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Post by aggierattler on Jul 14, 2019 21:57:08 GMT -5
Some of you guys really need to stop and dig through some of the old threads and articles. Pretty much all of your questions would be answered. Here's an excerpt from an interview BT did with Hilton back in 2013. Another big decision that you made early on in your tenure as AD, was the implementation of the Game zone. That decision was met with a lot of controversy and media attention. How would you assess the overall impact of the Game Zone over the last couple of years and is it too early to determine if it’s been a success or not?[/i] Earl Hilton: “From my perspective it’s been a success. The baseline that I’m using is Homecoming ticket sales, year over year, and those are up the last two years over the previous year. Also, the feedback that I’m getting from fans that are in the game is that it creates a very inviting, comfortable game experience. Obviously, the ones who aren’t inside (the Game Zone) are not having that experience and there is some frustration from them because they can’t get in. I think it’s important to know that when we implemented the Game Zone we also created the Community Outreach Ticket Program which allows for elementary and middle school students to come to the games for free. They can come through a community organization like the Boys and Girls Club or junior high school or a church group – just as long as they are not recruiting age, eighth grade and below. They get free tickets and we provide tickets to their chaperones and they can all come to the games. This is our third year of doing that and so far we’ve given away almost 3,000 tickets. So we’ve made the games a little more exclusive with the Game Zone but we’ve also created a way for individuals who might be excluded otherwise to come and have that experience. We want to continue to engage the community and invite them to attend all of our games.”bluedeathvalley.com/the-man-with-the-plan-exclusive-interview-with-earl-hilton/ [/quote] Thank you, DECKS!!
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Post by aggieswag on Jul 15, 2019 6:30:10 GMT -5
I have never saw that till now and I thank you for posting it but it proves my point 100% in his own words. The only purpose of the game zone is to make it exclusive to appease the need of our alumni to feel special and privileged. This is not a fundraiser with Obama coming it's a football game. You don't make football games exclusive that's crazy. We have spent now 9 posts trying to figure out how to get people in all while putting up a wall to keep people out "to be exclusive" 🤷 you can't make this stuff up.
Again I go back to my compromise.
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Post by aggie2039 on Jul 15, 2019 7:27:37 GMT -5
I have never saw that till now and I thank you for posting it but it proves my point 100% in his own words. The only purpose of the game zone is to make it exclusive to appease the need of our alumni to feel special and privileged. This is not a fundraiser with Obama coming it's a football game. You don't make football games exclusive that's crazy. We have spent now 9 posts trying to figure out how to get people in all while putting up a wall to keep people out "to be exclusive" 🤷 you can't make this stuff up. Again I go back to my compromise. How does letting people in the gamezone equall more people in the stands?
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Post by aggierattler on Jul 15, 2019 10:56:26 GMT -5
I have never saw that till now and I thank you for posting it but it proves my point 100% in his own words. The only purpose of the game zone is to make it exclusive to appease the need of our alumni to feel special and privileged. This is not a fundraiser with Obama coming it's a football game. You don't make football games exclusive that's crazy. We have spent now 9 posts trying to figure out how to get people in all while putting up a wall to keep people out "to be exclusive" 🤷 you can't make this stuff up. Again I go back to my compromise. OK...how is this “exclusive” if all you have to do to be included is purchase a face-value ticket??
Are the movies or going to a play or the fair “exclusive” to you, too? They require you to purchase a ticket, also.
I get OSA’s point, but your argument just doesn’t make sense to me...but I respect your opinion.
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Maxell
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Director of BDF Marketing
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Post by Maxell on Jul 15, 2019 12:16:00 GMT -5
I’m going to go there,,, Social ENTITLEMENT: There are many in our community who still don’t understand that at some point in our lives there has to be a transition from entitlement to responsibility. Most of us grew up poor and without assistance along the way we may not have been able to achieve some level of success but some of us still want everything to be free. It’s not. We somehow feel we are owed something. If we want to experience a Division I college atmosphere, we have to pay for it. And as we said earlier in thread, special programs can be developed for underprivileged fans. But for freeloading graduates, put your big boy and big girl draws on.
