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Post by hcbaseballalum on Sept 13, 2021 10:30:06 GMT -5
All -
I'm not a frequent poster, but felt it is needed after attending the Merrimack Football game at HC this past week.
Quick hitlist of things that failed to meet my expectations:
- Covid screening process added 10 minutes to entering the stadium. The Covid screening process was separate from ticket entrance which meant you needed to go to one to be eligible to go to the other. They were 200 feet apart and did not feed one another. There was another 20 minutes to get into the stadium. 30 minutes of lines to get into an event that isn't at Gillette is nonsense.
- Drink ticket concept was a joke. Drink tickets were being handed out to whomever went up to the drink ticket wristband disperser. One could argue this method actually could create more underage and excessive drinking.
- People were kicked off baseball field 5 minutes into first quarter. I understand they want people to watch the game, but there has to be a better way to navigate this.
- Food trucks were an absolute joke. Some ran out of food by 2nd quarter. Process of getting food took 10+ minutes. What happened to a hot dog, diet coke and M&Ms in 60 seconds?
- $8 for a 16 oz Carlsberg. How about charging $2 a beer and getting alumni fired up about the experience? Instead we have $7 for a 12oz Truly.
- The video board is beautiful. We need to learn how to use it better.
- The sound system was the low point of the day. You couldn't hear a thing all day.. a complete complete complete and utter embarrassment.
- We can't be taken serious with the visiting locker room we give opponents.
- Marcus Blossom was doing game day ops because the event was so understaffed. One, get rid of employees who resign. This is the only business I've ever seen where an AD leaves you high and dry and sticks around. Please leave. We'll be fine. Two, staff more people. It can create a dangerous environment being this understaffed.
- The biggest hit of the day was the kids doing chin-ups set up by the Marines. It was more interesting than anything going on the field.
FWIW....
- JACARI CARTER #2 for Merrimack was easily the best player on the filed, no question. Redshirt Freshman from New Jersey.
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Post by timholycross on Sept 13, 2021 10:59:40 GMT -5
Thought you were referring to the actual game. Nothing will beat Umass Boston when it comes to that.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Sept 13, 2021 11:08:16 GMT -5
The funny thing is, FADMB was hanging his hat on all of the ways in which he was elevating the fan experience. Smoke and mirrors, it seems.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Sept 13, 2021 11:38:27 GMT -5
As previously mentioned, please send your comments to Steve Pizzi, (facilities), Derrick Light ( marketing and fan experience), and Nick Smith (senior associate athletic director) regarding issues that you witnessed, that should or must be corrected before home game #2 for this season, on October 2nd against Harvard. Game #1, with a number of new protocol issues, there were expectations of glitches with Covid screening, alcohol, and food distribution with labor shortage. I completely agree about the current visiting team locker room. Before Coach Carter, that was the HC home locker room at Fitton. It is the Holy Cross version the University of Iowa having a pink locker room for visiting teams at Kinnick Stadium. www.ourquadcities.com/sports/hawkeye-headquarters/the-pink-room-how-big-ten-opponents-view-the-visitors-locker-room-at-kinnick/www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/9/23/16320460/iowa-hawkeyes-pink-locker-rooms
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Post by WCHC Sports on Sept 13, 2021 11:55:53 GMT -5
I am armchair quarterbacking, but "piss poor planning prevents proper performance." The athletics department should be a reflection of our teams they support. Coach well, prepare well, perform well. There shouldn't have been a trial run of this on game day. If this wasn't, then it sounds like there could be better coordination in advance.
