Ryan Center In-Game Experience - Issues and Upgrades

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 9 years ago

Andrew wrote:Just got a call from someone in the RC offices, asking how my season ticket experience was last year, and if there's any improvements to be made. I told them that I enjoyed it, and that an improvement could be made in fan involvement, whether that's moving the mob (or at least organizing them), have certain sections do different things, etc. Just a heads up for last year's season tickets holders, you may get a call.

Should we have a poll to represent a more unified board in what improvements can be made? Seems the marketing/sales teams are gathering tons of data, which is good.

I volunteered to be on a focus group, which will be meeting in a couple of weeks.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 9 years ago

Concessions could be better, especially for a State with such good food. Better video presentations and in-game content to inform and hype the crowd, connect the history of the program to modern day, recognize Rhody greats, etc. All of which is made easier with all of the tech improvements.

I wouldn't reco anything "contrived" as it comes to fan involvement. With wins and an active student body the experience will immediately improve.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

I think all season ticket holders got a call.
I said parking lot needs to be marked, so people can find their cars.
The landings on the stairways need to have industrial carpeting put on,
so it doesn't look like a parking garage.
Better food at concessions. More ATM machines.
Nothing major. I like the Ryan Center more and more, as the upgrades
take place.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

Got a call and mentioned how most of my gripes from last year are being addressed with the new large video boards, LED ribbon, new sound engineer table & soundproofing, and band.

I also asked that after the game, they make Plains Rd between Flagg and the Ryan Center ONE WAY South ONLY, so that cars from the Plains Rd lot can go non-stop up Flagg Rd or take a left North on Plains Rd. With cars being allowed to go north on Plains from the Ryan Center, traffic from the main lot has to stop and that can make exiting the lot take over an hour such as during the PC game.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

Rhody74 wrote:I volunteered to be on a focus group, which will be meeting in a couple of weeks.

I volunteered as well, maybe I'll see you or others from the board there.

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 9 years ago

Dunkin Donuts coffee

Pulled pork sandwiches from Wes' Rib House

Hot weiners from Olneyville

URIGONZO · Unread post by **URIGONZO** » 9 years ago

I like it Ramulous.....maybe some Clam Chowder from Iggy's???

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 9 years ago

Those little suggestions by Ramulous make a huge difference with creating a unique environment at the RC. Big change is a lot of little stuff that adds up. I know concessions are probably tied into some corp relationship between Global Spectrum and some other huge arena food provider, but localizing it is definitely the trend in Arena management so hopefully they can figure it out.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

I will be at the second Fan Forum meeting in early August. Couldn't make the first one.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

ATPTourFan wrote:I will be at the second Fan Forum meeting in early August. Couldn't make the first one.

The August 12th one? That's the one I'll be at.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 9 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:I think all season ticket holders got a call.
I said parking lot needs to be marked, so people can find their cars.
The landings on the stairways need to have industrial carpeting put on,
so it doesn't look like a parking garage.
Better food at concessions. More ATM machines.
Nothing major. I like the Ryan Center more and more, as the upgrades
take place.

excellent point on the parking.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 9 years ago

bigappleram wrote:Those little suggestions by Ramulous make a huge difference with creating a unique environment at the RC. Big change is a lot of little stuff that adds up. I know concessions are probably tied into some corp relationship between Global Spectrum and some other huge arena food provider, but localizing it is definitely the trend in Arena management so hopefully they can figure it out.

As bad as the food is, the service is just as bad. It seems to me that they're students with no supervisor. I've seen many people get frustrated with the service. It takes forever to get anything.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 9 years ago

Rhody74 wrote:
Andrew wrote:Just got a call from someone in the RC offices, asking how my season ticket experience was last year, and if there's any improvements to be made. I told them that I enjoyed it, and that an improvement could be made in fan involvement, whether that's moving the mob (or at least organizing them), have certain sections do different things, etc. Just a heads up for last year's season tickets holders, you may get a call.

Should we have a poll to represent a more unified board in what improvements can be made? Seems the marketing/sales teams are gathering tons of data, which is good.
I volunteered to be on a focus group, which will be meeting in a couple of weeks.

74: I'd be grateful if you could mention the pep band. You only have to go to a PC game at the Dunk to see the possibilities.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 9 years ago

My suggestion on food improvement is to take the food truck craze and adapt it to the Ryan Center by awarding contracts to a select group of them to man the concession stands. They already have the trucks to transport food and workers to Ryan and they can finish off the food in the Ryan Center facilities.This way you can get name recognition, diversity of food offerings and top quality.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 9 years ago

RhowdyRam02 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:I will be at the second Fan Forum meeting in early August. Couldn't make the first one.
The August 12th one? That's the one I'll be at.

