Yes the supporter's groups put on tailgates and no they don't loose money. In fact they donate any profits to soccer organizations around Atlanta.
Yes they have insurance. They are very professionally run organizations and tailgates. They feed and entertain hundreds of people each, similar to how I imagine the Peter's tailgate will be. I believe this entire venture of providing a walk-up tailgate was initiated because of our seeing AU tailgates before games at BDS last season. They had an entire parking lot next to the Varsity (an expense the GTAA will not have due to having an entire campus open to hosting tailgates) with the 4 supporters groups tailgating.
A tailgate before games at BDS is as apples to apples are you are going to get. It can be done for less without sacrificing quality. Like I said previously I can understand why they may want to start off smaller to test the waters but there's no reason this can't be taken to a larger scale with a lower cost option in the future.
On a slightly unrelated note the availability of a walk up tailgate allows patrons to take mass transit to the event without sacrificing the tailgate experience. Many younger people want to take Marta instead of driving to events and this will give them that option. The trains are packed for AU games like I have never seen them for GT games.
Like I opened my previous statement, I have no idea about AtlUtd and what they do beyond their underlying existence and popularity.
Interesting point you make in your first paragraph that I previously didn't want to harp on. Any profits earned are a de facto donation to GT athletics. If people view this as their entertainment dollar, don't spend it. That said, college athletics are generally a passion hobby that can use every dollar it can get in today's arms race.
Something to consider. Same way, I think lower prices children's tickets are a valid consideration.
In your last paragraph, you nailed something on the head. Stansbury has had turnkey tailgates on his mind since he arrived and constituencies such as the occasional game attendee, younger fans that don't want the hassle, families that cant handle the logistics... Those are the targets.
The target audience isn't the crowd that are happy to do it for themselves, likely at lower cost.