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ignatius
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 122
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Post by ignatius on Sept 13, 2021 12:10:30 GMT -5
All - I'm not a frequent poster, but felt it is needed after attending the Merrimack Football game at HC this past week. Quick hitlist of things that failed to meet my expectations: - Covid screening process added 10 minutes to entering the stadium. The Covid screening process was separate from ticket entrance which meant you needed to go to one to be eligible to go to the other. They were 200 feet apart and did not feed one another. There was another 20 minutes to get into the stadium. 30 minutes of lines to get into an event that isn't at Gillette is nonsense. - Drink ticket concept was a joke. Drink tickets were being handed out to whomever went up to the drink ticket wristband disperser. One could argue this method actually could create more underage and excessive drinking. - People were kicked off baseball field 5 minutes into first quarter. I understand they want people to watch the game, but there has to be a better way to navigate this. - Food trucks were an absolute joke. Some ran out of food by 2nd quarter. Process of getting food took 10+ minutes. What happened to a hot dog, diet coke and M&Ms in 60 seconds? - $8 for a 16 oz Carlsberg. How about charging $2 a beer and getting alumni fired up about the experience? Instead we have $7 for a 12oz Truly. - The video board is beautiful. We need to learn how to use it better. - The sound system was the low point of the day. You couldn't hear a thing all day.. a complete complete complete and utter embarrassment. - We can't be taken serious with the visiting locker room we give opponents. - Marcus Blossom was doing game day ops because the event was so understaffed. One, get rid of employees who resign. This is the only business I've ever seen where an AD leaves you high and dry and sticks around. Please leave. We'll be fine. Two, staff more people. It can create a dangerous environment being this understaffed. - The biggest hit of the day was the kids doing chin-ups set up by the Marines. It was more interesting than anything going on the field. FWIW.... - JACARI CARTER #2 for Merrimack was easily the best player on the filed, no question. Redshirt Freshman from New Jersey. Baseball alum—what a hot take in your subject title. May I ask when you graduated? I bet I can guess.
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Post by fillfittonfield on Sept 13, 2021 12:12:05 GMT -5
I am armchair quarterbacking, but "piss poor planning prevents proper performance." The athletics department should be a reflection of our teams they support. Coach well, prepare well, perform well. There shouldn't have been a trial run of this on game day. If this wasn't, then it sounds like there could be better coordination in advance. Curious to see how the lack of an AD (beginning in a few weeks) will impact the overall gameday experience for the rest of the year. As other posters have mentioned, ADMB publicly stated on several occasions that the gameday experience for fans is a priority. Will this be de-emphasized or placed on “the back burner” when he departs? Hopefully not. It seems like there is a strong foundation that has been established (new video board, food trucks, beer and wine options, halftime entertainment, etc.) which is exciting and inspiring. It all comes down to preparation and execution. I commend all the staff for the hard work they’ve put into this and hope that they can continue to improve and develop as the season moves forward.
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Post by sader1970 on Sept 13, 2021 12:17:46 GMT -5
For those who don't already know, this is NOT the real thing, this is the replica that they gave to all season ticket holders before the Merrimack game. I was impressed with the quality of the replica as I was sure it would be a throwaway piece of plastic. Kudos to Marcus Blossom and I'll consider this his farewell gift to me.
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Post by longsuffering on Sept 13, 2021 12:23:50 GMT -5
I am armchair quarterbacking, but "piss poor planning prevents proper performance." The athletics department should be a reflection of our teams they support. Coach well, prepare well, perform well. There shouldn't have been a trial run of this on game day. If this wasn't, then it sounds like there could be better coordination in advance. The bus carrying the 8200 extras for the trial run broke down.😂
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Post by hcbaseballalum on Sept 13, 2021 12:31:06 GMT -5
The football team is doing a fantastic job to win these titles. Bob Chesney is the most valuable asset HC has right now across the entire school. One bad day of performance doesn't ruin that at all. I just want the same high level bar the football team is putting out as part of their program to be reciprocated by the school.
