NCAA football games generally don't release game times until two weeks before, as they want to figure out the best matchups and time slots for TV. When I planned this trip, I knew that Arizona would host Kansas on Saturday, but I needed the game to be in the afternoon as I did not want to drive back to Phoenix late at night. Thankfully, the schedule maker read my mind and set the game for 1:30, giving me a chance to sleep in a bit before exploring the neighborhood during the pregame festivities. Gentle Ben's is probably the best option, but it was packed with fans of both teams, so I sought sustenance elsewhere. After a brief walk around, I found a seat at The Saddle (ha!), a newly-opened country bar that may still be seeking a regular clientele. Whatever the case, I was happy to relax for an hour and highly recommend their meatballs.
From there, I wandered over to the Arizona Stadium, one of only three in the nation named solely for states (Michigan and Ohio are the others). This majestic venue opened in October 1929, just a couple of weeks before the stock market crash that started the Great Depression. Capacity was 7,000 when it debuted, but obviously it been expanded several times and now sits at 50,782.
There are still signs of the era in which it was built, such as the fonts and Art Deco features along the sides. You can see the south side of the building in the shot above, with the back of the giant scoreboard atop.
The official address is on National Champions Drive, which has banners for every national championship won by the school; the 1997 basketball title can be seen below. Football has yet to come close; in fact, their last conference title was back in 1993.
Once you have your ticket scanned, you will find yourself underneath the seats. From here, breezeways will take you to the seating bowl.
I picked up a ticket on the secondary market for $30 before the game but it was in the upper deck, which is completely unprotected from the sun for the entire afternoon (the picture below was taken after the game). I knew I wasn't going to sit there, but had to find something acceptable. Fortunately, Arizona football is not that popular and the stadium was perhaps 3/4 full (attendance was announced at 41,115).
Many of the seats here are metal bleachers, even down low on one sideline. You can see where the chairbacks start in the shot above, near the 20-yard line on the left.
One end zone is also chairbacks (above), while the other is bleachers. It is a rather unusual configuration and I couldn't quite figure out why it was this way.
While I was standing there, the band came on to the field. College football does have a lot of pageantry, but it doesn't justify games lasting over 3.5 hours, as this one did.
The middle level of seating on the east side is the club and much of that was in the shade during the game, so I headed up there around kickoff. You need a wristband to get into the club itself, but anyone can walk into the seating area and sit down. I ended up in the last row right in front of the club windows, using the team website to verify that the seat was unsold. It was, likely because face value was a ridiculous $322.
The view from my shaded seat is below and I spent most of the game here, leaving only for the final five minutes. While I was there, a young man sat a couple of seats away from me. I couldn't resist telling him that face value was $322, and he mentioned that he was already in the club with a friend, but his seats were not in the shade. He then added a bit about his family having a history of melanoma and thus he had to move. He was visiting from San Francisco, where the sun is less of a concern, but it did give me pause when I realized that choosing a school in sunny climes has long-term health implications for some people. I was also wearing my Blue Jays hat and sitting right next to the door, several fans stopped to either offer commiserations or gloat.
Below is a more complete shot of the west side with the press box above. It also does a good job of blocking the sun, at least for some seats. Depending on the game time and the month, some seats will be in the shade from start to finish, while others just a few rows away will be uncovered for the whole game.
One of the highlights here is that concessions are actually properly priced. Both soft drinks and hot dogs are only $3, and while I was moving seats near the end of the game, I was handed a free churro.
There aren't a lot of features here, but I did enjoy the mural at the bottom of one ramp. The skull symbolizes the fans waiting for the game to end.
Overall, Arizona Stadium is a relatively simple gridiron that serves its purpose.
There aren't a lot of features here, but I did enjoy the mural at the bottom of one ramp. The skull symbolizes the fans waiting for the game to end.
Overall, Arizona Stadium is a relatively simple gridiron that serves its purpose.
The Game
Kansas came in at 5-4 (3-3 in Big 12 play) while Arizona was 5-3 (2-3). A friend's son attends Kansas and is a big fan of their football team, so I was hoping for a road upset, with the Wildcats favoured by 6.5.
After a couple of punts started things, Arizona took over on their 22 and drove 78 yards in just 3:15, with Noah Fifita (#1 in blue below) finding Sam Olson with a beautiful over the shoulder pass to open the scoring. Two more punts followed and then Kansas tied it on with QB Jalon Daniels scoring from the 1-yard line. After Arizona punted again, Daniels led the Jayhawks on a 78-yard drive of their own, culminating in a 24-yard pass to Emmanuel Harrison Jr. that was similar to Arizona's score. Another Wildcat punt was followed by a Kansas field goal with 4:15 left in the half. Unfortunately, the Jayhawk defense wilted in the heat, allowing Arizona to march 75 yards over 11 plays with Quincy Craig finishing things on an 8-yard touchdown pass that saw him leap to get the ball inside the pylon.
The second half saw the teams trade field goals early and then combine for five punts. Kansas took over up 20-17 with 9:24 to go and had an opportunity to seal the game if they could run the clock down. They did an admirable job for the most part, rushing the ball eight times (including a gutsy fourth down conversion) and passing only three, taking 6:45 off the clock and leaving the ball at the Wildcat 11. Sadly, Laith Marjan missed the 30-yard attempt and the Wildcats had a chance to tie or even take the lead.
Once again, the Kansas defense just couldn't stop Arizona at the end of the half as Fifita and Craig gashed holes, rushing for 73 yards, with Craig taking it from 24 yards out on a play where Kansas didn't even get a hand on him. A stunning turn of events that had the home fans going crazy. The Jayhawks had 39 seconds to score a touchdown and ran 8 plays, but none were remotely close and Arizona escaped with the 24-20 victory.
Kansas outgained Arizona 369-323 on the afternoon, though they ran ten more plays. It was a fairly pedestrian game with 12 punts out of the 21 meaningful drives. There were no turnovers however, and only eight penalties, so a well-played affair in those respects. Unfortunately, it took 3:32, which is just crazy. After a 20-minute halftime (15 minutes of commercials), the first drive took 1:33. So what do we need? Three more minutes of ads. Nobody watches the ads at home, they just flip to another channel, grab a beer, or look at their phone. Instead of three game windows of 3.5 hours each, how about three windows of 2.5 hours and a final window of 3 hours? Games at noon, 2:30, 5, and 7:30? That still 10.5 hours of broadcast TV while fans at home get an extra game, while fans in the stands don't have to sit around for so much dead time. It can be done, but we all know it won't.
Notes
In the end, the Phoenix house at which I was staying with friends had a plumbing issue, so I spent another night in Tucson before driving back the next morning. While looking for dinner, I discovered Dragoon Brewing Company just a mile from my hotel and was happy I did as their beer selection is excellent. Unfortunately, they don't have a kitchen, but there's an Arby's nearby if you can stomach the combination.
Just a week after the game, the university announced a new naming rights deal and the venue will be known as Casino Del Sol Stadium from next season. I trust Ohio and Michigan will not follow suit.
Best,
Sean
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