The U Club Restaraunt

[Tony (admin)]

The new ‘members-only’ restaurant inside Rice Eccles Stadium What do ya think?

[UrbanLiar]

It’s a step in the right direction! The U’s come a long way since the only fine dining option was The Panorama Room on the top floor of the Union Bldg. I’m also glad to see they have a full liquor license but disappointed the only time you can’t get a drink is game/concert days per state law. Still, it’s great progress!

[dystopiamembrane]

Honestly? Creepy rich person crap.

[dystopiamembrane]

This picture is especially creepy. It’s a northern European wunderpark.

[PhiladelphiaUte]

The mountain range in the background suggests the windows are facing South.  But the KGRZ is North facing.

#BadArtist

[MDUte]

Actually on the South side of the KGRZ there are windows that face South.

[dystopiamembrane]

@admin asked what we thought. That’s what I think.

[MDUte]

Wow, initiation fee of $500 and monthly dues of $75 to go to the restaurant…I have a hard time believing that restaurant is going to be serving many people. I would imagine that wealthy donors would prefer to spend their time at a country club where they have access to other amenities like golf, a pool, along with a club restaurant. 

I assume smarter people than me have done their market research to go the exclusive route of a private club membership. But I wish it was focused on being a top-notch restaurant for the general public that included the draw of being at the stadium with all beautiful views from the facility. I could see this type of restaurant getting a lot of traction, but I have a hard time seeing the private club doing well. 

[Dresden_Stormblessed]

100% agree.

[UrbanLiar]

It appears the ClubCorp membership allows access to other private golf club, hospitality, stadium clubs in their portfolio, not just this single facility. It’s pretty similar to the very successful Troon memberships. I also think the club could be rented for private business meetings etc. so I’m confident the concept will find success in this market.

[Chilly]

I generally agree with you that it doesn’t really sound like it would work but also figure that we are probably not the first university who has done this, so they likely know a lot more about it than we do. Obviously let’s hope it works, and that it generates a lot of $$$ for the athletic department. I could see the appeal for events at least. On a positive note, if it doesn’t thrive under the current plan, it shouldn’t be too hard to switch to a different strategy.

[MDUte]

Agreed. The article says that the U has partnered with a national group called ClubCorp which has a network of properties across the country. Their properties include country clubs, city clubs, and stadium clubs at Arizona, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, Florida St, and Virginia Tech. So definitely we’re not the first University to go this route. I just have a hard time believing that the Salt Lake market will act similarly to these other areas. I may very well be wrong. But to your point, if it doesn’t work I too would imagine they could pivot to a different model.

[chinngiskhaan]

Seems like a way to keep it to Ute fans only.