Great game but scary crowd crush

[Kinnick4Ever]

Really enjoyed the game once we got seated but did anyone else get caught up in the crowd crush about 15 minutes before kickoff? My wife and I were trying to enter the west side portal inside the stadium from the direction of the south end zone and suddenly found ourselves in a pushing, shoving crowd of fans packed so tight you couldn't move. Not that I mind getting up close and friendly with strangers but people were packed chest to chest and face to face so tight it got downright scary. Some women and kids were actually crying and an older fellow in the crowd looked very distraught. I've never seen anything like it. The whole thing lasted maybe 15 minutes and people could not figure out what was going on or why the crush of people wasn't moving through the portal. Fortunately, no one was hurt (to my knowledge) but it's not hard to imagine what might have happened had panic set in. I believe a policeman eventually began doing some much-needed crowd control but that was just a rumor (among several other rumors). Does anyone know what the heck was going on?

 

[Hawktagonapus]

Pic of wife?

 

[takai]

Word to the wise, show up earlier than 15 minutes before kickoff. Everyone was trying to get in at the last second. That was the problem.

 

[ichawks]

Pic of wife?

 

[millah_22]

Experienced something similar during high profile games during 08-09 near the student section. No room to go in, no room to go out, Whalen stadium security doesn't do anything but stand there.

 

[eyeohuh]

People couldn't find seats and were standing on the steps and in the entrances. Did we oversell tickets or what? lol just happy I got in there early!

 

[Ried#3]

I was in the middle of that and it was getting scary. I grabbed my wife and bussed my way thru.

 

[Kurt Warner]

I can see where that could be a scary situation

 

[RagHawk]

I was in it and it was getting close to scary. A few people were really distraught.

 

[sloehawk]

People couldn't find seats and were standing on the steps and in the entrances. Did we oversell tickets or what? lol just happy I got in there early!

I'm going to go with the "or what". People are stupid. Lots of them. You have a ticket. Signs everywhere. Your Section, Row and Seat Number are on your ticket. None of this requires 12 years of Med School. If you can't figure out how to read a sign that says where your ticket is and you can't figure out how to determine what row is what, you're probably too stupid to attend and should just stay home. There is no other reasonable explanation for something like that to occur.

 

[millah_22]

I'm going to go with the "or what". People are stupid. Lots of them. You have a ticket. Signs everywhere. Your Section, Row and Seat Number are on your ticket. None of this requires 12 years of Med School. If you can't figure out how to read a sign that says where your ticket is and you can't figure out how to determine what row is what, you're probably too stupid to attend and should just stay home. There is no other reasonable explanation for something like that to occur.

I'm sure a lot of them knew where their seats were, the problem is when people are pushing and shoving trying to get to those seats. Nobody wants to miss out, so they rush. Then when people realize they are in fact in the wrong section, nobody wants to give them space to turn around. Log jams. etc.

 

[bobchawk]

I'm sure a lot of them knew where their seats were, the problem is when people are pushing and shoving trying to get to those seats. Nobody wants to miss out, so they rush. Then when people realize they are in fact in the wrong section, nobody wants to give them space to turn around. Log jams. etc.

too many people for the space obviously, we'll have to begin putting times on the ticket when you should be there for entrance to eliminate this in the future.

Love the post jumping to the conclusion that everyone in the crowd was stupid, that is the reason, Fat-stupid, and name calling son................

 

[Packer54]

People are not paying attention which way to go when they get to the top of the tunnel and people think they can show up right before kickoff and get to their seat. Basically not very smart strategies on getting to their seats. I get there before the band hits the field and there has never been a problem.

 

[Oldgold51]

I was in it. The problem was that the people waiting to get into the restrooms were blocking the flow of the incoming crowd. They have to address the restroom problem. It is pizz poor.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

The University needs to address the issue and plan for events like this to avoid a Hillsborough sort of situation. Something similar happened for the wrestling match as many people were delayed getting in.

 

[ICWestfan]

The wrestling meet earlier in the day experienced the same problem (to a lesser degree). Saw some friends that bought walk ups to the meet at 10 a.m. and entered the south entrance by the statue. It took them an hour + to get to their seats in section 126.

Part of the problem is that only 50K(+/-) season football tickets were sold and you have another 20K walkups, many which might never have been to a game or didn't understand the magnitude of the game and came in 15 minutes prior to kick causing the huge jam.

Only time I have ever been in a crush like that was when Iowa beat MSU in 2001 and the fans stormed the field. That was scary as heck as you had no control over which way you were going. I hazard to guess what would have happened if someone had fallen that day.

