Smu Tailgating Question

[BonfireBrian]

My buddies and I are hoping to break out all of our tailgating supplies for the Sept. 8th game at SMU. It seems that all of the lots at SMU are for season ticket holders or are $80 to reserve a spot.

Does anyone know of anywhere you can just bring your car and tailgate similar to what we do at home games?

Is anyone planning on tailgating at the SMU game?

Thanks for the help!!!

This is an article from the DMN (I believe this has already been posted here on GMG)

If you tailgate at SMU in Dallas the place where the crowds - and the best parties - are is the Boulevard. This past season for $80 you got a spot in the center median and were in the middle of the action.

Well, this season things are changing. That $80 spot for 2007 will be (are you sitting?) $480. If you want a spot north of Binkley you'll shell out $675 - $725, the latter if you want an adjacent parking spot.

Why the 600% increase? Well, according to the SMU Daily Campus:

Associate athletic director for Marketing and Public Relations, Richard Sweet, said the cost to have a "highly coveted spot on the Boulevard was ridiculously undervalued."

"Like any business, you don't provide a winning production on the field without paying for it," Sweet said of the price increase.

Okay, I understand that tailgating is a privilege and I don't have a problem paying for that privilege, but let's be reasonable. I haven't been to an SMU game in years (although I went as a kid growing up in Dallas, but that was before they were hit with the Death Penalty - yeah, I'm an old man) but if you take Mr. Sweet's "winning production on the field" line as justification is 600% reasonable? Since the turn of the century the Mustangs have gone 3-9, 4-7, 3-9, 0-12, 3-8, 5-6, and 6-6. The tailgating on the Boulevard is good but it's not like tailgating at some of SMU's neighboring schools in the Big XII.

Am I off base here? According to the article Mr. Sweet thinks I am:

Sweet equated the price hike to a person working with a personal trainer. He said you don't pay after you lose the 40 pounds and get the results you want, you have to pay up front.

[UNTflyer]

Well the CFO of my company is a $MU alum and lives two blocks from the stadium. He's letting me tailgate in his driveway.

[SouthernMustang]

I highly recommend tailgating on The Boulevard. If SMU knows how to do one thing right, it's a tailgate set up. President Turner got the idea from his days as Chancellor at Ole Miss, where they have the larger version, The Grove. The Boulevard is a great set up for students, alums, and visitors. All the tents are on Bishop Blvd... there is only 1 car allowed per tent. This allows all the people to hang out and tailgate in the grassy area with tents, and to walk freely back and forth and hang out and have a good time. Unfortuantely, most people don't move from The Blvd to the game when kick-off starts. I guarantee you that if you do visit the tailgate area, you will be impressed at the one thing SMU figured out how to do right re: sports atmosphere.

[pollock]

Is that the only place you can tailgate?

Is there any other parking? I've never been on the SMU campus before.

[Boomer23]

Unfortuantely, most people don't move from The Blvd to the game when kick-off starts.

Well if I am paying $480 I am going to enjoy the hell out of that spot.

[Green Nightmare]

I tailgated down there last year for the SMU-Houston Game

Its a great scene, however it was hard to find anywhere to do it at.

I went on the SMU board for some guidance and they were pretty helpful.

however you can only tailgate in the middle strip of the boulevard

not the grass surroundings on the other side.

I somehow ended up on theological grounds drinking, a big no no

Some guys who paid for spots were nice enough to let us steal a slice of there land

Here's the post from last year. Please disregard my non-optimism. I didn't know we were getting TD

SMU Tailgating