This is Buying Sideline — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of sports hospitality.
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In the email today:
🎟️ Report: 92% of College Sports Fans Would Buy Premium Season Tickets
Playfly released their “Premium Opportunity in College Sports” FanScore report. The survey focused on college football and basketball attendees with premium-seating experience. One of the findings should come as no surprise if you read this newsletter weekly: only 6% of college football venues offer premium seating.
Some other numbers from the report include:
92% of college sports fans would buy premium season tickets if they could get them.
College premium customers are about six years younger than non-premium attendees— one in three is between ages 35-44.
86% of college football premium buyers and 91% of college basketball premium buyers reportedly bought premium seating at a pro event in the previous two years.
41% of buyers making under $100k/yr purchased premium seating vs. 39% of those earning $100k-$199k/yr.
Playfly did not disclose the exact number of survey respondents.
The commercial agency also announced yesterday they’re providing the upfront capital to Tulsa’s premium seating renovation, which includes four new 16-seat luxury suites in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for the 2026–27 basketball season.
Our Take: I am stunned by the under $100k number. We’ve intuited that premium seating wasn’t just a “for the rich” offering, but the fact that there are more buyers making under $100k than just over it (in this survey) is as much of a signal as you need that younger buyers value experiences over goods.
Playfly also found that the median jump from the best standard seat to the cheapest premium product is about +93% in the G6 and +19% in the P4, compared with -6% in the NFL.
In other words, many NFL teams have created a smoother ladder where entry-level premium can actually cost the same as — or even less than — the very best standard seat.
College sports, on the other hand, can force some fans that might be dipping their toe into premium to make a significant financial leap.
🏟️ New Ryan Field: Bigger Isn’t Always Better?
Northwestern University gave students and fans a first look at the new Ryan Field Wednesday night, opening the $870 million stadium for a pep rally and welcome party.
Those in attendance got a look at the 35,000-seat stadium - which will host its first football game on Oct. 2 when the Wildcats host Penn State - along with the venue’s amenities.
New Ryan Field’s hospitality blueprint, which includes:
4 premium clubs
8 private hospitality spaces
living-room boxes
on-field suites
loft boxes and loft suites
But things extend far beyond an eclectic offering of upgraded spaces.
Also on Wednesday, Northwestern announced its plans around what it’s calling The Great Chicago Food Festival, essentially turning every football game and concert event at the stadium into a showcase for Chicago food and entertainment.
The Village at Ryan Field, a 50,000 square-foot space that has six custom-built pavilions with full kitchens and field views, will play host a rotating lineup of popular Chicago “culinary legends in residence,” including concepts from the city’s top chefs and restaurant groups.
What’s more, the stadium will feature The Great Big Ten Grillout, built around an elevated tailgating experience and city staples like Al’s Italian Beef, Pat’s Tavern Style Pizza, Vienna Beef and Garrett Popcorn.
Our Take: Ryan Field is not what you would consider to be a traditional college football stadium, especially compared against the likes of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, each of which can host over 100,000 fans on game days. In fact, the 35,000-seat capacity stands as 12,000 fewer than the school’s previous iteration — and that may be a smart play.
Northwestern doesn’t have the same national following and fanbases as some of its rival Big Ten schools, so it has instead placed its attention on maximizing the overall value per fan rather than the number of fans coming through the gate.
A multitude of diverse premium game day spaces, a heavy emphasis on locally-inspired quick eats, in-stadium tailgate spaces, and even a 50,000-square-foot food festival all serve to foster an experience unique to Northwestern Football.
Put more simply, and from a business perspective, Northwestern is attempting to create added incentive for fans to arrive early, stay longer, and, of course, spend money.
✈️ Game Day Private Jets Partners with Tennessee Athletics
The premium sports hospitality experience is no longer just about the destination, it’s about the journey.
That may feel a bit philosophical, but it’s also quite literal as demonstrated by a new partnership between Game Day Private Jets and Tennessee Athletics.