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Post by aggieswag on Jul 15, 2019 12:22:09 GMT -5
No one is suggesting that you let people in the game for free that would be just as crazy as the game zone.
Listen I do public policy for a living. And if you see a constant issue 99.9% of the time it's a policy that makes it that way.
No one in the country makes a tailgate exclusive. Because that's a horrible policy.
Tailgates are served as a prelude to the event. Look at it as tool per say..In order for any entitiy to sustain itself be it a business or a football team depends on it's base to expand the base. It's as natural as apple pie and ice cream. Here at A&T you actually have a policy that prevents it's base to use the tailgate as a tool to promote Aggie football culture. There have been many people I want to invite to join our culture at A&T. And there are thousands of people just like me inside that cage that could and would do the same thing.
Your base of 5k breeds a base of 8k and it goes up from there.That's the most sustainable way to build a base and it stood the test of time. you can't expect people who have never seen that culture to value it or invest in it.that's why the tailgate tool is so important and why this policy is so dismal.
No one will be excited about Aggie football like we are. We are the number one sellers to the community. The game zone policy prevented all of that. And that policy led us to stop growing and that's why you see a dismal tailgate atmosphere and a half empty stadium, despite inflated attendance numbers and exploiting our students for all it's worth. That policy as we all can see it's not sustainable. There is not enough gimmicks in the world to overcome it.
Let me invite my freeloaders. It cost no one on this board a dime for people to eat my food and drink my beer .. NOT A DIME!
I learned a long time ago not to try to understand the thought process of my elders. I will never understand how we got to a place where we're so elitist that we believe that our brothers and sisters cannot even use a porta potty in our presence. I wake up every morning fighting against mindsets like that so I will never get it. I don't want to get it. But that's why I embrace the compromise.
Aggieratler u might not understand my point but 99.5% of colleges and universities do. Big or small, white or black no one does this. Because from a simple policy perspective it's pound for penny stupid.
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Jul 15, 2019 12:39:49 GMT -5
No one is suggesting that you let people in the game for free that would be just as crazy as the game zone. Listen I do public policy for a living. And if you see a constant issue 99.9% of the time it's a policy that makes it that way. No one in the country makes a tailgate exclusive. Because that's a horrible policy. Tailgates are served as a prelude to the event. Look at it as tool per say..In order for any entitiy to sustain itself be it a business or a football team depends on it's base to expand the base. It's as natural as apple pie and ice cream. Here at A&T you actually have a policy that prevents it's base to use the tailgate as a tool to promote Aggie football culture. There have been many people I want to invite to join our culture at A&T. And there are thousands of people just like me inside that cage that could and would do the same thing. Your base of 5k breeds a base of 8k and it goes up from there.That's the most sustainable way to build a base and it stood the test of time. you can't expect people who have never seen that culture to value it or invest in it.that's why the tailgate tool is so important and why this policy is so dismal. No one will be excited about Aggie football like we are. We are the number one sellers to the community. The game zone policy prevented all of that. And that policy led us to stop growing and that's why you see a dismal tailgate atmosphere and a half empty stadium, despite inflated attendance numbers and exploiting our students for all it's worth. That policy as we all can see it's not sustainable. There is not enough gimmicks in the world to overcome it. Let me invite my freeloaders. It cost no one on this board a dime for people to eat my food and drink my beer .. NOT A DIME! I learned a long time ago not to try to understand the thought process of my elders. I will never understand how we got to a place where we're so elitist that we believe that our brothers and sisters cannot even use a porta potty in our presence. I wake up every morning fighting against mindsets like that so I will never get it. I don't want to get it. But that's why I embrace the compromise. Aggieratler u might not understand my point but 99.5% of colleges and universities do. Big or small, white or black no one does this. Because from a simple policy perspective it's pound for penny stupid. Solution: Tailgate Day. First game of the season, everybody gets to bring their freeloading friends to hang out in the parking lot. After that, they pay.
