Elevate Sports Ventures to conduct strategic study to support fan-centric, analytically-driven renovations at Purdue University’s Ross-Ade Stadium

Elevate Sports Ventures has been retained by Purdue University to oversee a fan-centric, data-driven study to provide strategy surrounding extensive renovations to Ross-Ade Stadium, home of the Boilermaker football program.

Data from tens of thousands of stakeholder surveys and hundreds of focus-group interviews with specially vetted participants will be utilised to generate a study that maximises the industry-best practice models derived from Elevate Sports Ventures’ considerable experience. Purdue University’s adoption of the analytics-based approach to renovation follows a second-straight bowl game appearance by the Boilermakers and significant growth in season-ticket sales and renewal rates. Purdue Athletics has dubbed the upcoming survey campaign, “Your Ross-Ade Stadium,” reflecting the importance of fan participation in identifying actionable insights.

Fan feedback encompassing the areas of entry and egress, wayfinding, concessions, entertainment, parking, communication and more will be included in the study. The first wave of distribution and collection of stakeholder surveys, probing Purdue football season-ticket holders, single and multiple- game purchasers, current students, alumni and fans from West Lafayette-Lafayette, Indianapolis, throughout Indiana, Chicago and more, will begin in mid-January via instructional emails.

Purdue Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Mike Bobinski, said:

Purdue Athletics is committed to providing our athletes and fans the most cutting-edge, dynamic environments in which to train, compete and cheer. Our new partnership with Elevate Sports Ventures allows us to employ a modern, thoughtful approach to shape future strategies and initiatives, while also advancing Purdue’s role as a progressive force in collegiate athletics. We are confident that Elevate’s professional sports experience, data-driven insights and cutting-edge methodology will lead to outcomes that excite current and prospective season-ticket holders, students, alumni and more. Purdue is proud to partner with Elevate on this project as they bring their expertise and impact to the college sports environment.

Al Guido, Elevate Sports Ventures CEO, said:

Purdue University’s determination to approach this massive renovation with a smart, analytical eye and its unwavering desire to create the ultimate, fan-centric, college game experience make them an ideal partner through which to leverage Elevate’s insights and analytical approach from the professional sports front office to the college sphere. This project allows Elevate the opportunity to maximise significant resources from our partners, from mastery of database management to proficiency in and aptitude towards a fan-first, diagnostic-based strategy. Purdue University Football has reached a critical point in the development and servicing of its thriving season ticket holder base, and its intention to deploy this smart, fan-centric strategy is evidence of their place as thought-leaders in the college ecosystem.

Purdue’s adoption of Elevate’s data-driven approach to stadium renovation based on direct fan feedback follows a period of extensive growth in season ticket and single-game ticket sales. From 2016 to 2018, Purdue’s average home attendance grew nearly 50 percent, leading the nation in average growth among university football programs; from an average home attendance of 34,451 in 2016 to 51,120 in 2018.

Purdue was the only school to see its season-long average attendance increase by 3,000 fans each game from 2016 to 2017 (achieving a nation-best, season-long average increase of 13,433 between the 2016 and 2017 seasons) and from 2017 to 2018 (achieving a season average increase of 3,236 from 2017 to 2018 seasons).

This season, the Boilermakers attracted two capacity crowds of 60,716 at Ross-Ade Stadium for matchups against Ohio State and Iowa, a first since 2007. Purdue University Football’s home attendance average was its highest since the 2008 season. Season-ticket sales skyrocketed, growing by more than 6,000 seats between 2017 and 2018, with renewals at a school-record high rate of 95 percent. In 2018, Purdue sold out the 10,000-seat allotment of student season tickets.

Images, courtesy: Purdue Athletics

About Purdue Athletics

Purdue Athletics is a self-supporting auxiliary enterprise that receives no university or state funding and has an annual scholarship bill of more than US$11m annually. Purdue fields the following 18 intercollegiate athletic sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. The Boilermakers compete in the Big Ten Conference, the preeminent collection of institutions in the nation. Eleven teams finished in the top 25 at their respective NCAA Championships over the last two years. Purdue was the only school in the country to advance to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 in 2017 and 2018 with a football bowl game victory in between. In 2017-18, Purdue teams achieved an average Big Ten finish of 6.35, good for fourth place and the department’s best showing since 2009-10.

About Elevate Sports Ventures

Elevate Sports Ventures is a best-in-class sports and entertainment consulting firm, providing proven, innovative solutions to organizations across the global sports and entertainment landscape. Elevate taps into the extensive resources, relationships and expertise of its partners to innovate and execute comprehensive strategies and solutions in Venue Renovations, Stadium Licenses, Premium Ticketing, Corporate Hospitality and more. Formed in partnership between the San Francisco 49ers and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) in 2018, Elevate welcomed Oak View Group (OVG), Ticketmaster and Live Nation as partners in June 2018. Elevate serves as OVG’s established representative in premium sales and service for its more than nine current and future OVG development projects, including the US$700m transformative redevelopment of the current Key Arena at the Seattle Center, known as the Arena at Seattle Center.

In September 2018, Elevate launched Elevate On Campus, with the goal of supporting ticket sales, strategy and service in intercollegiate athletics and university venues.

For more information, visit: www.ElevateSportsVentures.com