Football stadium

<p>Where is Tulane's current football stadium? Do they play at the Super Dome?</p>

<p>Past tense would be correct. Did they play at the Super Dome? Yes. But unless there is an unforeseen delay, the new stadium will be finished in time for the home opener this fall against Georgia Tech.</p>

<p>I didn’t realize that Tulane didn’t have an on-campus stadium. That is a big factor for kids not attending games. Look at UMiami which relocated their stadium 20 miles away and even Wake Forest where the stadium is waaay on the other end of campus. IMO, the kids don’t want to work that hard. They want to set up tailgates (or “Boulevarding” like at SMU) and then walk into the stadium. I know it will take some time to change the culture but this new stadium will be HUGE for Tulane Athletics and school spirit!</p>

<p>Is admission to all school sporting events free?</p>

<p>You are spot on that having to travel to the Super Dome cut down on attendance a lot. Of course many years of poor teams didn’t help either.</p>

<p>Attendance is “free” for students. I put free in quotes because it is part of the athletic fee that all students are charged, whether they attend games or not.</p>

<p>Regarding the stadium, a brief history. Tulane Stadium was the original Sugar Bowl, and was located on Willow Street basically where Aron apartments, the Reilly Athletic Complex, and other assorted structures stand now. The new stadium is much smaller, but is in the same general area. It was built in the early part of the 20th century. It was also where the Saints played their games until the Super Dome was completed starting with the 1976 season. Without the rent from the Saints the structure was too expensive to maintain and Tulane moved to the Dome the same year. It sat basically idle until they tore it down, I think in the early '80’s.</p>

<p>Interesting history! Location and size of stadium are both important factors. The stands need to be full. There needs to be a buzz created! And if the stadium is too large, it appears empty whether there is a decent number of fans present or not. </p>

<p>Where do/will the fans tailgate? Is that a part of the current football culture?</p>

<p>The old Tulane Stadium was also host for Super Bowls IV, VI, and IX.</p>

<p>There used to be some tailgating at the Super Dome, where there are large parking areas for it. I suspect with Yulman Stadium there will be “tailgating” (quotes because there won’t really be that many cars) on the main quad and then the short walk to the stadium. It’s the start of a whole new era, so there are new traditions to be started.</p>

<p>Here are some pics today of the new stadium. <a href=“http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/040414_open_house.cfm”>http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/040414_open_house.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I hope the school, Alumni organizations and the Greek Life administration get behind. I know that drinking and tailgating can be an issue but it creates spirit and community. </p>

<p>Anything can happen of course, but I think Tulane is in a better position than most to handle this properly. There are regularly festivals and events throughout the city, and Tulane hosts events itself that should be similar to the kind of atmosphere there will be before home games. Obviously the big one is Crawfest, which is happening as I write this. It is pretty huge, I would think even bigger than what it will be like before home games, given that there are something like 8 bands playing, thousands of pounds of Louisiana lobsters (aka crawfish) as well as lots of other food being served, and it is on a Saturday, just like home games (usually).</p>

<p>I read some of the stories following yesterday’s press preview at Yulman, and it sounds like the in-stadium experience will be great as well. They are going to try and make sure it is replete with New Orleans touches including serving oysters, po’ boys, and other regional fare. It should be a good time for all.</p>