Air conditioning added to Ross-Ade Stadium visiting team locker room New sound system will be in place for the 2018 season

Mike Carmin | Journal & Courier

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Purdue has upgraded the visiting team locker room with air conditioning and more space

New sound system will be place before the Aug. 30 opener against Northwestern

Look for an increase presence in alcohol advertising this season

The Boilermakers open the season with four straight home games

CHICAGO — Quick, someone alert Jim Harbaugh.

Purdue’s visiting team locker room is adding air conditioning before the start of the 2018 season.

Athletic director Mike Bobinski also said additional space outside of the facility will be created in the form of tents prior to the Aug. 30 opener against Northwestern and throughout the season.

“We had done a lot of things during the season last year to bring things up to speed,” Bobinski said at Big Ten Media Day. “We’re installing an air conditioning system in there to cool the place off, particularly with four home games to start the season. That was the right response.”

The visiting team locker room — a stand-alone building located in the southwest part of Ross-Ade Stadium constructed in the mid-1980’s — came under scrutiny by the Michigan coach after his quarterback, Wilton Speight, was injured during the Sept. 23 game.

Two days after the game, Harbaugh used his press conference to complain about the lack of air conditioning on a near 90-degree day, cramped space, antiquated training tables and insufficient medical technology to deal with injured players.

Purdue upgraded the chairs, flooring and did a mini-renovation in the middle of last season.

“It got progressively better as the year went on and this year it will be as good as it can be,” Bobinski said.

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Bobinski, who is set to begin his third year leading the athletic department, said the Big Ten asked its schools to evaluate visiting team facilities and see if upgrades were needed in response to Harbaugh’s comments.

“We checked off all the things we felt were weaknesses,” Bobinski said. “The last piece was the air conditioning.”

After hosting Northwestern, the Boilermakers entertain Eastern Michigan, Missouri and Boston College in four consecutive weeks. Northwestern and Missouri are night games and the matchups against Eastern Michigan and Boston College start at noon.

Improved sound

Ross-Ade’s new sound system will be in place by mid-August, Bobinski said.

Installation is scheduled to begin next week and is expected to be up and running around Aug. 16.

“That gives us two weeks to get it tuned up and tested and ready to go,” Bobinski said.

The new system will provide a higher quality of sound coverage and clarity throughout the stadium, including the scoreboard in the south end zone.

“It will be better for music, it will be better for the spoken word, it will be better for supporting the video and all those things will be upgraded as a result of the sound,” Bobinski said.

Beer ads

Look for alcohol advertising in the stadium this season.

Purdue began selling alcohol stadium-wide last season and the results were positive. Gross sales during the 2017 football season exceeded $550,000 – boosted by the introduction of Boiler Gold - and added to the gameday experience for fans.

“We’re going to have a little bit of an increased presence because we introduced it last year with a lot of success from every perspective,” Bobinski said. “It was a success from a game experience standpoint, it was a financial success, it was a good thing.

“Our partner with Learfield with Purdue Sports Properties clearly recognize that’s an opportunity for them to engage a partner on that side and they would want to have some advertising opportunities.”

Details are still being worked out but Bobinski said the ads won’t be “oppressive or offensive” and will focus on drink responsibly.

“We’ve talked clearly with them how comfortable we are,” Bobinski said. “They understand, and they do it at other schools. There’s a sensitivity to how you message and how you do things.”

Prior to last season, Purdue had limited alcohol sales to premium seat holders in the Buchanan and Shively Clubs along with suites. Starting in 2015, beer and wine have been sold in the south end zone patio area to season ticket holders and student VIP cardholders at least 21-years old.