Michigan: Prioritizing Profits Over Fan Safety
Brian's game recap hints at the mounting frustrations many of us have with the Michigan Stadium experience in 2018. For me, Saturday's game highlighted one glaring issue: The Athletic Department's policies on water bottles in the stadium on hot-weather days.
With a ban on water bottles in the stadium, and a price point of $4.50-5.50 for a bottle of water, the University of Michigan is prioritizing profits over fan safety and health.
After a brutal first quarter baking in the sun on Saturday, I went out to the concourse to grab some water and hit the bathroom. What I saw shocked me. I saw parents holding up their dehydrated kid as he sat over a trash can, puking his guts out. Overheated people were sitting against the columns. Ambulance golf carts whizzed around with sirens blaring. It looked like a disaster film. And that was after one quarter.
There has to be a better, safer way than this.
Prior to 2010, one could bring in a sealed water bottle with no questions asked. For eight years, we have collectively griped about this issue, to no avail. It's time Athletics took action. No one is trying to sneak in a bottle of vodka when it's 90 degrees outside--they're trying not to pass out. There should be better, safer options than expecting the dehydrated to pony up a Lincoln for a water bottle, or wait in a long line to down a cup or two of free Absopure, which can't really be taken into your seat without spilling.
So, a proposal: How about designated water bottle days? 24-48 hours before kickoff, Athletics can announce, based on anticipated weather, that water bottles will be allowed to be taken in to the stadium. Alternately, as is the case with many concerts and public events, and even airport security, empty water bottles could be allowed in the gates, provided they can be shown to be empty. Filling stations already exist outside several bathrooms around the concourse, in addition to water fountains. If I can take an empty Nalgene into a major concert venue, why can't I take one into Michigan Stadium?
It's time the Athletic Department took fan safety into account. Water sales are not making or breaking the bottom line on any given game day. The health and enjoyment of all in the stadium is too important to prioritize a $5 bottle of water over trips to overtaxed Red Cross first aid stations and stays in the hospital.
September 19th, 2018 at 7:39 PM ^
Disney will give you a free cup of water at any quick service location.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:01 PM ^
I’d be ok with lowering water prices. There is no reason to drop $4.50. Sell a smaller one for less.
Saturday was ridiculous.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:36 PM ^
How much was a 6-pack of air?
Prolly shouldn't joke here. This sounds frustrating.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:44 PM ^
I wish I knew how to embed the "President Scrooge sniffing Perri-air in Spaceballs" gif.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:02 PM ^
Saturday, bested one of the Rich Rod openers when it was 90 and the Western MI storm game a few years back. It was the entire thing, and I wasn't sure how many other people felt my sentiments sitting there, basking, in the sun. I left to get water (people in my section were taking OTHER peoples bottles and refilling for them) just to see tons of people sitting in the concourse just dying, as you were.
I've been going for 12 years now and it just... wasn't enjoyable? In a different way than getting waxed by an opponent.
And, you're mostly right. I tailgate my little heart out with the best of them. No, I wouldn't have brought in a water bottle of Vodka. But! you know there's someone would and ruin it for everyone.
They should be selling water for $1.00. Hell, hike it up after the month of Sept. but damn, people were looking awwwwwwwwwful on Saturday.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:06 PM ^
give away free water in hot weather,
no comprise of security and fan health and well being and does not cost much at all
September 17th, 2018 at 5:10 PM ^
What about games where Michigan is really going to suck? Maybe we call these Designated drunk days (or just "Hoke/Rodriguez Era") and allow 1 pint to be carried in per ticket??
PS - I would have smuggled in Vodka in a water bottle in my student days regardless of temperature.
PPS - Don't get me started on "HOT". I learned during the Jax-NE broadcast this weekend that I had attended the hottest NFL game EVAR!! (GB-PHX 2003). There were drunken cheeseheads being stretchered out by the dozen -- Luckily we had procured the seats with the most direct sun access.....
