The Tailgate Terrace is no more and in its place is the TD Club. How does it stack up?

Back in July, Tribe Athletics announced that the South End Zone (formerly Tailgate Terrace) would now be a ticketed area called the Touchdown Club.

For $60, your ticket to the game would be for the South End Zone, along with a “buffet that includes a featured entrée, everyone’s favorite tailgate snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks (Pepsi products).” Fans also have the ability to buy a ticket for $75 that includes two alcohol vouchers.

As someone who spent their entire senior year in the Tailgate Terrace, I was intrigued by this new concept, and forked over the $60 necessary to give our readers a comprehensive overview of this new spin on an old section.

This will be an honest review that looks at 4 main considerations (venue space, atmosphere, food and drink, and of course, value). Also, I fully recognize that this was the first game, and I’m sure there are plenty of kinks to work out for the section, but the leash is much shorter when one describes the section as the “premier gameday venue” for fans.

With that out of the way, let’s get into it!

Venue

There to greet you at the entrance is a security guard who will check your ticket and then guide you to a table in the middle of the space.

From there an attendant signs you in and depending on if you bought drink vouchers, they check your ID and you’re on your way.

Standard stuff so far. 

A number of “premier group areas” are located in the Club which accommodate anywhere from 20 to 100 people. These sections aren’t necessarily any different from the venue itself, but they do have private seating and rail lines to view the game unobstructed.

Now for the section I was in. All things considered, I think they did a pretty good job setting up a variety of seating options, some welcomed cocktail tables as well as bar stools to sit and view the game by the railing.

There are two buffet and drink areas on each side, and that’s about it from the looks department.

While this wasn’t an issue for this particular game, what I’ve noticed about the end zone section in past years is that sight lines become extremely limited once it begins to really fill up.

Unfortunately, there’s no elevated seating or platform for people not sitting on the barstools by the railing, which means if you want to sit and watch the game, secure your seat early!

Another component about the venue that I found interesting was just how much space the 3 private venues took up in comparison to where I was sitting. I would wager that half of the space was closed off by fencing for someone with a general TD Club ticket. If you thought the Tailgate Terrace was packed during Homecoming in year’s past, well, things could get very tight very quick for 2024.

The views at the railing, as one might expect, are awesome. Sitting at the railing one is so close that they could (if they wanted to speedrun getting kicked out of Zable) reach out and touch the opposing players while they are warming up.

If you have already milled around the Tailgate Terrace before, you have a rough idea of the view, but here’s some more views of the field anyway.

Venue Final Verdict: 4/5

Atmosphere 

Oh man, this one hurts to write about. If you had ever experienced the Terrace at full capacity, you know it was a lively atmosphere, partly due to the proximity to the field and partly due to the steady beer flowing.

To put it kindly, the Touchdown Club was not at full capacity the day of this review. Here’s a picture at exactly 7:00 pm, a couple of minutes before kickoff. To be fair, the announced attendance at Zable was only 8,096, which seems a bit low as far as home openers.

Regardless, Zable Stadium was rocking Thursday night, with the student section overflowing, VMI traveling well, and of course strong support from parents and family of players.

We tried our best in the TD Club, but there just wasn’t enough bodies to make it match the energy of those sections around us. Promotional pictures show an overflowing, raucous end zone crowd that just was not the case on review day, and I have a pretty clear idea why (spoiler alert: jump to the value section).

The demographics of the crowd itself were also really interesting. It was skewed heavily in both directions (parents with younger kids, and then older folks). I felt like I was the only 18 – 24 year old in the general club section, and there certainly was not a single student there. There seemed to be a couple younger folk in the private sections at least though.

Since tickets are purchased in advance for the section, I believe the atmosphere will alter significantly on a game-to-game basis. I expect the section to be rocking for Homecoming, but then again, I also expected it to be busier for the home opener as well. 

Atmosphere Final Verdict: 3/5

Food & Drink Selection

I will be honest, this was easily the biggest disappointment of my experience of the Touchdown Club. Based on the press release, which states that the section would have “a buffet that includes a featured entrée, everyone’s favorite tailgate snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks (Pepsi products)” I was under the impression that there would be more options than what was there in reality.

For the VMI game the featured entrée was build-your-own nachos with chicken and pork, and the tailgate snacks were cookies. No soft drinks were available (you had to purchase them for an additional cost) but lemonade and water were complimentary. 

