What Do College-Football Fans Today Want? - WSJ
Today’s fans seem interested in the same amenities that have always interested football fans. At Ole Miss, one of the first schools to survey its supporters, Rebels fans said before last season that mobile web, apps and email access were the three least important of 53 elements of a live game, according to the school’s summary of the study. Last year, though, Ole Miss installed a new wireless network in its football stadium for about $5 million, in part because students said cellular reception was a priority, athletic director Ross Bjork said.
“I don’t think it’s on the forefront of the broad fan base yet,” he said. “The key is preparing for the future. We know this is going to be a part of the fan experience, and we know fans will continue to evolve.”
Some schools are still weighing whether it is worth the cost. Estimates for wireless installation can exceed $7 million, and athletic departments fear it may not offer an immediate financial return on the investment, said Baylor infrastructure executive Bob Hartland.
The opening of Baylor’s McLane Stadium last season was the first time a Southern school in a major football conference moved into a new venue since the invention of the World Wide Web. Overall, the project cost more than $250 million, including $2 million for a new wireless network that was accessed by about 33% of the crowd in an average game. School officials felt they didn’t have any other option.
“I believe Internet access is just expected,” Hartland said.