 

[ichawk24]

The bathrooms on the East and West sides were absolutely ruined when they did the renovations. Whoever designed those should be shot and their corpse drug through the streets while the peasants beat on them with sticks.

They made the mens too small and the womens too big. We sit in 109, on the East side, South end. The womens room literally has two floors, there is a downstairs with tons of stalls. My wife tells me that every time she walks into that bathroom, there is a line of women waiting for the stalls on the main concourse level. She walks past the line, tells everyone standing there that there is a downstairs with surely open stalls. The women in line just stare at her like she is an alien. So, she then walks downstairs to find many open stalls.

 

[Hawk Williams Jr]

I'm going to go with the "or what". People are stupid. Lots of them. You have a ticket. Signs everywhere. Your Section, Row and Seat Number are on your ticket. None of this requires 12 years of Med School. If you can't figure out how to read a sign that says where your ticket is and you can't figure out how to determine what row is what, you're probably too stupid to attend and should just stay home. There is no other reasonable explanation for something like that to occur.

No. People who don't go to a lot of games may not take the perfect route to their seats, not sure that makes them stupid. And you can complain all you want about people arriving last minute, won't stop it from happening. (You better also tell them to arrive early AND stay in their seat, DO NOT go to the concession stand or bathroom.)

The problem is, Kinnick was built a looooong time ago, with the east and west concourses not designed for 70,000 people.

They need to make use of the extra space they got from the south concourse renovation. Close one concession stand in both the east and west concourses, and open them up in the south. Another bathroom or 2 in south concourse would help also.

 

[camble]

Also, the athletic department has a history of selling student tickets for sellout games and students are left shit out of luck. Last year (maybe two years ago) during a crowded game they kicked a bunch of students out of the southwest corner because they sold those seats to non-students, even though that's the largest student area. Student section was already filled on west side. I remember a bunch of students being furious about that. Also, not that I care, there are always a bunch of non-students (blatant) in the SS but yet we gotta show school IDs to get in Kinnick. That's probably why other areas of the stadium look empty, even in sellouts, cause oldies tryna bump with the students. Also explains why people getting pushed down the stairs and shit. I don't have a problem with the former but when the latter begins...

 

[markfromj]

The problem is, Kinnick was built a looooong time ago, with the east and west concourses not designed for 70,000 people.

But I don't get this. It is not like the East and West Stands are larger than they once were. So why weren't there (and maybe there were?) crowd crushes like this in the 40s? 50s?

 

[Rustys Dad]

I had season tickets for 10 years and been to many many Hawk games in my lifetime... And for the life of me will never understand the bathroom situation at Kinnick.

I went out at halftime (normally I just hold it for 3 hours)... The lines were just crazy.. You had hundreds of people coming from different directions trying to funnel into this tiny doorway... And then you have the other people who are just trying to pass through. It really is a cluster but I don't know what they can do differently just because of how the place is built...

 

[millah_22]

Also, the athletic department has a history of selling student tickets for sellout games and students are left shit out of luck. Last year (maybe two years ago) during a crowded game they kicked a bunch of students out of the southwest corner because they sold those seats to non-students, even though that's the largest student area. Student section was already filled on west side. I remember a bunch of students being furious about that. Also, not that I care, there are always a bunch of non-students (blatant) in the SS but yet we gotta show school IDs to get in Kinnick. That's probably why other areas of the stadium look empty, even in sellouts, cause oldies tryna bump with the students. Also explains why people getting pushed down the stairs and shit. I don't have a problem with the former but when the latter begins...

I remember a few years ago when the athletic department sold the seats to the student section for the ISU wrestling meet. Holy crap that was a nightmare. A lot of confrontation between students who have been to every meet and first time wrestling attendees.

 

[MonkeyHawk]

They made the mens too small and the womens too big. We sit in 109, on the East side, South end. The womens room literally has two floors, there is a downstairs with tons of stalls. My wife tells me that every time she walks into that bathroom, there is a line of women waiting for the stalls on the main concourse level. She walks past the line, tells everyone standing there that there is a downstairs with surely open stalls. The women in line just stare at her like she is an alien. So, she then walks downstairs to find many open stalls.

LOL . . .I do this, too! We're also in 109...at halftime Saturday night, I walked past the line telling them there were bunches of stalls on the lower floor . . .I guess they prefer to stand and wait . . .oh well.