September 17th, 2018 at 5:11 PM ^
I haven't been to a game since the Hoke years. No one hassles me about what I'm eating or drinking at home in my comfortable recliner with the AC blasting while I watch the game on my 75" TV, a phone in one hand and my laptop nearby. Absolutely no excuse to forbid me from bringing one of those big 1 liter bottles into the game. The security at the gate can examine it, subject it to chemical testing, whatever they want to do. It's just flipping water. Doesn't really matter to me any more since I don't see myself ever attending a sports event in person again. Broadcasts are already in 1080p with 4k on the way.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:12 PM ^
Check out Hannibal Burress' bit on "bomb water", its hilarious
Its all very ridiculous isn't it. Its not a security issue, its a profits issue.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:09 PM ^
"Bomb Juice"
September 17th, 2018 at 5:15 PM ^
I agree that the price of water bottles is absurd. However, in addition to the free cups of water at the "Hydration Stations" there are signs at the concession stands, at least the ones under the stands, stating that free cups of water are available.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:20 PM ^
+1. https://mgoblue.com/news/2009/6/1/Michigan_Stadium_Information.aspx:
Water Fountains
Water fountains are located throughout the public concourses at Michigan Stadium. Please ask any Michigan Stadium Event Team Member for their nearest location. In addition, free cups of water may be obtained from any concession stand with soda dispensing capability.
Not saying that you shouldn't be able to bring a sealed water bottle into the game, because you should, but making it seem like the only option for water inside the stadium is dropping $4.50 for a bottle is a bit misleading.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:42 PM ^
Really? What good is a drinking fountain when you are crammed in your seat, perhaps sitting in one of the lower rows? The point is, you need to be able to have an affordable option to be able to have a bottle of water (or two) with you while you enjoy the game.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:54 PM ^
Drinking fountain is one option, free cups of water from concessions is another. Again, I never said you shouldn't be able to bring bottled water in, I think you should, but there IS free water available.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:07 PM ^
Ok my bad. I misinterpreted your intent. I thought you were giving the fans an "up yours" to the request for cheaper water as there are free water options available.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:13 PM ^
Definitely not. Fans should 100% be entitled to bring in sealed water bottles, or completely empty bottles. That's the way it is at almost all concerts I've been to recently.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:22 PM ^
Brian's rants on the fan experience are due to the NETWORKS. The network timeouts to get their commercials in and the number of commercials they require is ludicrous. As he said, at least show some commercials during the multiple minute plus replays and cut some TV timeouts short.
We are paying $70+ to watch SMU and the complaint is buying water? Factor it into the price of admission and call it a day. Along with parking. Food. Etc. If I go to a festival, concert, etc and its 90 degrees out I plan on buying water.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:49 PM ^
You say it's the networks, but the fault still lies with the conference and athletic departments. They were the ones who gave up all rights to controlling the game experience in the chase for the almighty dollar. The networks have the right to demand TV time outs because the schools sold it to them. The networks can determine as close as just a week in advance when games are played because the schools sold them those rights.
The networks are an easy scapegoat but the reality is the fault lies with the conference and the schools.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:23 PM ^
I have always been a firm believer that a bottle of water should never cost more than $1, anywhere in our country. You can buy a case of water in bulk for about $3 at most right? That's $24 in revenue for a case of water and $21 in profit (I did the math for you buckeye and sparty fans) - you're welcome).
Gouging the fans everywhere is bullshit in my opinion. If you want to charge $7 for a beer, so be it. But to charge $5 for 16oz of water just seems unethical to me. Maybe if fans could get a $1 bottle of water, they would more likely to buy a $7 beer and a $5 hotdog.
September 18th, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^
Gouging for beer makes sense to me. If I were in charge of running a stadium, I'd never sell cheap beer, because it's supposed to be a reasonably family-friendly atmosphere and I need to minimize the drunk boorish asshole quotient. By the same token, gouging for water makes no sense, because I don't want people passing out and puking all over.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:28 PM ^
While I was critical of Brian's front page post you are totally correct regarding water. Especially the empty bottle thing. That is an easy and obvious solution. If its good enough for the FAA it should be good enough for Michigan Stadium.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:28 PM ^
My son ran up to the concourse twice after we were seated and brought back water cups for the 3 of us in our row. The high temp in Ann Arbor Saturday was 86, Ive been in much worse and while it may not have been comfortable for parts of it, I find it hard to blame it on a greed for profits, when you are given an alternative. If you dont choose the alternative, then I think the responsibility falls back on you. Just because its not the alternative you desire or in the price range you believe in, does not make it a money grab. The price for water falls right in line with every other concession price in that building. If you walk into that stadium and plan to purchase anything from food to apparel you know going in that the markup will be insane. This is nothing new and is the same in almost every major sports market on the planet, except for the new fan friendly pricing at the new Atlanta Falcons football venue. What you saw on the concourse Saturday, plays out every time the temperature reaches a certain level, this was nothing new and will continue when you put 110,000 people in a confined space.
