The temperature was triple-digit but not an ounce of shade. It sounds like a joke, but for San Diego State football fans, it was reality.
The Aztecs played their first regular season football game at the stadium last Saturday against Arizona. The excitement of opening day quickly turned into turmoil as fans started boiling in the 100 degree heat and 67 percent humidity, looking for shade to keep them cool.
The first game was a disaster. John David Wicker held a press conference a few days later to address the concerns of the public.
The building did well despite the heat. People were able to enjoy it. They liked the shade that was available on the east and west sides.
It seemed like Wicker was taking fan reaction to Saturday's experience fairly lightly based on the angry reaction to the video earlier. The fans in the video overreacted and should have been more concerned.
I reached out to someone who experienced the event first-hand. Sean O'Connell had never been to a college football game before. He and his girlfriend were sitting in the top bowl, fully exposed to the sun and all it had to offer.
It was easy if you didn't want to be in the stands, according to O'Connell. Outside of your seat, there were shades.
O'Connell said that they sat in their seats for only a quarter. The amount of breeze you get up there isn't too terrible, but also it's super hot air getting blown on you so it's very little respite."
Almost all of the shade was taken up. The people were trying to avoid the light. O'Connell explained that that did not have to be the case.
The majority of the crowd was people trying to find a seat in the shade. There was a decent amount of shade, but seating was limited to just benches and concrete foundations underneath steel pillars. You could either sit on the floor or stand in the shade.
Ice and water became scarce in the stadium according to the video. That wasn't the case according to O'Connell. There weren't a lot of water stations giving out free water. He said he didn't have any issues getting water even though they may have had two or three. I tried to get a beer but they were out of it. They gave me a metal souvenir cup with ice and water in it. After getting water, I didn't have any problems. Most of the people that I saw were carrying bottles.
There was a problem with access to A/C. There wasn't a public area with air conditioning outside of the gift shop. O'Connell and his party used a few connections to get into a private room with A/C for a small part of the game.
Medical emergencies occurred during the game. "It was probably one of the only times I've seen as many people getting escorted around on stretchers," O'Connell said, "Not everybody knew where to look for it or take the water when given the opportunity." There were at least three or four people on stretchers with heat exhaustion being escorted by EMTs and then maybe another four or five people that were just being checked on. I thought there was a lot of people who couldn't deal with the heat.
"A retractable awning is the obvious answer, but I don't know how feasible that would be," O'Connell said. It is possible to get more shade to the mid- to top levels.
He said there were a few inflatable tent things. A few more of them would have been helpful.
San Diego State might be able to make a few more mist stations. I don't think we'll see any changes as we prepare for the next game. In his press conference, Wicker explained that people are predicting the weather to be "79 and raining" for the game. He claimed that he didn't know the home opener would be so hot. Many fans didn't have a great experience because the school didn't prepare for a worst case scenario If they allow that to happen two weeks in a row, they will have lost their fans' trust.
The athletic staff should have some misters, extra water bottles, and fans on hand in case the weather gets bad again. It is better to be prepared for a hot day than it is to be unprepared for rain. Maybe next year, there will be a little more shade in the seating areas because of the mistakes that South Dakota State has made.
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