Improvements Set for Game Day Experience at JMU’s Bridgeforth Stadium

HARRISONBURG, Va. – As James Madison Athletics celebrates a record sellout of 8,718 season tickets and anticipates capacity crowds at Bridgeforth Stadium for all six home football contests, the department announced multiple updates to various game day operations and in-game environment aimed at improving the fan experience in 2023.

"We have long maintained that JMU offers one of the best game experiences in college football. With the move to the Sun Belt and FBS competition, the stakes are even higher to make sure we deliver on that expectation," Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said. "After a thorough process of collecting feedback, researching opportunities and collaborating with various groups, I'm pleased with improvements slated for Bridgeforth Stadium for 2023. The goal is not to increase revenue generation but rather to address known deficiencies and to emphasize efficiency for the customer experience.

"Many groups contributed to our thorough review of game day over the last year and were eager to help us improve our operation," Bourne added. "I'd like to thank of them for their willingness to help develop positive outcomes. Groups like Aramark, Telecom, facilities management, public safety, campus senior leadership and others worked alongside our external operations team to make these enhancements possible."

Concessions

After extensive study of industry best practice, JMU has revamped its concessions configurations throughout the stadium. Most notably, concessions will now operate with a "grab and go" format allowing fans to quickly collect items and proceed to a centralized payment area. All concession lines have been adjusted with queuing systems to clearly indicate entry and exit points.

Alcohol Sales

JMU will no longer require fans to visit a wrist-banding station prior to purchase of alcoholic drinks. Instead, patrons will be asked to show identification at the point of sale. All single transactions have a two-drink limit, and alcohol sales will end at the conclusion of the third quarter, in line with previous policy.

Overall, JMU will improve from four locations selling alcohol in 2022 to nine locations in 2023. The increase includes 12 points of sale under the North end zone as well as the first season with alcoholic points of sale behind the East stands. All stands with alcohol will have identical offerings and will also include various snack options and bottled water, unlike previous seasons when alcohol was exclusive to those locations.

The club and suites will still require an arm-banding process similar to previous seasons.

New Fan App

Working with its website partner, SIDEARM Sports, JMU Athletics is developing its first mobile fan app, scheduled for launch prior to the start of the season. The app will improve all aspects of the overall JMU fan experience, but most notably, will offer a more streamlined method for fans to manage digital ticketing.

OnePass now called "All-in-One" Pass

JMU's ticketing integrator, Paciolan, has introduced a new "ALL-IN-1" pass that simplifies digital ticketing. The pass allows guests with season tickets to have one ticket for the season and automatically updates to the next game in the user's app or mobile wallet. While simplying the process of managing season tickets, the pass does not inhibit the opportunity to transfer season tickets to another individual. More information is available on Paciolan's website.

SeatGeek – New Secondary Ticket Marketplace

Beginning with the 2023 season, SeatGeek will be the new secondary ticket partner of JMU Athletics. Tickets that will go unused can be listed, bought and sold on SeatGeek and are fully verified and delivered seamlessly. SeatGeek will assist fans in pricing tickets, issuing a notification when they have sold, transferring them and delivering a payout within 48 hours.

Fans will have full access to this opportunity via their JMUTickets.com account when their tickets are delivered. When tickets are available in fans' accounts, a notification email will be sent, as well as information on how to best utilize the new SeatGeek integration.

Further details on JMU Athletics' SeatGeek integration will be provided in the near future. Tickets are scheduled for delivery in August prior to the home opener on Sept. 2.

Connectivity

JMU Athletics has worked with JMU Telecom to investigate and improve back-of-house connectivity at all concessions points of sale as well as all stadium entry points to ensure that technology capacity can accommodate transaction demand. New scanners will be deployed at all entry gates. It is still recommended that all patrons have tickets downloaded on the new app or on their mobile wallet in advance and displayed on their screen as they approach the gate to allow for the most efficient entry.

In addition, working with Verizon, deficiencies were also discovered and addressed related to a satellite cellular data site installed on Godwin Hall in 2019.

In-Game Enhancements

JMU has partnered with Image Engineering to redesign its pregame team introduction and fireworks show, enhancing the in-venue atmosphere at Bridgeforth Stadium. New CO2 structures will usher the team onto the field, and fireworks will be moved to the top of the Plecker Athletics Performance Center, celebrating JMU touchdowns and postgame victory.

Public Address

Following the retirement of long-time public address announcer Jack Cavanaugh, JMU Athletics is currently hosting tryouts for a new PA announcer with an emphasis on energy and promoting an exciting game day environment.

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