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University of Minnesota Athletics
TCF Bank Stadium: A Busy Place
7/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Charlie Armitz
Athletic Communications Student Assistant
To the average Gopher fan, TCF Bank Stadium is probably the football team's new home - nothing more, nothing less. On the surface, it may seem wasteful to have a nearly-$300 million facility which gets used just seven times over the course of two or three months, and then ignored for the rest of the year.
But that couldn't be further from the truth. And Derek Hillestad is perhaps the most qualified to explain why The Bank is so much more than a facility that gets used seven times per year.
The Director of Operations at TCF Bank Stadium, Hillestad understands what he's up against. Football, by far the most popular sport at the University of Minnesota, has a way of hogging much of the attention generated by the stadium.
"Everyone knows what football is," says Hillestad.
What many fans don't know, says Hillestad, is that the stadium is a multipurpose facility which benefits a variety of groups. Groups such as the school marching band, which uses the stadium for storage and rehearsal. The facility also generates revenue year-round. When football isn't occupying TCF Bank Stadium, something else likely is -- whether it be an intramural contest, a public tour or an event hosted by the Special Events Department, a branch of the Golden Gopher Fund. The latter was instrumental to the success of the stadium's inaugural year.
"A lot of these events we were doing for the first time," Hillestad said. "The events department did a great job planning and hosting them during our first year."
Central to the success of events during the 2009-2010 year was Tanesha Wade, Director of Premium Seating, Stewardship and Events. Wade books and manages a variety of events in the stadium's three "premium spaces" - the DQ Club, the Indoor Club area, and the 'M' Club Room. Like Hillestad, Wade has noticed a significant gap in recognition between football and non-football events.
"Sometimes people don't realize that TCF Bank Stadium is for more than football," Wade says.
Each of the three premium spaces offers a unique experience to its clients. With 20,000 square feet of space, the DQ Club can accommodate more than 800 people, providing a suitable environment for receptions and large banquets, although Wade notes that a wide range of events have occurred there. The DQ Club Room is aesthetically pleasing, with two fireplaces and extensive window space, but also offers numerous entertainment options, such as its two bar areas and its nearly thirty flat panel televisions.
Located on the highest level of the stadium, the Indoor Club Room is the facility's most popular event space. Featuring a private bar and windows that overlook the playing field, the 3,000-square-foot room has hosted more than 100 events thus far. Like the DQ Club Room, the Indoor Club Room suits a variety of events - receptions, wedding rehearsals, small banquets, staff retreats, retirement parties and reunions are all welcome.
Although not as flexible as its counterparts, the 'M' Club Room is easily accessible at ground level, and accommodates 200 people with its 3,000-square-foot space. The room is furnished with Cambria countertop furniture, giving it a unique feel. Alumni use the 'M' Club Room throughout the year for reunion events, but the space is also ideal for meetings or receptions.
While primarily used to generate revenue during the off-season, the premium spaces also produce a carry-over effect for premium seating sales. As Director of Premium Seating, Wade strives to ensure that this effect is maximized. During the football season, she and her crew provide access to the DQ Club and the Indoor Club for premium seat holders. For events, she organizes tours that lead clients through the locker room and premium seating areas, encouraging them to ask questions about seating options. Hence, the key to marketing premium seating, says Wade, is to "bring people here to physically see the spaces."
For Wade and her team, demand was hardly a problem during a year when "everyone came to us." In just 10 months, the Special Events Department hosted nearly 200 events in TCF Bank Stadium's premium spaces, including a banquet for Grammy Award-winning band "The Steels," a theater-style lecture for TCF Bank and a bar mitzvah. On June 27, 2010, TCF Bank Stadium was scheduled to host a U2 concert; however, after lead singer Bono underwent emergency back surgery, the concert was postponed and rescheduled for July 23, 2011.
Successful as was in year one, the Special Events Department is far from finished.
"We still plan to explore new ways to use the DQ Club and Indoor Club Rooms," Wade said. "We have some great partners who are helping us with that kind of stuff."
The department is also considering adding a board room to better accommodate groups of 20 to 25 people.
Many changes are forthcoming from Hillestad's camp as well. His plans for the fall include finishing construction on and opening the stadium's Hall of Fame area, adding a laundry facility, monitoring and adjusting energy consumption, and reducing student staff numbers from 100 to 50 to improve efficiency. Hillestad maintains a strong belief that his student employees have performed - and will continue to perform - at a high level.
"Our students are the lifeblood of this building," Hillestad says. "We learned a lot from year one. We're going to make some small tweaks [in 2010-2011]."
Wade envisions dramatic changes and improvements in the way her group promotes the use of TCF Bank Stadium.
"We need to be more aggressive with the marketing," said Wade, who believes such a tactic will offset a possible decrease in demand for premium space rentals and seating as the newness of the facility begins to wear off. Using feedback from focus groups and customer surveys, she hopes to develop new, "unconventional ways" to serve her clients - a project that she hopes will "spill over to other sports" as well.
Those interested in utilizing a TCF Bank Stadium premium space for an event can call 612.626.6025 or visit http://stadium.gophersports.com/about_book_meeting_event.html.
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