[Hieronymus]

The AD can't create a 100 year culture with college football as Saturday's regional religion and then also convince those in the region's college football flock that Stanford Stadium has become the must visit destination for anyone that resides within 300-500+ miles of the stadium. 

We can all visit Texas, Bama, Nebraska and Oklahoma to experience that level of passion and support.   If that existed in the Bay Area we would know because Cal would almost certainly be our region's home for those football believers.   The honor of becoming the state's unofficial Saturday religion usually goes to the largest state school because the public school with the state name has the ability to create some affinity for all the citizens of the state., not just a small group of alums.

Even if the Stanford AD had the power to cultivate that level of Stanford specific passion it would take decades before Stanford football could be such a part of the area's cultural fabric that it could experience several losing seasons (like Nebraska) and still sell out an outdated stadium.  

So, back to the 2026 reality.

The AD seems to be trying to create new revenue streams by converting some part of the stadium into an area with activities that are not quite related to the game on the field.    Something similar to what is available at PayPal park in San Jose, Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, or even Cal's Memorial stadium's ongoing end zone conversion.

I would guess the AD has some snazzy consultant survey that suggests that now that the Bay Area has only 1 MLB team, 1 NBA team, 1 NFL team and 1 NHL team there is actually demand for premium/luxury/corporate offerings where companies could invite their clients, customers, top employers, etc. 

It might imply that if done correctly Stanford could convert a large portion of the the upper sunny side section into a luxury suite tower.   In the Pac-12 era a middle of the road team could probably sell some of those tickets to the opponents that might build a weekend road trip around the game.   However, now in the ACC, those seats are going to be empty almost all the time since very few in new our conference are going create a weekend experience with two 5+ hour flights.  

The 2026 choices are really empty seats, tarps, or conversions into trendy bar tables, reception areas, suites, etc.

Most Power 4 conferences have suites on both sides now, so I think Stanford will take that path too as long as some group of donors pays for the conversion AND the AD genuinely believes some group of companies will buy up the new experience seating areas, or pay top dollar for access to new suites.   I guess...they might also believe this project could capture midweek and offseason revenue too, but that is a bit harder for me to imagine.

Really almost anything would be better than empty, and rapidly fading, red plastic seats that now serve as our background for football broadcasts.

And if a few new revenue streams can prevent cuts to the Olympic sports then that would be a helpful bonus.

At core I agree and this seems like a smart path. Heck I go to Rockies games mostly just because the stadium is fun to hang out in and there are great viewing spots if you are willing to stand; so buy the cheapest seat and never sit in it. Works even though the Rockies are terrible and have been for years. They still get pretty solid attendance numbers overall - 18th in the league last year.

[Hieronymus]

The AD can't create a 100 year culture with college football as Saturday's regional religion and then also convince those in the region's college football flock that Stanford Stadium has become the must visit destination for anyone that resides within 300-500+ miles of the stadium. 

We can all visit Texas, Bama, Nebraska and Oklahoma to experience that level of passion and support.   If that existed in the Bay Area we would know because Cal would almost certainly be our region's home for those football believers.   The honor of becoming the state's unofficial Saturday religion usually goes to the largest state school because the public school with the state name has the ability to create some affinity for all the citizens of the state., not just a small group of alums.

Even if the Stanford AD had the power to cultivate that level of Stanford specific passion it would take decades before Stanford football could be such a part of the area's cultural fabric that it could experience several losing seasons (like Nebraska) and still sell out an outdated stadium.  

So, back to the 2026 reality.

The AD seems to be trying to create new revenue streams by converting some part of the stadium into an area with activities that are not quite related to the game on the field.    Something similar to what is available at PayPal park in San Jose, Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, or even Cal's Memorial stadium's ongoing end zone conversion.

I would guess the AD has some snazzy consultant survey that suggests that now that the Bay Area has only 1 MLB team, 1 NBA team, 1 NFL team and 1 NHL team there is actually demand for premium/luxury/corporate offerings where companies could invite their clients, customers, top employers, etc. 

It might imply that if done correctly Stanford could convert a large portion of the the upper sunny side section into a luxury suite tower.   In the Pac-12 era a middle of the road team could probably sell some of those tickets to the opponents that might build a weekend road trip around the game.   However, now in the ACC, those seats are going to be empty almost all the time since very few in new our conference are going create a weekend experience with two 5+ hour flights.  

The 2026 choices are really empty seats, tarps, or conversions into trendy bar tables, reception areas, suites, etc.

Most Power 4 conferences have suites on both sides now, so I think Stanford will take that path too as long as some group of donors pays for the conversion AND the AD genuinely believes some group of companies will buy up the new experience seating areas, or pay top dollar for access to new suites.   I guess...they might also believe this project could capture midweek and offseason revenue too, but that is a bit harder for me to imagine.

Really almost anything would be better than empty, and rapidly fading, red plastic seats that now serve as our background for football broadcasts.

And if a few new revenue streams can prevent cuts to the Olympic sports then that would be a helpful bonus.

At core I agree and this seems like a smart path. Heck I go to Rockies games mostly just because the stadium is fun to hang out in and there are great viewing spots if you are willing to stand; so buy the cheapest seat and never sit in it. Works even though the Rockies are terrible and have been for years. They still get pretty solid attendance numbers overall - 18th in the league last year.