That's three of us, then. I'll be there too.

STC · Unread post by **STC** » 9 years ago

I will be attending one of the focus groups as well...

RIKen822 · Unread post by **RIKen822** » 9 years ago

They need to do a much better job of snow removal especially in the lot to the north-east of the RC

Food is inedible

Bring back the soft serve ice cream machine

Give the students better seats. It's their team and building.

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 9 years ago

I'm told I have trouble focusing......

zporiri · Unread post by **zporiri** » 9 years ago

got selected for the august 6th focus group from 6pm-8pm, will anyone else here be at that one?

rhodyRams08 · Unread post by **rhodyRams08** » 9 years ago

Nope I did not get selected.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Traveling too much right now so I didn't enter. Can someone just say the food really sucks? I haven't bought crap in two years. I bring in International, Kingston, Subway etc.etc. It would be nice to be able to buy a good sausage sangwich once in awhile. Oh, and beer too please!

URIGONZO · Unread post by **URIGONZO** » 9 years ago

I give the school credit for asking season-tickets holders their opinions, it shows they somewhat give a shit about what we think.

I think the whining about the food at the Ryan Center is a little much, folks. It's a college basketball game, not a culinary competition. You get a fountain soda, some popcorn and a hot dog. There are 100 great places to eat within 10 minutes of the Ryan Center, if you don't like the food, hit the Mews before or after the game.

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 9 years ago

I disagree with you Gonzo on the food selection.....it is part of the experience for me and sometimes I have to cut it close from work to the game and don't have the extra hour to hit a local establishment....just me.....

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 9 years ago

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... es-in-2014

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Have you ever gone to a Red Sox game and gotten a shitty sausage sangwich? I haven't. Bring the Boston boys down to serve some serious food! Food matters. Maybe we need that guy who does Hells Kitchen to come to the RC. I'm guessing it wouldn't be pretty.

URIGONZO · Unread post by **URIGONZO** » 9 years ago

Do they serve sausages at the Ryan Center? And if so, are they any good?

Also, I'm not sure if you can compare the food at a Red Sox game (35,000 fans, half of whom are drinking $10.00 bud light drafts) to the Ryan Center (4,000 people a night for the past 6-8 years) with no booze. Aramark probably breaks even on food, and makes their margins on the booze.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

URIGONZO wrote:Do they serve sausages at the Ryan Center? And if so, are they any good?

Also, I'm not sure if you can compare the food at a Red Sox game (35,000 fans, half of whom are drinking $10.00 bud light drafts) to the Ryan Center (4,000 people a night for the past 6-8 years) with no booze. Aramark probably breaks even on food, and makes their margins on the booze.

Gonzo, yes they serve sausage sangs at the RC. And they are bad. And why should I pay 8 bucks for a shitty sausage sang because we "only" have 4 to 6 k fans. My point is either serve good food or serve nothing. And I don't know the guy named Aramak but his cooking sucks.

RIKen822 · Unread post by **RIKen822** » 9 years ago

Other than the soft serve ice cream that they sold intermittently and stopped altogether two years ago, I have not had anything edible at the RC.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

I can make a profit on 500 sausage sangs a game. Maybe I'll set up a grill outside this year. Who wants?

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 9 years ago

"Nine of those 13 games were sellouts, meaning all 7,000 seats were filled, and while this was the first season that SMU was selling alcohol at games, those sellouts were more likely the result of the team actually being good than the fact that a booster would be able to sip on an overpriced light beer while watching the game.
In order for students to drink, they needed a wrist-band saying they were over 21. Only three drinks were allowed to be sold per to each of-age student, with tabs given out as the students entered the arena.
More schools are beginning to use booze as a way to generate more revenue at their athletic events, and while not all of that money goes back to the university — Aramark and other vendors will get their cut, too — but this is possibly a way to bring in money to pay for things like full-cost of attendance scholarships or even a stipend for the athletes."