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Post by longsuffering on Sept 13, 2021 12:42:03 GMT -5
All - I'm not a frequent poster, but felt it is needed after attending the Merrimack Football game at HC this past week. Quick hitlist of things that failed to meet my expectations: - Covid screening process added 10 minutes to entering the stadium. The Covid screening process was separate from ticket entrance which meant you needed to go to one to be eligible to go to the other. They were 200 feet apart and did not feed one another. There was another 20 minutes to get into the stadium. 30 minutes of lines to get into an event that isn't at Gillette is nonsense. - Drink ticket concept was a joke. Drink tickets were being handed out to whomever went up to the drink ticket wristband disperser. One could argue this method actually could create more underage and excessive drinking. - People were kicked off baseball field 5 minutes into first quarter. I understand they want people to watch the game, but there has to be a better way to navigate this. - Food trucks were an absolute joke. Some ran out of food by 2nd quarter. Process of getting food took 10+ minutes. What happened to a hot dog, diet coke and M&Ms in 60 seconds? - $8 for a 16 oz Carlsberg. How about charging $2 a beer and getting alumni fired up about the experience? Instead we have $7 for a 12oz Truly. - The video board is beautiful. We need to learn how to use it better. - The sound system was the low point of the day. You couldn't hear a thing all day.. a complete complete complete and utter embarrassment. - We can't be taken serious with the visiting locker room we give opponents. - Marcus Blossom was doing game day ops because the event was so understaffed. One, get rid of employees who resign. This is the only business I've ever seen where an AD leaves you high and dry and sticks around. Please leave. We'll be fine. Two, staff more people. It can create a dangerous environment being this understaffed. - The biggest hit of the day was the kids doing chin-ups set up by the Marines. It was more interesting than anything going on the field. FWIW.... - JACARI CARTER #2 for Merrimack was easily the best player on the filed, no question. Redshirt Freshman from New Jersey. At the risk of turning your frown upside down, how was the weather?🙂 We did get this butt whooping out of the way before league play. Even the best coaching staff can only paint so many word pictures of adversity. They have the players' attention now, let's see what they can do with it. Regarding ADMB, isn't that laudatory that he stuck around and worked game day ops instead of spending his weekend looking at houses on Warren Buffett's street in Omaha? I was actually impressed with his effort when you reported he was in the trenches. Your other points are all appreciated and valid. I have always thought that since Holy Cross is one of the remaining colleges that own it's own dining service, why not challenge that department to put it's best foot forward and knock it out of the park with the best game day food experience for Fitton Field and the Hart Center. Instead they lease out the Hart Center Food booth and have a hodge-podge of contractors at Fitton. Why not hire Food Service staff with the expectation that they will creatively surge for college events and be able to have flexibility during down times, and get as many student work study hours as possible at the games?
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Post by hc87 on Sept 13, 2021 12:43:24 GMT -5
My game-day experience wasn't that bad. Let's face it, Fitton is a great place to watch a game given its sightlines but it has nevah really been "fan friendly' in terms of seating comfort, rest rooms (for decades, troughs), concessions (Polar Cola, a cigar and a pretzel ) etc etc It's a great venue in that it's on campus, parking is somewhat ample nearby, the prices of game-day and parking tickets are exceedingly competitive versus most college/pro venues and so on. Things that do need to be improved for Harvard: 1. PA sound 2. Bettah/more effective use of the videoboard. 3. Making gameday programs or even line-up sheets/pamphlets available 4. Probably a better explanation/lay-out of how the beer/wine ticket system works...was behind a lot of people in line who didn't know you had to buy a ticket-bracelet before purchasing
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Post by kaftan12 on Sept 13, 2021 12:48:42 GMT -5
Things seemed sloppy from the game day experience to the play on the field. Seemed like things are off a bit and not a good start to the year for the fans or recruits this past Saturday. Hope they turn the corner this week!
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Post by longsuffering on Sept 13, 2021 12:49:59 GMT -5
My game-day experience wasn't that bad. Let's face it, Fitton is a great place to watch a game given its sightlines but it has nevah really been "fan friendly' in terms of seating comfort, rest rooms (for decades, troughs), concessions (Polar Cola, a cigar and a pretzel ) etc etc It's a great venue in that it's on campus, parking is somewhat ample nearby, the prices of game-day and parking tickets are exceedingly competitive versus most college/pro venues and so on. Things that do need to be improved for Harvard: 1. PA sound 2. Bettah/more effective use of the videoboard. 3. Making gameday programs or even line-up sheets/pamphlets available 4. Probably a better explanation/lay-out of how the beer/wine ticket system works...was behind a lot of people in line who didn't know you had to buy a ticket-bracelet before purchasing The people in front of you should have let the Pro play through.😊
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Post by hc87 on Sept 13, 2021 12:56:00 GMT -5
My game-day experience wasn't that bad. Let's face it, Fitton is a great place to watch a game given its sightlines but it has nevah really been "fan friendly' in terms of seating comfort, rest rooms (for decades, troughs), concessions (Polar Cola, a cigar and a pretzel ) etc etc It's a great venue in that it's on campus, parking is somewhat ample nearby, the prices of game-day and parking tickets are exceedingly competitive versus most college/pro venues and so on. Things that do need to be improved for Harvard: 1. PA sound 2. Bettah/more effective use of the videoboard. 3. Making gameday programs or even line-up sheets/pamphlets available 4. Probably a better explanation/lay-out of how the beer/wine ticket system works...was behind a lot of people in line who didn't know you had to buy a ticket-bracelet before purchasing The people in front of you should have let the Pro play through.😊 Exactly lol....one, sort of bright spot because of this, I missed the MC pick 6.....
