The Auburn Family asked for it, and University officials delivered.
Athletics Director Jay Jacobs announced Friday, June 28, the addition of 2,000 free gameday parking spaces and the opening of tailgating spots near campus set for the 2013 football season.
Jacobs also announced the opening of 800 new, paid parking spaces for fans willing to pay for a hassle-free gameday experience.
The initiative began after a survey of football season ticket holders made clear the availability of parking and tailgating spaces is a major concern among Auburn fans.
"Auburn football fans now have a full range of options for gameday, from free parking and tailgating in a number of new or expanded locations, to all-inclusive tailgating packages available for a fee," Jacobs said in an open letter. "A number of fans told us they want pre-paid parking or tailgating packages so they can enjoy a hassle-free, guaranteed space on gameday, so that option was increased as well.
"The changes we are implementing for the 2013 season are just the start. This is the beginning of our efforts to improve the gameday experience, not the end."
To open up new tailgating areas, the University is removing bollards and chain fences in certain spaces to allow more fan access. Restrooms and additional lighting will also be added to a number of lots, and new drive-through tailgate drop-off locations have been designated to allow fans to drop off their tailgate supplies closer to their spots."
Meanwhile, paid options include The Tailgate Guys, Tailgate at the Park offered by the College of Agriculture at the Ag Heritage Park, and AAA Parking's reserved parking lots.
"Most of our focus was on adding more free parking spaces and opening up more space for tailgating, but some fans have told us they want hassle-free, reserved tailgating spots, so we are increasing those options as well," said Scott Carr, senior associate athletics director.
The move comes as a reversal from several years ago when the University added bollards and chain fences, ultimately inhibiting fans' tailgating experience.
"For those of us that have been around Auburn for a long time, we realize when some changes were made several years back we had gone a little too far," said Jeremy Roberts, Auburn's assistant athletics director for operations. "We knew we needed to get the arrow pointed back in the other direction and get it opened back up."
Fans are encouraged to send feedback and suggestions as to how the changes affect their gameday experience as the season begins with Washington State.
"This is just the first step in a process that will be a couple of years long," Roberts said. "We'll continue to look at and identify areas on campus that we can turn back over to the fans and continue to improve our gameday experience."
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