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Post by aggie2039 on Jul 15, 2019 13:26:05 GMT -5
No one is suggesting that you let people in the game for free that would be just as crazy as the game zone. Listen I do public policy for a living. And if you see a constant issue 99.9% of the time it's a policy that makes it that way. No one in the country makes a tailgate exclusive. Because that's a horrible policy. Tailgates are served as a prelude to the event. Look at it as tool per say..In order for any entitiy to sustain itself be it a business or a football team depends on it's base to expand the base. It's as natural as apple pie and ice cream. Here at A&T you actually have a policy that prevents it's base to use the tailgate as a tool to promote Aggie football culture. There have been many people I want to invite to join our culture at A&T. And there are thousands of people just like me inside that cage that could and would do the same thing. Your base of 5k breeds a base of 8k and it goes up from there.That's the most sustainable way to build a base and it stood the test of time. you can't expect people who have never seen that culture to value it or invest in it.that's why the tailgate tool is so important and why this policy is so dismal. No one will be excited about Aggie football like we are. We are the number one sellers to the community. The game zone policy prevented all of that. And that policy led us to stop growing and that's why you see a dismal tailgate atmosphere and a half empty stadium, despite inflated attendance numbers and exploiting our students for all it's worth. That policy as we all can see it's not sustainable. There is not enough gimmicks in the world to overcome it. Let me invite my freeloaders. It cost no one on this board a dime for people to eat my food and drink my beer .. NOT A DIME! I learned a long time ago not to try to understand the thought process of my elders. I will never understand how we got to a place where we're so elitist that we believe that our brothers and sisters cannot even use a porta potty in our presence. I wake up every morning fighting against mindsets like that so I will never get it. I don't want to get it. But that's why I embrace the compromise. Aggieratler u might not understand my point but 99.5% of colleges and universities do. Big or small, white or black no one does this. Because from a simple policy perspective it's pound for penny stupid. What is wrong with using the other tailgate areas? You don’t need a ticket, setup a big screen and multiple TVs...you and friends can drink , cook , party and be merry.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 13:30:17 GMT -5
No one is suggesting that you let people in the game for free that would be just as crazy as the game zone. Listen I do public policy for a living. And if you see a constant issue 99.9% of the time it's a policy that makes it that way. No one in the country makes a tailgate exclusive. Because that's a horrible policy. Tailgates are served as a prelude to the event. Look at it as tool per say..In order for any entitiy to sustain itself be it a business or a football team depends on it's base to expand the base. It's as natural as apple pie and ice cream. Here at A&T you actually have a policy that prevents it's base to use the tailgate as a tool to promote Aggie football culture. There have been many people I want to invite to join our culture at A&T. And there are thousands of people just like me inside that cage that could and would do the same thing. Your base of 5k breeds a base of 8k and it goes up from there.That's the most sustainable way to build a base and it stood the test of time. you can't expect people who have never seen that culture to value it or invest in it.that's why the tailgate tool is so important and why this policy is so dismal. No one will be excited about Aggie football like we are. We are the number one sellers to the community. The game zone policy prevented all of that. And that policy led us to stop growing and that's why you see a dismal tailgate atmosphere and a half empty stadium, despite inflated attendance numbers and exploiting our students for all it's worth. That policy as we all can see it's not sustainable. There is not enough gimmicks in the world to overcome it. Let me invite my freeloaders. It cost no one on this board a dime for people to eat my food and drink my beer .. NOT A DIME! I learned a long time ago not to try to understand the thought process of my elders. I will never understand how we got to a place where we're so elitist that we believe that our brothers and sisters cannot even use a porta potty in our presence. I wake up every morning fighting against mindsets like that so I will never get it. I don't want to get it. But that's why I embrace the compromise. Aggieratler u might not understand my point but 99.5% of colleges and universities do. Big or small, white or black no one does this. Because from a simple policy perspective it's pound for penny stupid. Solution: Tailgate Day. First game of the season, everybody gets to bring their freeloading friends to hang out in the parking lot. After that, they pay. Not to mention it does cost the university most likely extra to pay for additional facilities and security for people to hang out in tailgate areas who aren't paying to enter the game. If those extra port-a-potties and A&T Police/Security who require overtime didn't cost A&T Athletics extra, I'd be okay with it. But because it does cost, having the Gamezone in place helps offset these costs.