It wasn’t that the food was particularly bad or anything, it was pretty much the dining hall food you would get at W&M or a catering event at the University. Honestly, my issue is that I just don’t think that the limited options presented at that particular game justify the premium cost of the ticket. Furthermore, not knowing the featured entrée ahead of time makes it difficult to know if you would actually want to eat at the game or on your own beforehand.

Lastly, I would argue that nachos, even with chicken and pork, are not an entree (I will die on this hill). 

I will give the catering crew some grace here for it being the first game, but I do feel as though the press-release gives off a false impression that this section has a buffet when it was really just one option.

Luckily, this is an easy fix. Just make it a build your own hotdog and hamburger section (with a vegetarian burger option as well) and call it a day. Unlimited glizzies > unlimited nachos.

Food Final Verdict: 2.5/5

Value

This one is pretty straightforward. One ticket to the TD Club is $60 ($75 with two alcoholic drink vouchers). Below are the prices for alcohol without purchasing drink vouchers in advance, so you do get a slight deal on them.

A general admission ticket to a given football game at Zable is $20. Do you value the buffet and dedicated seating area at $40? If so, then the TD Club makes sense for you. 

You can buy a season pass to the TD Club for $300, or $50 a game. Apply the same logic above but knock down the $40 to $30, and ask yourself the same question. The big dilemma here for me is that the food is not worth the added price tag.

Perhaps the larger point to be made is that the north end zone, while not an official section, still offers relatively similar end-zone views at no additional cost. One could purchase a $20 general admission ticket, spend $20 on food and drinks (of their choice) at the concession stand, and walk over to the north end zone for the two quarters when the Tribe offense is driving in that direction, and that would be $20 cheaper than a TD Club single game ticket. 

Considering that the older iteration of this section (Tailgate Terrace) was free-to-enter and pay-as-you-go for alcohol and food, it’s tough to say the value is there considering the alternative option I just described above.

Value Final Verdict: 2.5/5

Final Verdict

The Touchdown Club is the next iteration of an end-zone area at Zable stadium, and much like its predecessors, it does some things very well, while missing the mark in other spots.

The views are unparalleled, and the section does a good job when it comes to providing a variety of seating options. The food at the home-opener wasn’t anything to write home about (and I will stand by my opinion that loaded nachos are not an entrée) and the current pricing model pretty much ensures that this is a student-free section. There is still some confusion among spectators and students around who can actually enter the section, and I expect that to continue throughout the season.

I think if you are planning on attending the Homecoming game against Campbell and crave the Terrace experience of years past, this is a great option. I have already bought my TD Club ticket for that game, but opted against the full season-ticket option.

With Zable now offering alcohol sales in general concession areas this season, the value-add for the section had to pivot from “access to alcohol” to something new. A buffet and the ability to book a private venue are a good angle in theory, but the price tag is steep in my opinion for families with children (the get-in price for a family of four is $240!) and upperclassmen like seniors and graduate students. The result is that the atmosphere of the section has shifted dramatically (at least for the home-opener) and probably will vary based on the private parties attending for each game. If the section remains beyond this season, below are some tweaks I believe the general section of the Club should undergo.

Final Verdict: 3.75 /5

Senior / Grad Pass 

I would offer a $30 a game / $100 season ticket pass option to graduate students, undergraduate seniors and anyone between the ages of 21 – 30. This would still ensure that the section doesn’t overflow with too many people, but also would attract enough younger folks to help maintain a fun and lively atmosphere. Students get free tickets, so this would also tap into a new revenue stream.

Announce the Entrée Ahead of Time

The entrée or food selection needs to be announced before each game. Not much else to say here other than there also needs to be a vegetarian option.

More Competitive Price Model

$60 a la carte and $50 per with season tickets scares away too many people (myself included). Knock it down a peg and watch the section fill up with more people.

$50 a la carte and $250 (roughly $40 per game) for season tickets.

Maybe this isn’t possible with the set-up / cost of food, but the more people that attend, the more possibilities for alcohol and beverage sales (where the real money is to be made!).

Speaking of end zone seating, be on the lookout for a longer piece later this fall titled “An Ode To The Endzone (Seating).” This will explore the changes to the end zone sections over the years, and what we think the future of it might be!

Did you try out the TD Club at the home opener? What did you think? Let us know in the comments and as always, Go Tribe!

(For more information about the TD Club and to purchase tickets, click here!)