Believe it or not, one of the biggest competitors faced by college sports stadiums is your living room.
It makes sense why your living room is an attractive venue to watch college sports from: you get to view the game on a wide screen HD T.V. in a comfortable atmosphere with thermostat a that can be adjusted to your liking. You get to rest your buns on a cushy couch with a platter of free food waiting in your refrigerator, not to mention zero parking stress.
However, colleges are working hard to pull sports attendees out of their living rooms and into their stadiums.
Some colleges are adding screens to their stadiums to increase a digital signage presence, while others are adding Wi-Fi support to enable fans to access social media and stream videos of the game.
Other colleges are upgrading their stadium seating to create easier access to bathrooms and concession stands alongside new and improved parking spaces to ensure an easy exit after the game. Some are even focused on switching up their menu to give game-goers something more unique to eat other than hotdogs and hamburgers.
Ray Leake, Vice President of Protective Enclosures Company, says that consumers often get impatient with outdated stadiums.
“They are impatient because consumers have lots of offerings to spend money,” he says. “When passing a college [someone] is attending, they want amenities in order to spend money.”
While finding new ways to upgrade a stadium can be costly, a college’s return on investment is paid through dropping jaws and happier attendees.
“It’s important to offer accommodations for consumers,” he says. “The market is competitive on what and where to spend money. You want your consumers to come back.”
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