LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville football team has a new head coach in Jeff Brohm and now the school wants to make sure its fans have a better experience going to games at Cardinal Stadium.
UofL announced it will do a “comprehensive study” of its game day experiences. The athletics department wants feedback on how to improve the overall fan experience.
“Continued advancement of our comprehensive fan experience on game day and otherwise, is not only for our fans and student-athletes—it is an imperative enterprise accelerator,” said Josh Heird, Director of Athletics.
In September, UofL partnered with Legends, a third-party firm that provides research in sports entertainment, hospitality and leisure industries.
UofL opted for a third party it said because it wanted to ensure it removed biases from the study process and findings.
In a release, UofL said the fan feedback portion of the study will begin next week with a focus on football. They will email the surveys Tuesday, Jan. 10 to several “stakeholders in the program,” including season ticket holders.
Heird said, “The results from these surveys will help inform the decisions we make in areas like infrastructure, operations, staffing, etc. We are excited to work with Legends and leverage their experience with some of the world’s most successful sports brands and venues such as the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees and SoFi Stadium.”
This isn’t the first time UofL has focused on improving the fan experience at Cardinal Stadium. In 2021, the school debuted the new tailgate area, “The Alley”, changed the purple parking lots to be first-come-first serve versus assigned spots and invested during the time since Heird took over as Director of Athletics, the school has rolled out more than $5 million to improve the stadium for fans.
Louisville says Legends research will look at all aspects of the Louisville football and men’s basketball game experiences. The firm will analyze sales by section, ticket scan rates, secondary market sales and previous survey responses. The group will also look at new information provided by new surveys, including attendance and buying trends. The school says the pricing elements will be key to understanding fan interest in new seating options and other premium offerings.
“I know we can count on our fans to let us know what they think,” added Heird. “We have one of the most passionate fan bases in the country, and Card Nation is as invested in the future success of this program as we are.”