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Jul 15, 2019 13:33:49 GMT -5
Some of you guys really need to stop and dig through some of the old threads and articles. Pretty much all of your questions would be answered. Here's an excerpt from an interview BT did with Hilton back in 2013. Another big decision that you made early on in your tenure as AD, was the implementation of the Game zone. That decision was met with a lot of controversy and media attention. How would you assess the overall impact of the Game Zone over the last couple of years and is it too early to determine if it’s been a success or not?[/i] Earl Hilton: “From my perspective it’s been a success. The baseline that I’m using is Homecoming ticket sales, year over year, and those are up the last two years over the previous year. Also, the feedback that I’m getting from fans that are in the game is that it creates a very inviting, comfortable game experience. Obviously, the ones who aren’t inside (the Game Zone) are not having that experience and there is some frustration from them because they can’t get in. I think it’s important to know that when we implemented the Game Zone we also created the Community Outreach Ticket Program which allows for elementary and middle school students to come to the games for free. They can come through a community organization like the Boys and Girls Club or junior high school or a church group – just as long as they are not recruiting age, eighth grade and below. They get free tickets and we provide tickets to their chaperones and they can all come to the games. This is our third year of doing that and so far we’ve given away almost 3,000 tickets. So we’ve made the games a little more exclusive with the Game Zone but we’ve also created a way for individuals who might be excluded otherwise to come and have that experience. We want to continue to engage the community and invite them to attend all of our games.”[/quote] bluedeathvalley.com/the-man-with-the-plan-exclusive-interview-with-earl-hilton/ [/quote] decks, i appreciate that post. but let's be honest. would you really expect the one person (hilton) who is actually responsible for implementing the game zone in the first place to say its not a success? c'mon, that's like asking trump and the republicans if his tax cuts benefited the "low and middle class" americans. hilton is not gonna say "my idea failed"...
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Post by aggieswag on Jul 15, 2019 14:44:08 GMT -5
Of course Hilton want admit this policy failed but he doesn't have to. It's blatantly obvious. let me also say that I think he's one of the best athletic directors in the world. I would not trade him for nothing. However everybody is not good at everything. and crowd building clearly is not his thing and he should recognize that and give it to people that do know how to do it.
But we are the ones on Facebook talking about it our co-workers hear about it our neighbors see us going and coming. And a lot of them would love to be a part of it and many of us would love to invite them.but we can't and no we don't want to go on Laurel Street I shouldn't have to same thing that applies there it is by at the stadium. I pay for my spot and I pay for my food. Charging for tailgate spots or per car covers the cost of the dam port o potty. I'm tired of hearing about that it's a non-issue it's a fixed cost.
All still boils down to people want to feel special. Do the compromise! Home side game zone for fancy smancy, vip, handicap parking and special guest..and let the rest be free (charging tailgate spots or per car, but no game ticket needed) ..this is the best way.
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Post by Aggie One on Jul 15, 2019 14:50:05 GMT -5
From a historical prepspective without the spin -
Essentially 2 big things brought the Game Zone into existence in 2011. First the university was losing money (huge jump in extra security, rental and cleanup costs was approaching nearly a fourth of the gate) with open tailgating with literally thousands of people hovering in the lots enjoying all the benefits but contributing not one dollar in buying a game ticket or parking. The straw that really upended the whole "community atmosphere" argument was at the 2011 homecoming when GSO DOT put crowd estimates both in and immediately outside of Aggie Stadium at 40,000 yet the official paid attendance to the game was 19,454 far short of the 24,000 capacity.
