I spare Coke from my criticism because Coke is ATL, although it would be nice if Coke reminded the people outside Atlanta of that every once and a while.

• Parking is awful, unless you know what you're doing (i.e. have spent 4, 5, 6+ years on campus). So, to complain about a half empty stadium and then defend gauging people on parking, you're basically building a barrier to entry that will prevent you from attracting new attendees. I get that parking is scarce at GT. This is a much bigger problem than GT football. Honestly, we need tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment to solve this problem that's been kicked down the road for 1/2 a century. Until then, GT should do a much better job about generating "innovative" partnerships with nearby parking hubs (atlantic station, 14th & peachtree, BOA, etc.). I don't have anything in mind, but I could think of 100 ideas that would be a marginal improvement over our current don't do anything approach.

Ending on a positive: A few of the many things that we're doing right & I love about GT gameday

• Band making "Put On" a staple song during games (also, who can forget the Turnt Up game)
• ^ + not eroding our awesome traditions like the yellowwww - jacketsss, Budweiser song, etc.
• I like the new field-level ads and in-game ads from local companies that hire hard at GT. Airwatch comes to mind from a few season back. it helps build GT's brand value while generating game day ad revenue.
• KS1. I love how lax GT games are. perhaps others will disagree. I just haven't had a bad experience at Bobby Dodd. I think that's b/c our fan base is so respectable. Let people have a good time, so long as they don't make it toxic for others.
• Tailgating - 5th street bridge & Frats are the best tailgate experiences I've had. Seems like other people enjoy other parts of campus too. beautiful green space + lazie faire policing + city landscape = GT on the come up

Competing with the big boys is not about the quality of food or even parking. It is about the quality and connection of your experience with that team.

We make fun of other fans who spend 100 of dollars on games and we refuse to buy from our school waiting on a deal from stubhub. That is fine but it has also earned us a reputation of not traveling well and being cheap which hurts us like it or not when being considered for major bowls or even someday when it comes to playoff selections. It should be about the results of the game but the reality is it is also about the money. We are a practical and logical fan base versus the big boys who are fanatical and passionate about theirs. This thread demonstrates that and I doubt the big boy message boards have a similar thread.

It isn't an out food or even school and alumni size it is our mentality of logic versus passion.