TheSabre.com Fan Friday: Game Day Experience

1 Comment

1. 

   false October 7, 2023 at 9:32 AM

   When it comes to Power 5 football, UVA is not even in the marketplace.  There is the need for an apocalyptically  transformative investment in NIL and all football related resources IF UVA is serious about having a competitive Power 5 program. This is the only way to attract talent from the portal and out of high school. There ain't no other way! A UVA degree and "Charlottesville is pretty in the fall" does nothing for football success. The game day experience at Scott Stadium -- I hate to write it -- is simply awful.     ** the traffic to get near the stadium is terrible (even when the stadium is only 30% full!)     ** the University will not accommodate gameday parking (all the lots around Grounds are restricted/permit parking only) and, thus, the University does not support the football program and, thus, discourages attendance    ** the concessions are terrible: slow, crowded (again, even with no crowd present!), poor service, poor choice, poor quality    ** the bathrooms and the causeways are too small, too crowded even with low fan turnout    ** and gameday attendance -- as is correctly noted -- is low and getting worse Having been to ACC stadiums and Power 5 schools all over the country, I would candidly say that UVA just isn't competitive on gameday. And that's not just the team on the field. The whole experience.   If a recruit stands on the sideline in Scott Stadium one week and then the next couple of weeks is at Carter-Finley and then Lane and then -- oh gawd -- Happy Valley ... well, we just lost that kid. The energy in those places is ... different.  UVA needs to decide if it wants to be in the game.  If not, just go Patriot League for football and play Colgate, Fordham, American, Lafayette, Holy Cross, etc.