The second big reason was a barrage of complaints from fans and alums alike who had purchased tailgate space that individuals from "hood" with no affiliation to the school, any interest in the game or festivities were showing up invading tailgate parties, grabbing food and creating disturbances on the regular. People were also being pushed out of their spaces by some of the huge entourages that accompanied certain professional tailgate parties.
Keep in mind, that was also about the same time when there had been several shootings at gatherings just off campus in related open party scenarios. The university and those in attendance were rightfully fearful of the gun violence spilling over onto a big campus function like a football game, especially where there was unchecked open access off the street. It was a combination of these circumstances all coming together as they did, when they did, that forever tipped the scales in favor of implementing the Game Zone.
No need to shoot the messenger. That's just what transpired at the time to bring it about. Being exclusive wasn't on the radar, at least not on mine.
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Post by aggieswag on Jul 15, 2019 15:06:21 GMT -5
With the exception of two quarters at homecoming all of that still exist. after half-time there is no security and there is no gate and all those 40,000 people from around the area can come into the stadium and they do. So that solved nothing, except being counterproductive by trying to engage people to go into the game - after the game. Again you can't make this stuff up.
#notshootingthemessenger
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Post by The Professor on Jul 15, 2019 15:41:42 GMT -5
From a historical prepspective without the spin - Essentially 2 big things brought the Game Zone into existence in 2011. First the university was losing money (huge jump in extra security, rental and cleanup costs was approaching nearly a fourth of the gate) with open tailgating with literally thousands of people hovering in the lots enjoying all the benefits but contributing not one dollar in buying a game ticket or parking. The straw that really upended the whole "community atmosphere" argument was at the 2011 homecoming when GSO DOT put crowd estimates both in and immediately outside of Aggie Stadium at 40,000 yet the official paid attendance to the game was 19,454 far short of the 24,000 capacity. The second big reason was a barrage of complaints from fans and alums alike who had purchased tailgate space that individuals from "hood" with no affiliation to the school, any interest in the game or festivities were showing up invading tailgate parties, grabbing food and creating disturbances on the regular. People were also being pushed out of their spaces by some of the huge entourages that accompanied certain professional tailgate parties. Keep in mind, that was also about the same time when there had been several shootings at gatherings just off campus in related open party scenarios. The university and those in attendance were rightfully fearful of the gun violence spilling over onto a big campus function like a football game, especially where there was unchecked open access off the street. It was a combination of these circumstances all coming together as they did, when they did, that forever tipped the scales in favor of implementing the Game Zone. No need to shoot the messenger. That's just what transpired at the time to bring it about. Being exclusive wasn't on the radar, at least not on mine. We thank you for the truth
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Post by Aggie Monster on Jul 15, 2019 19:39:07 GMT -5
Lets say what it really is Aggieswag. I actually agree with you mostly, but I get why it was done. You want to be able to sip your beer and be surrounded by "atmosphere" and be 10 steps away from the game at the same time. You don't care if the guy next to you ain't going in because you going in. You will be back in the tailgate if the game is a blowout sippin your beer and you don't want to walk 15 minutes to get there. You want to walk from tailgate to tailgate and not miss nothing you heard was "fire" waaaay over at Laurel. You want to be able to get to the tailgate at 9am and walk back and forth to Laurel to your homeboy's tailgate before the game starts. You want to be able to say, "yeah man, walk with me over here to my man tailgate". You probably also got a homeboy or 3 that dont buy tickets so yall cant really hang like that until the game is almost over. He outside and you inside or whatever. You want to be able to invite some women that you met Friday night that you know dont give a damn about football to hang out at your tailgate Saturday. Damn, did I just describe myself?? LOL
But here's where we differ, for me I actually like the gamezone for homecoming because it gives you options. I agree with you, they still "freeload" on Laurel anyway,which still calls for the same crowd numbers outside the game itself. You have to choose inside or outside. Plan accordingly. What makes me not like Gamezone is on the non-homecoming games. It doesn't really serve a purpose for those. It's just an irritation. It doesn't change security needed or non of the stuff Aggie One pointed out.
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