Now, Tennessee fans will have an array of air travel options to both home and road games that:
Chartering an entire private aircraft
Sharing a private jet with other Tennessee fans
Buying individual seats on "Game Day Shuttles” to college football contests
“What makes the model especially powerful for athletic departments is that this isn’t just about improving the fan experience,” said Luis Garcia, Founder and CEO of Game Day Private Jets. “We’re taking travel spend that already exists and creating a structure that can also help generate incremental revenue for athletics.”
Our Take: There a few elements to this story worth following.
As Garcia notes, this isn’t just about elevating the fan travel experience—which it does. This community-driven model gives schools another way to extend their influence over the customer journey both to and through the event, while creating additional commercial opportunities for athletics departments. This particular deal also brings NIL opportunities into focus. The press release notes that select Tennessee athletes will serve as ambassadors to the partnership, thus creating sponsorship, personal brand-building and networking opportunities.
It cannot be overstated that universities are using the game as the central point of a larger ecosystem for a multi-day luxury travel product. Flights are the story this time around, but hotels, ground transportation, dining, all-access options, athlete experiences and more are all part of the ever-evolving possibilities.
The question now? Just how much of this ecosystem can athletics departments (and their booming list of commercial partners) capture?
Each hospitality space has a little something for everyone at Subaru Park
We were inches from 16-year-old phenom Cavan Sullivan in Club LSA, experienced a fantastic food spread in the Commodore Club's English-style pub while witnessing five goals from the padded field-level seats, and toured 2010 North, a private and luxurious speakeasy.
Here’s what each premium club offers:
Club LSA: The VIP amenity within the Union locker room area offers direct access to players and inclusive F&B. Seat options include the Presidential Row, which puts you on the edge of the technical area, Manager’s Row, which sits behind the benches including a private locker in LSA, and West Side field-level seats.
Commodore Club: The 2,400 sq. ft. all-inclusive English-style pub has high-tops, booths, TVs, and rotating pub food, cocktails, and draft beer. The padded DreamSeat Zera Contour field-level seats are ~100 steps away and have in-seat service. The Commodore Row also sits in front of the Union’s supporters, The Sons of Ben.
2010 North: A hidden speakeasy that focuses on premium cocktails. Outside a private field-side loge box features the padded Monako seating from DreamSeat, your own private TV and cooler, plus inclusive in-seat F&B service.
The Commodore and 2010 North were designed in 2025 by Gensler while BPGS Construction built the former maintenance and storage rooms along with Club LSA in 2019. ROSSETTI designed that VIP amenity.
We also spoke with Union’s CRO Charlie Slonaker in an earlier send, who noted the Union lean heavily into incorporating key parts of the game day atmosphere - like The Sons of Ben - into the overall experience.
“Those are the people that bring the energy for the entire stadium. If the River End isn't what it was like, the value wouldn't be there in those seats. If you're sitting on the sideline and the River End is absolutely rocking, you're getting that enjoyment from being a part of the environment. It is a very large part of our game day environment and atmosphere and having the price set at a correct number. That sort of makes sense for the fan. We've always had a great take rate and show rate from the Sons of Ben. So definitely drives our thinking for sure.”
Where should we visit next? If you have an idea, send us a note by just replying to this email.
Audi Field’s proposed $620M expansion, which will include a roof to expand its calendar of events, received labor union support. The next step? Convincing D.C. to contribute $300 million for the project.
Ball Arena, where the Nuggets and Avalanche call home, announced a $135M renovation that will be heavily focused on adding premium inventory. Three new clubs are slated including one that will have direct access to reserved lower bowl seating.
Jackie Robinson Ballpark unveils new premium inventory. The Daytona Beach Club Presented by Progressive Medical Research is 3,000 square feet of climate-controlled indoor space and 102 outdoor seats. The home of the Daytona Tortugas is also looking for a naming rights partner to complement the ballpark’s name.
A $294M proposed mixed-use project in Nairobi, led by former Raptors GM Masai Ujiri’s investment firm, would feature a 10,000-seat basketball arena, hotel, apartments, retail outlets, and entertainment facilities.
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See you on the field.