Fresno State Athletics
Getting Ready for Game Day
9/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - College football is back!
The season begins Thursday night with a handful of games, but most schools kickoff the first weekend of college football on Saturday. That includes at Fresno State, where the Dogs begin their 88th season hosting UC Davis. The Bulldogs and Aggies have rivalry dating back over 80 years, but haven't played since 1952.
There is nothing like the pageantry of college football. It's what brings fans of all ages to the games. From the smells of pregame tailgates cooking, to sounds of bands playing and cheerleaders yelling, to the roar of the crowd when the teams run on to the field, it's an experience that millions of Americans will celebrate this weekend.
It's a huge undertaking to get Bulldog Stadium ready for game day. The stadium will be cleaned, concession stands stocked with drinks and tasty treats, the field painted, and tickets sold. All the while the band, cheer and football teams will take the field for some last minute practice time to get ready to give the fans a show on Saturday night.
Several Fresno State staffers will be logging serious hours over the next three days to make Bulldog Stadium ready.
Nearly every fan will head to the concessions at some point during the three-hour plus extravaganza.
This year, Fresno State's new concessionaire is Pardini's, a locally owned company known for years for outstanding food service and catering. Preparing to service a venue the size of Bulldog Stadium is something new for the company, but owner Jim Pardini has the right man for the job in Ken Wilson. A long-time concessions manager at San Diego's Qualcomm Park, Wilson supervised the catering needs for the San Diego Chargers, San Diego Padres and he was worker three Super Bowls, a World Series and Rose Bowl. He recently handled the concessions for Alabama's 92,000-seat football stadium, which operates 60 concessions stands on game day.
While prepping for their first game at Bulldog Stadium, Pardini's expanded the vendor options, bringing tri-tip sandwiches, DiCiccos's Pizza, Guadalajara Mexican food and other locally-owned vendors into the stadium.
In addition, they have created 96 point of sale locations throughout Bulldog Stadium, which is significantly more than in previous years.
Wilson's experience at the Rose Bowl and other large venues is a good fit to take over Bulldog Stadium.
"When you look at the Rose Bowl, there are 96,000 fans in the stands but the concourse can barely hold 30,000 people," Wilson said. "This stadium is a much better situation than that."
Wilson will count on his managers to clock the wait time for customers and keep the lines moving, with the goal to turnover each customer every minute. Pardini's will have over 30,000 bottles of cold water for the game, with more at the ready if needed.
"We will not run out of anything," Wilson said.
Bulldog Stadium Concessions Map 
Once again Fresno State's Bulldog Shop will have apparel available for sale at various locations inside Bulldog Stadium. That means the Bulldog shop staff, led inside the stadium on game day by assistant manager Jeremy Melcher, will be putting together a great selection of t-shirts, hats and novelties for fans to choose from. Picking the right selection is a science. In addition to showcasing the coolest new swag, due to the warm temperatures there won't be many sweatshirts or jackets available for sale inside the stadium. Once the weather turns cooler, the sweatshirt and jacket selections will increase at Bulldog Stadium.
Melcher, a veteran on the Bulldog Shop staff, operates four kiosks inside the stadium and one at Bulldog Boulevard for the pregame parties and tailgaiters. For the UC Davis game, the south entrance kiosk will only carry the Fresno State "Wear White" shirt.
Melcher has new products on line from great companies, including Nike. Getting the field ready for game day is the duty of Terry Logan, the Director of Facilities. The field must be painted prior to each game, and Fresno State's checkerboard end zones and large Bulldog logo on the 50-yard line require a lot of paint and detail to look sharp on game days.
Alex Cordova spent Thursday painting the Bulldog at midfield. Cordova, a veteran of the facilities staff at Fresno State, used approximately 40 gallons of red, white, blue and green paint to create the large Dog.
Logan also has the unenviable task of handling stadium parking on game day. Parking for such a large event can be a challenge for fans and a nightmare parking attendants, especially if fans don't know where to park ahead of time, or forget their assigned parking passes. Following signs and the parking attendant's instructions will make for a smooth transition entering and exiting the various parking lots on and near campus.
2009 Bulldog Stadium Parking Map
The Bulldog ticket office staff is in the midst of a busy week, taking care of customers, selling season tickets, mini-plans and single game tickets for the game. On game day, they will handle more ticket transactions and seating issues, with customer service as a top priority.
The marketing and video staff is busy preparing to make the fan experience the best it can be. From fun contests on the field, to entertaining videos on the large screen on the stadium's north scoreboard, this group prepares for game day by writing scripts, creating videos and timing it all to fit within the structure of the game. The marketing staff, led by Nick Grim, makes sure the national anthem goes off on time, the teams enter the field on cue with the music, smoke and fireworks, while communicating with the band and video production staff.
This week the group is working on the Football Fiesta Night, one of the largest Hispanic cultural events ever on the Fresno State campus. This group will also coordinate the fireworks show that returns to Bulldog Stadium in 2009.
Director of Events Nate Wills is the ringleader on game day. He is responsible to make sure EVERYTHING runs smoothly. He makes sure the countdown clock start when it's supposed to and the officials get to the stadium and on the field on time. He supervises the security detail at the game, to make sure fans and the teams are kept safe. He coordinates any needs with Campus Police and American Ambulance. All stadium problems on game day will end up on his walkie-talkie.
Wills spent Thursday morning checking signs inside the stadium to make sure everything is in its proper place. Wills' workforce must be in place and ready 15 minutes before the stadium gate open, which for Saturday's game will be at 5:30 p.m. Like the players, game day is the best day of the week for these hard working staffers, many of whom go unnoticed on game day. But they are not in it for the fame.
"I love the excitement of the game," he said. "I love watching the student-athletes perform. That's what does it for me."
"We Are Your Team" - The `Dogs will be starting their 2009 Football season off right with Football Fiesta Night on Saturday, September 5th at 7pm when the UC Davis Aggies come to town. Football Fiesta Family Pack tickets are available now and there are a limited number of $16 game tickets available for the game. To inquire about the Football Fiesta Family Pack, season tickets or mini-plans, contact the Bulldog Ticket Office at 559-278-DOGS.
