An undergraduate student government office will hold a viewing party in Pauley Pavilion for the October football game against Stanford University.
Danny Siegel, Undergraduate Students Association Council general representative 1, said he began planning the on-campus tailgate project in May to get more student support for UCLA Athletics. UCLA administrators recently approved the project.
Siegel added his office is currently working with UCLA Recreation, UCLA Athletics and The Den to work out deals with corporate sponsors, including Adidas and IMG. Students will not have to pay for entry, and the event will include complimentary food.
Susan Brown, Pauley Pavilion facility and event operations assistant director, said they are in the preliminary stages of planning this event and could not provide the cost of renting out the basketball court.
Brown added there are many variables involved because each student group or organization that rents out Pauley Pavilion has different requests.
In addition to the tentative renting cost, Siegel said his office is still assessing costs for security, food vendors and giveaway items and could not provide a total cost of the project.
During the viewing, UCLA students will gather around the Jumbotron in Pauley Pavilion to watch what Siegel called one of the biggest games of the year. Siegel said his office and UCLA Recreation projected between 3,000 and 9,000 attendees.
“It’s a way to welcome the new school year and bring students together, even if they don’t really like sports,” he said. “We’re going to have student groups perform to recreate the atmosphere in the stadium and that’s something students can’t get just by watching on TV in their dorm or apartment.”
He added he hopes the project increases school spirit and improves student attendance for games throughout the year. According to UCLA Athletics, UCLA football had about 76,650 fans present per game at the Rose Bowl in 2014.
David Song, a rising second-year business economics student, said he thinks a viewing party is a great idea. He added he does not think the tailgate project will draw students away from going to watch the game in Palo Alto.
“(Some of us) can’t go all the way there, so it’ll be great it we can gather together in one place and watch the game,” he said.
Rising second-year applied mathematics student Devin Oyetibo said he thinks similar events would be good for home games as well because some students do not have a Den Pass and others may not want to stay in the stadium for the whole game.
Seigel said such events would be more difficult to hold for on-campus games because they are more accessible to students.
Siegel added his office is looking at ways to increase student participation in other future sports events such as the basketball game against University of Kentucky in December. He said he hopes to see the project become a tradition in the future.
Contributing reports by Nicholas Yu, Bruin senior staff.