Shelby Bradley | Sports Co-Editor
It is official, Buena Vista University (BVU) tailgating is back for Beaver home football games. Director of Athletics, Jack Denholm, announced on Tuesday, Sept. 6, an updated policy for tailgating at BVU home football games.
With the Beavers’ first home opener approaching this Saturday, Sept. 10, at 1 pm against St. John’s University, Denholm alerted parents of the players via letter with a new BVU football tailgating policy.
The designated tailgating area is located in the southernmost parking lot across the street from J. Lesley Rollins field with signage directing students and families. In years past, parents of the players would set up a tailgate area in Circle Park, however, this was not University property.
“The parents have done a fantastic job of cooking food and creating a positive atmosphere. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to make tailgating an official University event by moving it on campus! I realize there are drawbacks from moving the location, but we wanted to create a family-oriented experience that could be on campus so we didn’t need to worry about park regulations and parking issues on city streets.” Denholm said.
The allotted area will be open 2 hours prior to kickoff and ending at the start of the contest, however, tailgaters will be readmitted to the area again during halftime. The lot will then again be cleared out at the start of the 3rd quarter and re-open again at the start of the 4th quarter. Students and families will then be allowed to continue to tailgate for 1 hour following the end of the game.
Denholm noted that he was approached by several community members who had told stories about the populatirty of tailgating in the past. It was so popular, in fact, that the city of Storm Lake allowed the street to be closed off.
“I envision tailgating to be a great social event that would connect students with athletic programs, parents, community members, alumni and staff.” Denholm said.
Denholm realizes there are concerns and mixed opinions associated with the location of the tailgate, however, the policy does not discourage people from using the park area as well.
“They [parents] can still tailgate there. We are just trying something different where the University can sponsor some activities, provide music and offer an alternative to the city-owned site. I hope people will give it a try and come to embrace the location as the new VIP tailgating area.” Denholm concluded.
There are several rules and regulations to be followed during the tailgate. All rules and regulations can be found online on at BVU’s athletic site along with a map showing where the designated parking lot is. The parking and tailgate area is on a first come first serve basis.
Photo by Lindsey Graham
