Written by PUBLISHED: 07/28/2009
Registered student groups at the University of Minnesota will have the opportunity to fundraise by selling concessions at TCF Bank Stadium football games this fall.
Student group members are enthusiastic about the opportunity, which will provide them with much-needed funds and publicity.
Associate Athletics Director Phil Esten said the idea came from student groups themselves when establishing the student fee benefits package.
This package was created a couple of years ago by the Student Stadium Advisory Group, a committee made up of representatives from a wide array of student organizations such as the Minnesota Student Association and from residence halls, Esten said.
The package’s purpose is to make sure students personally see benefits from the stadium in return for the $25 annual stadium student fee issued to make up for the $13 million debt the stadium has created. Esten said only students that will be here for the stadium have been paying this fee for the past two years.
“There was an interest from students that they would have an opportunity in the stadium to work concessions that could possibly help fundraise or make money for a certain or specific student organization,” Esten said. “It was certainly something we were interested in and thought was a great idea.”
Actuarial science senior Timmy Nguyen , president of the Vietnamese Student Association , said student group grants do not always cover the group’s expenses.
“Every year our events are costing more,” he said.
The economy is also a reason student groups are appreciative of this new fundraising chance.
“It’s great that they’re presenting us with the opportunity to fundraise”, said junior Jean Cruz of the Philippine Student Association .
While some groups, like Nguyen’s and Cruz’s, see concessions as a mostly financial opportunity, other groups see it as a chance to publicize.
“I think it’s brilliant,” said Benjamin Kutschied , adviser to the University’s Compassionate Action for Animals group. “I think it’ll be a good chance to reach out to a crowd we don’t always get a chance to reach out to,” Kutchied said.
University Dining Services Director Larry Weger said the student groups will be allowed to publicize themselves at their stand in the form of a sign or banner, although the groups will not be permitted to distribute materials.
Leslie Bowman, director of UDS contract administration , said nonprofit groups outside the University will also be able to fundraise at the stadium.
Organizers are aiming to get a seven-game commitment requirement for groups that fundraise.
“There’s a lot of training involved, and that way you’re not training a hundred different groups for each game,” Bowman said.
Weger said the ability to commit to seven games is one of a few important factors in deciding if a student group will be allowed to sell concessions.
“There’s been a lot of groups that have been doing these types of services at the University for quite a few years, so those groups would obviously have some priority over new groups coming in,” Weger said.
This priority is significant; according to Weger, UDS has already seen an abundance of interest in the fundraising opportunity.
“We’re pretty much far beyond the ability to accommodate all of them,” Weger said. “There are more groups than there are opportunities.”
Weger said the student groups and nonprofits, as well as any permanent vendors at the stadium, will have to participate in a half day of training, which involves customer service, food handling and safety training.
Student groups have been able to fundraise by selling concessions at Williams Arena , the Sports Pavilion , Mariucci Arena and Ridder Arena in the past.