September 17th, 2018 at 7:45 PM ^
Wrong, actually. There is something new: The ban on sealed water bottles. Thanks for playing "Blame the Victim" though.
September 17th, 2018 at 8:28 PM ^
My son ran up to the concourse twice after we were seated and brought back water cups for the 3 of us in our row.
Well, your son sounds like a real gentleman . . . but what if you'd gone to the game without him? How fun would it be to run up to the concourse yourself?
September 17th, 2018 at 8:40 PM ^
would have been no problem !
September 17th, 2018 at 9:14 PM ^
Well hooray for you dude, but that's not the case for everyone.
I have tried to go back to my seat carrying that little water cup and you know what? Sometimes it spills, because it's a cheap little cup and not really designed to carry water down 50 steps.
Our water policy is an embarrassment, a legacy of the disastrous Brandon era. Let's stop making it difficult/costly for our own fans to hydrate themselves.
September 17th, 2018 at 10:48 PM ^
would have been no problem !
September 17th, 2018 at 9:31 PM ^
Excellent point. If you cannot figure out how to hydrate yourself for three hours with all of the available options, you should have to pay ten dollars for your water bottle.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:32 PM ^
Bando, this is an important observation and I think your proposal and the very even-handed way you worded your proposal is excellent. I haven't been in a while, obviously, but I've found hydration at major multi-hour activities to be a key to enjoyment and health in the experience. I might suggest slightly different wording of the post title, but that's a nit. I agree with you 100%.
They never do this with board posts, but this should get attention on the front page.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
Agree with everything the OP stated.
Also, to pile on, Absopure spring water is absolute trash and no human being should be forced to drink that shit.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:38 PM ^
Why? I had some at the game (a cup at one of the free stations before we went to our seats) and it was fine.
What's wrong with it (honest question)?
September 17th, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
We paid $6 for a bottle of water at the Eagles concert on Saturday night at the Forum in LA. We paid with a $10 and the vendor gave us back $14 in change.
- I returned the extra money.
- I'm sure the Forum would have taken the difference out of the vendor's own pocket otherwise I would have been tempted to just keep the extra money on principle.
Whenever people bemoan declining attendance at [insert THING here] this sort of mentality from sites is part of the reason fans would rather stay at home.
I love the trend from some sports arenas like in Atlanta where food is sold at "normal" pricing. The incremental decrease in profit is counterbalanced by the increase in good will garnered from fans.
By the way, my parking on Saturday was $40. Discuss.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:43 PM ^
Re Parking: Parking is expensive (and can easily cost more than $40), but you must have wanted to be relatively close to the stadium.
On the west side, near Seventh St, I saw plenty of parking for $20.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:04 PM ^
I just park in the structures and rarely exceed $10. Unless you’re tailgating and/or physically unable to walk long distances, there’s no point in paying more than that.
September 17th, 2018 at 7:13 PM ^
I park in the Ann Ashley structure whenever I go to the game and just walk up main street to the Stadium. I pass all the shops and everything plus it's only $3.
September 17th, 2018 at 7:09 PM ^
The fish restaurant in a converted gas station where we parked probably had 70 cars wedged in. At $40 a pop, that's a good haul. All cash and probably not a penny reported to the IRS. Mad props.
EDIT: My $40 parking tab was near the Forum in Los Angeles over the weekend. Parking is always a thrill in LA.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:51 PM ^
Parking is not a health concern. There are a lot of great fans that can only afford to bring their families to a game like SMU. Tickets, parking, tailgate or food in the stadium is really expensive for a lot of families. Asking a fair price for a bottle of water on a very hot day is not asking too much.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
I think the excuse is homeland security, but how about simply lowering the price of bottled water to $1 on hot days?
September 17th, 2018 at 5:40 PM ^
I was in South Bend for the Notre Dame-Vanderbilt game on Saturday, and most concession stands in Notre Dame stadium ran out of water (and Powerade) completely by early in the second half.
