Yulman Stadium

I’m not a Tulane alum so I think I am more likely to give a review that isn’t bias. I went to my 1^st game here a few weeks back to watch Tulane play nationally ranked Houston on a Friday night. The game was also televised on one of ESPN’s 37 channels. I’m pretty sure this game was on The Ocho.
The stadium is not that impressive. I’ve been to a ton of sporting events and venues in my life and while I wasn’t expecting Cowboy Stadium in terms or technology or Tiger Stadium in terms of fanbase, I was expecting more than Hoss Memtsas stadium on the Westbank. It felt like I was watching a high school game except Jesuit vs Holy Cross would draw a larger crowd. This place is very low budget which is smart since about only 637 people go to the games. I know I sound mean but seriously why build this place? The football program almost went defunct 5 years ago and the new stadium feel has already worn off in only 1 year. If the stadium isn’t going to draw more fans, then they should have stayed at the dome.
The food is not very good and the beer is the boring Coors, Bud and Miller but they do have Abita. The atmosphere is non-​existent. There is zero excitement in the stands. That’s huge for the college football experience. A better team equals a better experience.

I’ll start with a «Roll Wave Roll» as my alma mater deserves such a cheer and did a fine job with their new home. Horseshoed into campus is this modern stadium. Kudos to the Architects, planners and construction people who pulled this off. The place is great. Small but great. Nice venue even as the program should be bigger than such a smallish place that doesn’t appear to have much room to grow. Still it’s our on campus home and its just right (for now). We tailgated on the quad before the game, got some free beer, LOL, from other tailgaters who had too much (amateurs!) and walked over. The place is sleek and you’re up close to the field. The stadium sells beer (nice) and has a few vendors who sell Tulane gear (cool II). A little disappointed that there’s only one large scoreboard with a video screen. The other scoreboard is smaller and not very good to look at. But the place feels like a stadium and is small enough to manage around. While I have (fond) memories of The Dome, this place fits the program and the school. Well Done Tulane! Well Done !

It is great to have the Green Wave back in Uptown New Orleans, closer to campus, and out of the cavernous void that was the Super Dome Downtown.
Coeds and alums can walk from campus to the right-​sized stadium, which includes lights for night games.

The new stadium has brought the Tulane community closer together for football, than the Mercedes Benz Dome ever did. ROLL WAVE

Tulane has done a really nice job with this stadium and it has really revitalized the fan base and made games a lot more fun. The Tulane games in the Superdome always seemed to be missing a lot of energy from the «crowd» which never seemed like much of a crowd but there is no lack of that here. The facilities are top notch and this is a great addition to the area. Tulane has done a great job managing crowds and traffic so there really isn’t a lot of noticeable burden placed on the surrounding neighborhoods. The only things I’m not happy with are that they don’t allow kegs in the tailgate area and they are also following the general trend of being the PC police and blatantly violating the civil rights of citizens as they have rules that fly in the face of the First Amendment:
«Refusal to remove or turn inside-​out clothing deemed offensive or obscene upon request by stadium personnel»
and
«Possession of any unauthorized banners or signs»
along with their «Rules of Conduct» that further outline restrictions on speech. Any infringement on civil rights should be intolerable at any University and free speech, even when offensive, should always be respected and held sacred as the free exchange of ideas and language should be the basis of any place of learning. We’ve had incidents in the news recently where people will find offense at almost anything so these restrictions on free speech under the guise of being afraid something will be deemed «offensive» are just ludicrous as you can find someone that will be offended by almost anything these days.
Overall this is a great stadium and Tulane provides a fun experience and they just need to escape the PC police nanny state attitude that is just un-​American and allow keggers back where they belong at tailgates.

OUR NEW STADIUM IS ALREADY A CLASSIC!
One of the first observations about Yulman is that it seamlessly fits into the fabric of uptown life as snuggly as it is wedged into its shotgun-​double sized location.
5-​Star Reserved Seat Selection Process:
This year the six home game package cost $ 200. After purchase, I was contacted in late July by an assigned representative with a ranked selection time. This is actually a real human, a sort of personal Yulman concierge. The online interface is outstanding, allowing you to pick from among all available seats and even see the virtual view from each.
5-​Star Parking:
I was dubious about the much debated transportation compromise but on game day it operated flawlessly. The season shuttle package cost just $ 60. There are 8 secure gated locations with on-​site attendants. Upon arrival at our assigned lot, we almost immediately left for the stadium in one of several awaiting air-​conditioned school buses that deposited us onto Ben Weiner within minutes. Pick up after the game was just as quick.
5-​Star Stadium:
Once you get on campus the experience is exactly what it should be: collegiate. Walking toward the improbably spacious Gameday Plaza among all the Wave-​wear, you are swept into a cheery crowd of amped-​up boozed-​up students, bouncy children, and many frisky elderly Greenies. The seats are well laid out with fairly roomy individual acreage, and the bleachers are powder coated to provide cooling protection from the sun and a mote of cushion. But for me the radiant star is the humongous HD Jumbotron. My only complaint: it’s so awesome let’s get some donors to install another one lakeside!
1-​Star Concession Food:
AXIOM: New Orleanians will put up with a losing season but never bad food. These concessions are worse than fare at the seediest movie theater in town. The nachos are essentially stale chips and some wiz. You get 10 jalapeños if you ask for them. The insultingly small portion of mealy fries cost $ 4. The dog is actually okay but the toppings are limited to a few condiments. I dunked mine into the nacho wiz for variety. Pricing isn’t bad. Most items are less than $ 7 including 16 ounce bottled beer. Oddly, it’s more expensive to buy draft. I’ll be surprised if such schlock will be tolerated though.
YULMAN IS AN OUTSTANDING UPTOWN ASSET!
…but do yourself a favor and eat a Melba’s shrimp po’boy beforehand.