Regarding the crush of people . . .never experience that . . .always settled before the band takes the field. We had tons of people climbing past us after the game had started looking for their seats . . .one couple knew they were in section 110 but thought it would be fun to get there from the north side of 109

 

[Bohawk]

I think part of the problem (and it's only part) is the lack of signage in the corner entrances. There really is nothing to indicate the sections that I'm aware of. If I'm mistaken, so be it, but I looked around during the wrestling standstill in the SW corner entrance and could see why people were confused.

The restroom situation is a nightmare. Kinnick needs some major renovations. It's kinda embarrassing.

 

[Herkmeister]

Where did you get that pic?!!!!!!!!!! It's MY SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kzmyers]

I think another issue is it being a night game. A number of years ago, I attended an I-Club luncheon when Bob Bowlsby was A.D. He said he liked the exposure of night games, but he did not care for all of the issues that come with them, especially the alcohol issues. He indicated that they have far more incidents in the parking lots and the stands. He thought a lot of fans start drinking at the same time they do with earlier games, creating far more issues.

 

[Jimhawks79]

I tihnk I sat next to her before the reseating last year....or should I say she sat on half of me!

 

[theIowaHawk]

I was in it. The problem was that the people waiting to get into the restrooms were blocking the flow of the incoming crowd. They have to address the restroom problem. It is pizz poor.

This makes a bit of sense.

I was there and it was NOT MOVING. There was a line of people going "Against the flow" but they were 100%, completely stopped with everyone else. There were people standing face to face with people going the opposite direction. This was NOT people pushing past slowly, in was completely unmoving. And it looked like it was empty just one tunnel further, past the student section, so what the hell was going on?

Also, there were, what, 12-20 officers within 20 yards of it, and they were busy standing their authoritatively pretending to watch the entrance? Why not go and separate that shit, it was clear there needed to be two lines, one in and one out.

It was strange, haven't seen that in a long, long time.

 

[herecomethehawkeyes]

I'm going to go with the "or what". People are stupid. Lots of them. You have a ticket. Signs everywhere. Your Section, Row and Seat Number are on your ticket. None of this requires 12 years of Med School. If you can't figure out how to read a sign that says where your ticket is and you can't figure out how to determine what row is what, you're probably too stupid to attend and should just stay home. There is no other reasonable explanation for something like that to occur.

It is downright amusing at the Cedar Rapids Titans games to see people just stand their staring at their tickets and trying to figure out where they are supposed to sit. It's letters and numbers, it's not that hard people

 

[rufus-hawk]

I never understood why they didn't build a barrier around the entire stadium (like the fence on Evashvski and Hawkins Drive), then totally redo the concessions so the windows face the outside vs. inside where the tunnels and bathrooms are. The lines often stretch all the way to the opposing walls and people just wind up having to cut through.

It's insane how crowded it gets under there! I know it's sacrilege to some but that is the biggest reason why I do not really like Kinnick that much.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Also, simple, obvious tip for all Kinnick goers:

IF YOU SIT ON THE NORTH SIDE, ENTER THE NORTH GATES

IF YOU SIT ON THE SOUTH SIDE, ENTER THE SOUTH GATES

Same for all directions, enter the gate you are supposed to. This is NOT like the old Metrodome where you had to get inside in order to get to your tunnel. You can walk around Kinnick basically unabated, with lots of room (and drinking beer), until you get right outside your gate, that gate leads right to your tunnel.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

I had season tickets for 10 years and been to many many Hawk games in my lifetime... And for the life of me will never understand the bathroom situation at Kinnick.

I went out at halftime (normally I just hold it for 3 hours)... The lines were just crazy.. You had hundreds of people coming from different directions trying to funnel into this tiny doorway... And then you have the other people who are just trying to pass through. It really is a cluster but I don't know what they can do differently just because of how the place is built...

Use the bathrooms in the south endzone. You're welcome.

And if you don't want to walk that far.....stop being lazy. Deal with it.

 

[HawktimusPrime]

Really enjoyed the game once we got seated but did anyone else get caught up in the crowd crush about 15 minutes before kickoff? My wife and I were trying to enter the west side portal inside the stadium from the direction of the south end zone and suddenly found ourselves in a pushing, shoving crowd of fans packed so tight you couldn't move. Not that I mind getting up close and friendly with strangers but people were packed chest to chest and face to face so tight it got downright scary. Some women and kids were actually crying and an older fellow in the crowd looked very distraught. I've never seen anything like it. The whole thing lasted maybe 15 minutes and people could not figure out what was going on or why the crush of people wasn't moving through the portal. Fortunately, no one was hurt (to my knowledge) but it's not hard to imagine what might have happened had panic set in. I believe a policeman eventually began doing some much-needed crowd control but that was just a rumor (among several other rumors). Does anyone know what the heck was going on?

