UCF’s decision to change the tailgating hours is alienating some fans and community members, which can reduce its potential profits.
The university needs to seriously reconsider its position on tailgating.
Schools with successful football programs include a large fan base of people that is not students, alumna or faculty. UCF needs to reach out to these people in the Orlando community to establish a larger fan base. Constantly limiting and changing the available hours is confusing and annoying. The process is already deterring existing and future fans.
In 2007 and 2008, UCF allowed fans to begin tailgating at 7 a.m. For the 2009 season, the Gameday Planning Committee reduced the tailgating hours. Under the new restrictions, fans were not allowed to set up until noon for games starting at 6 p.m. or later.
Last season, an average of 38,000 people came to home football games, and the changes to tailgating irked many fans. In an attempt to ease frustrations, UCF changed its tailgating hours again for the seven home games for the 2010 season.
Now, donors who park in lots E3, E4 and E5 — near the softball and baseball fields — can begin tailgating at 8 a.m. for games that start at or later than 6 p.m. Although the donors are allowed to set up early, they can’t drink until tailgating on the other lots begins at noon.
We understand why UCF is avoiding extending the tailgating hours throughout the campus. It costs the university a lot of money to staff the campus with the appropriate officials for tailgating events.
UCF has not raised ticket prices in four years and has not increased Golden Knights Club donation requirements for two years. The university is attempting to offer its fans the most amount of fun without increasing the cost of the process.
Unfortunately, the recent changes are not good enough. Fans are upset because they feel that donors are getting preferential treatment. They want to be included in the early hours. In an article from the Orlando Sentinel, UCF said that it made the change so students would be able to tailgate in the Memory Mall without getting up early.
But students want to get up early to tailgate. Other members of the community might want to rise early to partake in gameday festivities too.
The ultimate goal of the football program is to increase the number of fans, which would bring attention and money to the university.
If UCF wants to actively work toward increasing the amount of people that attend each game, then it needs to make the process more inviting.
Regardless of what time the game begins, UCF should allow all fans to begin tailgating at 8 a.m.
If the university does not, then the decision could cost them future fans and profits.
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