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Post by hcbaseballalum on Sept 13, 2021 13:04:01 GMT -5
The people in front of you should have let the Pro play through.😊 Exactly lol....one, sort of bright spot because of this, I missed the MC pick 6..... Unbelievable play
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Post by hcbaseballalum on Sept 13, 2021 13:09:47 GMT -5
All - I'm not a frequent poster, but felt it is needed after attending the Merrimack Football game at HC this past week. Quick hitlist of things that failed to meet my expectations: - Covid screening process added 10 minutes to entering the stadium. The Covid screening process was separate from ticket entrance which meant you needed to go to one to be eligible to go to the other. They were 200 feet apart and did not feed one another. There was another 20 minutes to get into the stadium. 30 minutes of lines to get into an event that isn't at Gillette is nonsense. - Drink ticket concept was a joke. Drink tickets were being handed out to whomever went up to the drink ticket wristband disperser. One could argue this method actually could create more underage and excessive drinking. - People were kicked off baseball field 5 minutes into first quarter. I understand they want people to watch the game, but there has to be a better way to navigate this. - Food trucks were an absolute joke. Some ran out of food by 2nd quarter. Process of getting food took 10+ minutes. What happened to a hot dog, diet coke and M&Ms in 60 seconds? - $8 for a 16 oz Carlsberg. How about charging $2 a beer and getting alumni fired up about the experience? Instead we have $7 for a 12oz Truly. - The video board is beautiful. We need to learn how to use it better. - The sound system was the low point of the day. You couldn't hear a thing all day.. a complete complete complete and utter embarrassment. - We can't be taken serious with the visiting locker room we give opponents. - Marcus Blossom was doing game day ops because the event was so understaffed. One, get rid of employees who resign. This is the only business I've ever seen where an AD leaves you high and dry and sticks around. Please leave. We'll be fine. Two, staff more people. It can create a dangerous environment being this understaffed. - The biggest hit of the day was the kids doing chin-ups set up by the Marines. It was more interesting than anything going on the field. FWIW.... - JACARI CARTER #2 for Merrimack was easily the best player on the filed, no question. Redshirt Freshman from New Jersey. At the risk of turning your frown upside down, how was the weather?🙂 We did get this butt whooping out of the way before league play. Even the best coaching staff can only paint so many word pictures of adversity. They have the players' attention now, let's see what they can do with it. Regarding ADMB, isn't that laudatory that he stuck around and worked game day ops instead of spending his weekend looking at houses on Warren Buffett's street in Omaha? I was actually impressed with his effort when you reported he was in the trenches. Your other points are all appreciated and valid. I have always thought that since Holy Cross is one of the remaining colleges that own it's own dining service, why not challenge that department to put it's best foot forward and knock it out of the park with the best game day food experience for Fitton Field and the Hart Center. Instead they lease out the Hart Center Food booth and have a hodge-podge of contractors at Fitton. Why not hire Food Service staff with the expectation that they will creatively surge for college events and be able to have flexibility during down times, and get as many student work study hours as possible at the games? I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME FAMILIAR FACES FROM HC DINING SERVICES! It would make it feel like you were coming "home" to Holy Cross and not to some outsourced nonsense. I felt a lot better handing $10 to park in the West Lot to a kid with a purple shirt looking hungover from the night before than any other purchase I made on this fateful day. I hope the kid pocketed the $10 and went to Breens for some suds.
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Post by hcbaseballalum on Sept 13, 2021 13:12:27 GMT -5
My game-day experience wasn't that bad. Let's face it, Fitton is a great place to watch a game given its sightlines but it has nevah really been "fan friendly' in terms of seating comfort, rest rooms (for decades, troughs), concessions (Polar Cola, a cigar and a pretzel ) etc etc It's a great venue in that it's on campus, parking is somewhat ample nearby, the prices of game-day and parking tickets are exceedingly competitive versus most college/pro venues and so on. Things that do need to be improved for Harvard: 1. PA sound 2. Bettah/more effective use of the videoboard. 3. Making gameday programs or even line-up sheets/pamphlets available 4. Probably a better explanation/lay-out of how the beer/wine ticket system works...was behind a lot of people in line who didn't know you had to buy a ticket-bracelet before purchasing You didn't have to buy a ticket-bracelet for clarification. 100% agree that you had to get rejected at the concession stand to learn your lesson. Also.. get purple bracelets. Details matter.