One of these games, some fan is going to die of heat stroke or dehydration. Even if you're only looking at dollars and sense, the monetary fallout from that will vastly eclipse wringing a few bucks out of every fan for a bottle of water. I just don't get why teams continue to do this.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:43 PM ^
I 100% agree with your sentiment. I had to step out to the Absopure stations multiple times in the game. I ended up taking one of the $5 empty single-use water bottles from a friend and refilling it several times throughout the game at the sinks.
A fair proposal (as previously mentioned, with my modifications):
- Allow empty water bottles to be brought into the stadium
- Install water bottle filling stations outside every (or every other) section entrance, like the ones that say how many "bottles" are saved
- Advertise during the 4th quarter how many water bottles were saved by this program (good PR)
- Sell reusable M-branded collectible water bottles (not single-use bottles) for a high price (even if it's expensive, at least it's reusable AND collectible).
September 17th, 2018 at 5:48 PM ^
I think one could make the case that there is bona fide price gouging on hot days, which is illegal. It's not normally price gouging because a bottle of water is not a necessity for a normal game. If it's 90F outside with the sun beating down, then it's 1)a necessity due to weather and 2) exorbitant to charge $8 for a bottle of water that would cost $1 in a normal situation.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:50 PM ^
At the least they should lower prices on a day like Saturday.
The forward thinking thing to do would be to make Michigan stadium super conducive to refillables but that can be an operations nightmare if you don’t design the space for it.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:01 PM ^
My girlfriend and I spent a fortune on water. We got 3 of the large 1 liter Absopure bottles and then a regular 20oz.
Doesn't make much sense to me. Cheaper concessions = more sales.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:03 PM ^
That’s interesting, even at Arizona St and the 103 heat vs Mich st when I went u were allowed sealed bottles, same as last weekend when I went to the SDSU game in San Diego, sealed bottles are ok.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:05 PM ^
Back when I was a student, I snuck a bottle of water in with me to every game. It's very easy if you wear a hoodie or any sort of outerwear. If you get caught, all they'll do is make you throw it away.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:06 PM ^
I will say I've never had a bit of trouble scrunching up an empty plastic water bottle and tucking it under my belt, usually at the back. I do that every game and I've never been stopped. I hit the water fountain at least 2-3 times for refills during a warm game.
Should I have to make like the Smugglers of Pirate's Cove and try to outwit the Hardy Boys every game? No, they should make it easier. But, sometimes, I like outwitting the Hardy Boys. And the ticket scanner dudes are no Hardy Boys.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:36 PM ^
Hey dude , scanner dude here and I resemble that remark (what's a Hardy Boy??) UM CoE and School of Ed taught me how to look under your hoodie and turn you over to the authorities behind me at Gate 10.
September 17th, 2018 at 7:14 PM ^
Turning someone in to the cops for a flattened water bottle? Way to keep things in perspective.
And in other Michigan Stadium security woes, wouldn't that take time from making little kids take off their hats to look for contraband?
September 17th, 2018 at 6:13 PM ^
I live in Florida where people have to drink water constantly so as to not become dehydrated. Obviously summer months are far worse for people.
The most obvious issue I see is whenever I go to Disney World and see people on vacation and totally unprepared for the heat. Disney charges 3.25 for a 16 or 20 oz water, but you can go to any quick serve restaurant and get a free cup of water. Not to mention the numerous drinking fountains. You also can bring in sealed bottles or empty refillable bottles.
I get the university doesn’t want alcohol brought in and doesn’t want to test each container, but why not lower the price of the bottles and offer tap water to people for free?
I also think that some folks need to exercise some sense too. If it’s hot, don’t drink so much alcohol, make sure you drink water before the game, and plan on buying a water bottle. I hate to be the bad guy, but you paid some money to go to the stadium, park your car, eat food, etc, shouldn’t there be some responsibility to pay money to keep yourself alive too?
I think there’s probably some blame on each party here, but I don’t think I would go so far as saying the university openly doesn’t care about people’s health.
September 17th, 2018 at 10:06 PM ^
Agree.
People load up on alcohol and salty food before game and wonder why they can't stand in 90 degree heat for 4 hours.
I supposed Michigan should also be giving out free sunscreen so unprepared idiots don't get skin cancer.