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports. ... all-games/

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Pizza has the biggest margin of profit.
I can get four lbs. of dough for $2.25, which will make
four pizzas.
Figure $2.50 in cheese, a bag of pepperoni slices costs $3.00, and is good for
a lot more than four pizzas. I can make enough red gravy from a can of ground crushed tomatoes for
$1.50 and about eight pizzas, because you really don't use that much on a pizza or it'll be soggy.
And that's retail. So, four pizzas sold by the slice, equals how much?
It cost a little over a couple of dollars for me to make a whole pizza, far less for a
pizza outlet.
Obscene profits. That's why there are three million pizza joints in RI.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 9 years ago

So with the schools' association with The Pizza Gourmet why can't we get them in the Ryan Center? I really enjoyed their pizza at the year-end reception at The Towers.

I would hope that we now have better control over the vendors in the Ryan Center than in years past.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

I'm thinking Caprio and Palumbo might be the root cause of the bad food at the RC. Better check those contracts.

rhodylaw · Unread post by **rhodylaw** » 9 years ago

I hope some of those attending the focus groups at least broach the subject of beer. Want young alumni at the games? Sell beer. Done.

Tom98 · Unread post by **Tom98** » 9 years ago

I'll be attending and will certainly give my opinion on how selling beer will not only generate huge profits but will boost attendance by a significant margin

Ram1019 · Unread post by **Ram1019** » 9 years ago

Nothing wrong with beer at the RC. I'm all for it. Improvements with the food and the band are my wish list.

ElmCityRhody · Unread post by **ElmCityRhody** » 9 years ago

Tom - tell them to get rid of those press seats and out fans in the lower bowl in that section

My goodness . Why is this so hard to understand uri ?!!?

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

Beer…….Ummmmmmmm.
I love being carded.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 9 years ago

bressler3south wrote:Beer…….Ummmmmmmm.
I love being carded.

The one I keep getting asked for is my AARP card. lol

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 9 years ago

I think statistics have shown that beer does not have much of an effect on overall attendance, but that winning drives it.

Where it does help is that beer, wine, and spirits have a tremendous profit margin. Think of a keg. Roughly 160 beers. Can purchase for around $100. If you charge $8 per beer (relatively average for concessions), that's $1,680 in revenue, roughly $1500 in profit from 1 keg. How many beers get sold during a game? If you have 5,000, is 1,000 beers fair? Probably even low? With 1,000 beers sold, that is roughly 8,000 profit just on beer. Multiply that number by 16 home games, and even using that low estimate, that is over $125,000 profit.

It's just an additional revenue stream for the program.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 9 years ago

SMU made 350K in 13 games games last season, while averaging a little less than 7000 in the stands (arena only holds a little above 7K)

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 9 years ago

Beer at the RC is a great idea. Think of how much the SKPD can generate in DUI fines, lawyers would be in demand even in RI and insurance companies can up their premiums. URI will become an even greater economic incubator.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

Yeah, because nobody is capable of ever having a couple of beers without later driving drunk and/or getting arrested. Come on now.

Bos8 · Unread post by **Bos8** » 9 years ago

Rhody72 wrote:Beer at the RC is a great idea. Think of how much the SKPD can generate in DUI fines, lawyers would be in demand even in RI and insurance companies can up their premiums. URI will become an even greater economic incubator.

Who was the old guy on the Projo board that was totally against alcohol at the Ryan Center? Was he really 72?

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Rhody72 wrote:Beer at the RC is a great idea. Think of how much the SKPD can generate in DUI fines, lawyers would be in demand even in RI and insurance companies can up their premiums. URI will become an even greater economic incubator.

That is why the Red Sox and Patriots have stopped selling beer. Too much liability.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 9 years ago

I have no problem with the selling of beer at the RC, however at Red Sox and Pats games you have to take out a loan before you buy it, the prices have gotten out of control.

Six bucks a beer is fine, but 8-9 or more is ridiculous. That's what they are now.

I don't begrudge the right to make a profit, however how much is too much? They've reached that point.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Interestingly, I think your point and R72's points are related. While increased price means better margins for the vendor, it also discourages excessive drinking. I'm all about cheap beer, personally, but charging $8 instead of $6 isn't something I'm going to get worked up about.

Rhody Guy · Unread post by **Rhody Guy** » 9 years ago

Business 101, if customers are still buying regularly you have not exceeded the maximum acceptable price point that the market will bear. I don't like it, but if it is too expensive don't buy it.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

Bos8 wrote:Who was the old guy on the Projo board that was totally against alcohol at the Ryan Center? Was he really 72?

It wasn't 72, but I can't remember the guys name either. He was also completely against alcohol at tailgating.

RAM67 · Unread post by **RAM67** » 9 years ago

The guy from EP. Can't recall his name. Was always in a pissing contest with someone.

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