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Post by deep Purple on Sept 13, 2021 13:20:46 GMT -5
As previously mentioned, please send your comments to Steve Pizzi, (facilities), Derrick Light ( marketing and fan experience), and Nick Smith (senior associate athletic director) regarding issues that you witnessed, that should or must be corrected before home game #2 for this season, on October 2nd against Harvard. Game #1, with a number of new protocol issues, there were expectations of glitches with Covid screening, alcohol, and food distribution with labor shortage. Do they report to the athletic director?
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Post by crusader12 on Sept 13, 2021 13:43:52 GMT -5
The funny thing is, FADMB was hanging his hat on all of the ways in which he was elevating the fan experience. Smoke and mirrors, it seems. Gee, where have we seen that before? Some things never change!
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Post by ndgradbuthcfan on Sept 13, 2021 13:51:53 GMT -5
$8 for a 16 oz. Carlberg is a bit tres cher but not outrageous, relatively speaking. HCBaseballalum better skip the game at Polar Park where a cheese pizza (Wonder Bar) is $38.
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Post by JRGNYR on Sept 13, 2021 13:55:16 GMT -5
My game-day experience wasn't that bad. Let's face it, Fitton is a great place to watch a game given its sightlines but it has nevah really been "fan friendly' in terms of seating comfort, rest rooms (for decades, troughs), concessions (Polar Cola, a cigar and a pretzel ) etc etc It's a great venue in that it's on campus, parking is somewhat ample nearby, the prices of game-day and parking tickets are exceedingly competitive versus most college/pro venues and so on. Things that do need to be improved for Harvard: 1. PA sound 2. Bettah/more effective use of the videoboard. 3. Making gameday programs or even line-up sheets/pamphlets available 4. Probably a better explanation/lay-out of how the beer/wine ticket system works...was behind a lot of people in line who didn't know you had to buy a ticket-bracelet before purchasing At least as it relates to #3, many athletic departments were in the process of moving away from printed materials before COVID. The pandemic may have accelerated that. Usually places will have placards with a QR code that you can scan with your phone and it'll bring up everything electronically on your smart phone. I wasn't there and I have no inside knowledge so I really have no idea what happened and if that's what they're doing, but I know a lot of departments have made that transition with at least some sports.
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Post by crusader12 on Sept 13, 2021 13:59:39 GMT -5
The parking czar Paul was a total disaster on the baseball field. It took 20 minutes to park and after the first row and wasting all our time he basically gave up and the cars were all lined up incorrectly. Total incompetence when ROTC would do a much better job at a much cheaper price! But hey that makes too much sense and that's not something Holy Cross is ever interested in.
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Post by hc87 on Sept 13, 2021 14:00:08 GMT -5
My game-day experience wasn't that bad. Let's face it, Fitton is a great place to watch a game given its sightlines but it has nevah really been "fan friendly' in terms of seating comfort, rest rooms (for decades, troughs), concessions (Polar Cola, a cigar and a pretzel ) etc etc It's a great venue in that it's on campus, parking is somewhat ample nearby, the prices of game-day and parking tickets are exceedingly competitive versus most college/pro venues and so on. Things that do need to be improved for Harvard: 1. PA sound 2. Bettah/more effective use of the videoboard. 3. Making gameday programs or even line-up sheets/pamphlets available 4. Probably a better explanation/lay-out of how the beer/wine ticket system works...was behind a lot of people in line who didn't know you had to buy a ticket-bracelet before purchasing At least as it relates to #3, many athletic departments were in the process of moving away from printed materials before COVID. The pandemic may have accelerated that. Usually places will have placards with a QR code that you can scan with your phone and it'll bring up everything electronically on your smart phone. I wasn't there and I have no inside knowledge so I really have no idea what happened and if that's what they're doing, but I know a lot of departments have made that transition with at least some sports. Thanks...but I'm much too much of a Luddite to do that....
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Post by Crucis#1 on Sept 13, 2021 14:39:29 GMT -5
As previously mentioned, please send your comments to Steve Pizzi, (facilities), Derrick Light ( marketing and fan experience), and Nick Smith (senior associate athletic director) regarding issues that you witnessed, that should or must be corrected before home game #2 for this season, on October 2nd against Harvard. Game #1, with a number of new protocol issues, there were expectations of glitches with Covid screening, alcohol, and food distribution with labor shortage. Do they report to the athletic director? Yes.
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