Has there ever been any discussion of post game traffic flow issues in expansion plans? We live 3 hours away and sitting in the parking lot for an hour has killed our possibility of purchasing season tickets that include night games. Unless you live in the metro area, night games are a problem. Maybe they could have a designated lane based on license plates! Just kidding.....kinda.
JTS Improvements - Want More
- Thread starter TOFB4ISU
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I dont believe they will ever duplicate the SEZ in the NEZ, when it does get done the needs and the uses of the day will be different. So it will look, feel and be utilized different. That being said, a full duplicate of the SEZ would only add about 5k seats because it replaces 6k hillside seats, before actually adding any. So by putting in an 11k+ seat end zone you only net 5k seats.
My guess the driver for future expansion will be not only the need for some regular tickets but more club sections.
I know many believe we need a larger Press/Sky box full of suites but because of the way our stadium is set up with suites between the decks on the west side plus a few in the press box, we have plenty as of right now I believe, as I can find no information on wait lists or actual need for more formal suites.
What may drive more expansion, both in a sky box or in seats is the need to expand the student section to a NE corner, as more student sections are needed but not to take up higher value seats as well as higher value seats needed in the center sections on the East side. While I know students dont bring in the money, so adding more is not exactly a great idea, but they create great excitement. Plus I do know many other colleges allow more students than we do currently. Next, my point being, if we expanded into the corners on the north, we could shift the students around the corner, opening higher value seats they currently occupy closer to the center of the field. If the NEZ ever does get done, I see something like this happening.
Next the need for more club sections, as there is a waiting list for club seats now, By adding club sections to the West side between the decks where the suites are like the Jack Trice club on the East side. This will drive the need for a new Sky box with new Suites and possibly open air club seats below. These are money makers.
The need for high value seats are what is going to drive future expansion. This might not be a huge gain for the capacity. I can see getting to 75k at some point with finishing the NEZ bowl, adding new club sections, and suits to a new skybox, but in the process a lot more high value seats, and pushing the students more to the corners. Thus raising the revenue from the seats in the center of the stadium.
ISU is on the way up, the area is exploding in growth. Realistically the stadium could grow much more. But I think in our lifetime it will be more about what type of seats than total capacity numbers. A lot of things are yet to be seen though on how things change as we come out of the pandemic. I think we all know things are going to be different.
Ive always thought they should extend the current stands where the band sits to close in that end. But, keep the hillsides above those stands as a kids area. They’d have two jr cyclone club areas with general admission seating, but room for the kids to run above those stands. They could even put fencing on top of the hill so parents could keep better track of their kids. And, it would provide tunnels for the teams to run out of.
Honestly, it would provide better viewing for those jr cyclone club families, make it more family friendly, make those tickets worth more and the whole thing wouldn’t be very expensive. Plus it would make the nez look better aesthetically.
You just need to be willing to leave a little earlier than most. I also have a drive after games although not 3 hours. If the game is super tight, there’s not much you can do. But most games, if you can walk out with a minute or two left, there’s no way you’re sitting in the lots for an hour.
Until I see the student section completely full on a consistent basis, I wouldn't worry about expanding their sections. They show up for a few games a year, but a lot of times the upper deck part of the student section if far from full.
I know they sell out student tickets and have for several years. I believe the issue with many of the games is the students over pack the lower section so the upper bowl has extra room.
Even without adding student sections I could still see them wanting to shift them more to the corner if they could to sell the tickets closer to mid field that the students currently hold. These are higher value seats. Not saying this happens any time soon, but it could be part of a future plan.
- The pedestrian overpass/underpass would help getting everyone out of the lots. .
After that your into:
- Dual lefts from University onto Hwy 30 EB - The bridge pier widths are limiting the factor, so you're likely rebuilding the hwy 30 bridges, which is probably a $20,000,000+ project.
