Record-Setting Summer: Stadium Facilities Management at Texas A&M University
Summer 2024 was monumental for Texas A&M University, with the first international soccer match ever hosted at Kyle Field on June 8, and a George Strait concert on June 15 that set a record for the largest ticketed concert ever held in the U.S. It’s no surprise these events take months, even years, of substantial planning and preparation.
As the facilities management provider at Texas A&M University, our teams are well-versed in campus events, activities, and operations – and the unique requirements each brings.
Mexico vs Brazil International Soccer Friendly
Attendance: 85,249
Custodians: 105
Maintenance Technicians: 20
Get those steps in! Our custodial director of operations walked 21,500 steps in the stadium that day.
Challenge: Fast-Tracking “Summer Downtime” at Kyle Field
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Summer is typically a quieter time at Kyle Field – but summer 2024 was a different scenario.
With both the soccer friendly and concert coming to campus in June, there was a significant need for an expedited maintenance timeline to have Kyle Field looking its best. Everything from utility checks to individual walkthroughs of each suite in the stadium had to be moved up to ensure each fan had the best experience.
Solution: Expedited Maintenance Timeline
At the start of the summer, Maintenance Director Clayton Gummo began to evaluate maintenance that typically takes place at the end of summer, and moved up items on the timeline that would help prepare the stadium for the influx of visitors coming to College Station earlier than football season.
“Meetings about the soccer friendly and concert started a year prior to the event, but they really ramped up three months before. We started taking a deeper dive into the utility plant, evaluating utilities inside and outside of the stadium, and determining the needs for each specific event in terms of electricity, water, and key functions for team spaces. The reality is that it was an entirely different layout for both events – compared to one another, and a normal game day at Kyle Field – so we took great care to make sure everyone coming to town, from players and spectators to music lovers, had a great experience.” – Clayton Gummo
Challenge: Early Entry for Fans
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For the soccer friendly, the most significant difference for our teams was the entry time for the event.
On a normal college football game day at Kyle Field, doors open to fans 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Support teams anticipated spectators would need additional time to orient themselves inside the stadium. Early entry was needed for these individuals to explore their surroundings and appreciate all Kyle Field has to offer – without missing part of the game they traveled to see.
Solution: Early Arrival and Advance Planning
For the soccer friendly, doors opened a staggering four hours before the match began. This decision was by design – many of the spectators came from different states, if not different countries.
On a normal game day, many of our team members arrive approximately one hour before gates open. To accommodate early entry times, a portion of our team arrived four hours before gates opened to ensure the stadium was clean, all utilities were in working order, and any last-minute preparations were taken care of.
Beyond that, SSC managers were on-site and on call beginning as early as 6 a.m. on event day to ensure someone was available for any urgent requests, changes, or unexpected problems.
George Strait: The King at Kyle Field
Attendance: 110,905
Custodians: 115
Maintenance Technicians: 20
Get those steps in! Our custodial director of operations walked 28,750 steps in the stadium that day.
Challenge: Extended On-Site Preparations
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Our team had just seven days to reset the stadium from 85,000 visitors to a concert venue that needed to hold over 110,000 people.
The day after the soccer friendly, an event crew began building the stage – a feat that took over six of the seven days of preparation. There were also countless production crew members on-site setting up and testing sound, lights, special effects, and more for the show. Extra foot traffic in the stadium meant our team needed to be on top of their game as they prepared the stadium for the next event – including caring for spaces occupied by prep teams on a continued basis throughout the week.
Solution: Extra Coverage and Flexible Teams
In addition to being responsible for a full stadium reset ahead of the George Strait concert, our team had the added challenge of caring for additional spaces during setup. As the stage and other key performance equipment was assembled, the SSC team removed trash, cleaned the field area after crew meals, and performed regular cleanings to ensure even the stadium and setup crew saw Kyle Field looking its best.
While the custodial team was working to clean, the maintenance team was busy completing their own reset checklist. In partnership with the athletic department and event crew, the maintenance team made sure they had all of the utilities, water, supplies, and tools they needed for their tasks. Team members had staggered shifts throughout the week, with some beginning as early as 4 a.m. and others ending as late as 11 p.m. leading up to the event.
Having associates on-site at all times allowed our teams to properly respond to the needs of the A&M team and George’s prep crew.
Challenge: Foot Traffic Patterns and Timed Access Restrictions
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In addition to having back-of-house areas occupied by George Strait and his team, our teams experienced access restrictions throughout. Because there was seating on the field, a new foot traffic pattern posed an additional challenge.
To date, there had not been an event of this size with spectators seated on the field. Ingress and egress points were different, and fans flowed through different areas of the stadium they wouldn’t normally have access to. The hallway leading to our SSC offices was also set to be turned into a space for temporary restrooms, which meant that at specific moments, the hallway would be nearly impossible to navigate. Any time George Strait or his team needed to move locations, portions of the stadium would shut down to fans and staff to ensure a safe, fast path.
At the end of the day, in custodial and maintenance operations, no feedback from event attendees is often the best feedback we can get. It means our teams did their jobs well and created an exceptional fan experience — entirely behind the scenes.
“You hear about things going wrong at events all the time – whether it’s the lights going out, or restrooms with overflowing trash. When you have over 100,000 people in a venue, all it takes is a Tweet of a full trashcan to spark backlash. We didn’t see any of that. In our line of business, we don’t get noticed as much … but when things don’t go wrong, that’s actually our reward.”
– AJ Sims –
Custodial Unit Director, SSC
“We take pride in knowing we’ve taken care of the behind-the-scenes issues, because there are issues when these events happen – but they didn’t interrupt anyone’s fan experience. We’re not making the news, but we’re making everyone’s experience here at Kyle Field a heck of a lot better.”
– Clayton Gummo –
Maintenance Operations Manager, SSC
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