Yeah, I remember that actually. I just managed to push off to the side and wait it out. It got got pretty crazy quick.

 

[Chuck C]

He thought a lot of fans start drinking at the same time they do with earlier games, creating far more issues.

Well.... Yeah.

 

[kwik44]

Two things.

1)There were plenty of "newbies" (while this is a good thing to have, some were pretty clueless) to Kinnick. Helped two different sets of people find their seats in the west stands & I'm sure there were plenty more lost ones throughout the stadium.

2)Still have never figured this out regarding the 'portals', but why do people feel the absolute need to funnel into the portal if their seats are in the middle sections of that portal? Do that many not realize that you can walk between the brick and the outside fence before entering near your section? I attribute part of this problem to #1, but have seen this plenty in the past 15 years.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Use the bathrooms in the south endzone. You're welcome.

And if you don't want to walk that far.....stop being lazy. Deal with it.

Use the bathrooms in the south endzone. You're welcome.

And if you don't want to walk that far.....stop being lazy. Deal with it.

Such in-depth perspective. Well thought out response. So are you always an ahole or just anonymously on a message board?

And yes, I will learn to just just "deal with it" next time I am at Kinnick. Well said internet tough guy!

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Such in-depth perspective. Well thought out response. So are you always an ahole or just anonymously on a message board? (I've always been kind of a pacifist. When I was a kid my father told me, "Never hit anyone in anger....unless you're absolutely sure you can get away with it." )

And yes, I will learn to just just "deal with it" next time I am at Kinnick. (Good! Glad we accomplished something today. Progress!!) Well said internet tough guy! (Hey, you said that, not me.)

I actually had a much longer post that would've made me sound like even more of an a**hole because it's such an easy thing to figure out, if you're not lazy. Lazy people tend to complain more about anything. And if people are going to complain about something like the bathrooms at Kinnick, then I'm going to assume they're either uninformed or lazy. (or you just like to complain about everything...that can also be an issue.)

Use the south endzone bathrooms. One of life's great mysteries solved....



Or you can hold it for 3 hours....

 

[ichawk24]

2)Still have never figured this out regarding the 'portals', but why do people feel the absolute need to funnel into the portal if their seats are in the middle sections of that portal? Do that many not realize that you can walk between the brick and the outside fence before entering near your section? I attribute part of this problem to #1, but have seen this plenty in the past 15 years.

Yes, yes, yes. People are drawn to walk on the main concourse, even if they appear to have a long way to travel. I walk on the exterior of the stadium, and have no problem getting around. Then just walk across the concourse to get to my seat.

We sit in 109, which is South side of the East stands. We enter the SE gates. The "portal" or concourse is always jammed with people, so we use the exterior to head North, then enter the concourse just to cross the concourse to the ramp to 109.

 

[Rustys Dad]

I actually had a much longer post that would've made me sound like even more of an a**hole because it's such an easy thing to figure out, if you're not lazy. Lazy people tend to complain more about anything. And if people are going to complain about something like the bathrooms at Kinnick, then I'm going to assume they're either uninformed or lazy. (or you just like to complain about everything...that can also be an issue.)

Use the south endzone bathrooms. One of life's great mysteries solved....



Or you can hold it for 3 hours....

Ahh so now you are making general assumptions ... that because I commented on the bathroom design at Kinnick then I must be lazy and of course I must be a complainer. Well my friend, I am anything but lazy and I can pretty much assure you my job responsibilities entail more than yours ... which seems to afford you the opportunity to post to a message board more than 20,000 times. Keep on keeping on and please continue to share your great wisdom.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Ahh so now you are making general assumptions (No, but I'm not going to change your mind because that would mean I win this little spat. ) ... that because I commented on the bathroom design at Kinnick then I must be lazy (I said you could be.) and of course I must be a complainer (You did, though. Deal with it.). Well my friend, I am anything but lazy (don't care) and I can pretty much assure you my job responsibilities entail more than yours

(Ahh, you're one of those guys that likes to use their job to try and explain themselves to others, or......in this case, compare themselves to others.) ... which seems to afford you the opportunity to post to a message board more than 20,000 times. (A. My feelings are not hurt. Some take pride in their post counts. Me? I don't really care. B. I suppose, if you think I'm making general assumptions, that turnabout is fair play and that you'd do the same about me. I am flattered that I could get you to, allegedly, stoop to my level. ) Keep on keeping on and please continue to share your great wisdom. (Hey, learn something new everyday. And now you can enjoy your time at Kinnick even more because you won't have to wait, as long, to go to the bathroom, anymore.)

You're welcome.