Carleton’s football season may only be a few weeks old, but campus businesses are already beginning to cash in on the crowds flooding into Keith Harris Stadium to watch the Ravens play.
With projected high turnouts for games, especially homecoming and the much-anticipated Panda Game at the University of Ottawa, campus bars are taking advantage of the fans, alumni, and students looking for food and drink come game day.
“Any opportunity we have to increase our revenue is a great opportunity,” Rod Castro, Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) business operations manager, said.
Castro said there was a “significant spike” in the volume of customers that came through the doors of Oliver’s Pub Sept. 7, the day of the Ravens home opener.
“It’s been way more increased traffic on campus on a Saturday,” he said.
However, he said though he attributes the numbers to football, it is typical to see a higher volume of customers during the first week of classes.
“There are a lot of moving parts at play here,” he said.
Castro said it was too soon to provide any figures on sales from the home opener, but that he believes there was a significant increase in profits compared to what would be expected from a typical first Saturday of the semester.
On future game days, he said he could see the campus bar doubling or tripling its regular weekend sales.
Oliver’s plans to capitalize on future games by continuing to stream games live and hosting events in conjunction with the football season, especially homecoming weekend, according to Castro.
He said CUSA will partner with Alumni Services to host an event at the bar Sept. 20 celebrating the return of football.
There are also plans to host a pre-game party on Saturday with all the elements of a typical tailgater, including a stage and live band, within the confines of the pub.
Oliver’s will also host a party after the game, Castro said.
Mike’s Place, the Graduate Students’ Association campus bar, is likewise gearing up for homecoming weekend, according to their upcoming events.
Although usually closed weekends, Mike’s will be open the Saturday of homecoming weekend starting at 11 a.m., said J. George Koneval, hospitality and operations manager at Mike’s Place.
And while most of this season’s home games take place on Saturdays, Koneval said he believes there is potential for big crowds during Carleton’s Friday, Oct. 11 game against Guelph University.
As for managing the influx of customers, both managers said they are prepared for heavier traffic.
“We are ready,” Koneval said. “If people are coming for football, they are welcome.”
As for Oliver’s, Castro said they are familiar with high volume situations, but increased staffing will be needed to handle the larger number of customers.