- Finishing 4-lane on 16th - $5,000,000
- Adding another lane for EB 16th Street rights onto Duff, a third lane from 16th to 30 on Duff, and Dual rights onto 30 EB - The Duff piers are 65' apart, with only two lanes, so there's a bit more wiggle room on this one. Probably another $5,000,000 project though.
Those would be City/University mostly, with the on ramps State facilities/contributions. Once you have all of that done, then you're into the capacity of Hwy 30 and 35. I'm not sure how old the University/Hwy 30 bridges are, but this would be the biggest improvement. If they're getting to the end of their projected life, it might be on the radar in the future. Unfortunately, it's a pretty big pill to swallow.
The thing is though, I think we need to look at why we've been successful and how to sustain that over the long run.
I think part of why there's declining attendance is that too many programs have built to minimum levels and then jacked up the prices. That works in the short run, but over time you lose your attendance as that's unaffordable for a lot of people at the low end and so you're not building a long-term customer base. .
We've had success because we've been able to offer a wide variety of price points to be able to cater to people at whatever financial stage theyre at. Those people buying cheap corner tickets in their 20s could be the people buying 50yl tickets 20 years down the road. If success continues and the value of current seats continues to rise, more seating makes sense on a long-term basis even if it gets used for lower-priced seating, else we could suffer the same issues everyone else has at some point down the road. .
The east ramp next to Jacobson has a second lane in the designs. That would put the trailer close to the new visitor locker room.
No chance. My son will never leave early. Up by 50, down by 50, “ the players deserve the fans in the stands”.
Probably still expensive, and im not sure if it could be made to work, but i'd think getting that to a right turn and loop back onto 30EB would be the ideal as opposed to adding a dual left.
The two cheapest solutions:
(1) Force traffic to turn a particular direction when exiting
(2) No inbound traffic for X amount of time after the game
One of the biggest issues that comes with the great tailgating that surrounds Jack Trice is the traffic following the games. With such a high density of vehicles in the immediate area with only essentially one direct access road that ~70% of drivers take (university blvd south bound) there is bound to be choke points with the mass exoduses following games. Unfortunately for future mitigation of traffic following post game, there really isn't too much that can be done.
When looking at stadiums that I've been to that have better traffic flow following games, the things that stick out the most in comparison to what is present in Ames is more immediate options for highway access, and more decentralized parking (Think KU and UT without large surface lots)
Example of options to access Highway from UT parking areas
Now compare that to JTS where almost all of the parking is north of hwy 30 which requires all vehicles to access the same few ramps to join highway traffic flow.
Yeah, $30 million on infrastructure that is only needed 7 times a year (while generating no revenue) is going to be hard to accept. Some of those changes might be able to be implemented as life cycles of various elements expire, but I'd doubt it.
There's probably a way to get all the traffic flowing efficiently, but getting 50k-60k people out with only one connection to a major arterial is never going to end well.
Too many people have convinced themselves that the most direct route (i.e., 30/University) is (1) the "only" route and/or (2) preferable to the fastest route.
Get yourself a hotel room 30-60 minutes down the road. Get a few hours of sleep in, then continue on your way. I'm two hours away and have done this at the comfort inn in story city. Usually these places don't get hit by the price inflation on gamedays. Or at least not to the same extent.
I lot of bottleneck is pedestrians trying to cross University Boulevard after the game. A walking bridge would do a lot to easing the traffic flow after the game. Seriously, traffic simply doesn't move because they stop it to let pedestrians cross the street.
Just dig a tunnel under University already. Save $20M and out that towards the updates to Hilton that are more pressing.
It is embarrassing how mad people get when they can't get home to Ankeny, 30 minutes after a football game is over. Go back to the car, everyone but the driver grab a couple roadies and enjoy John and Eric's post game radio coverage
It is embarrassing how mad people get when they can't get home to Ankeny, 30 minutes after a football game is over. Go back to the car, everyone but the driver grab a couple roadies and enjoy John and Eric's post game radio coverage
I wouldn't want to dig a tunnel in a floodplain and likely into the water table.
