Auburn AD John Cohen discusses vision for premium seating, facility growth

Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen joined Andy Burcham on the WarEagle+ Podcast. Cohen gave his thoughts on Plainsman Park and the need for premium seating in all facilities.

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BURCHAM: When you drive down Donahue right now and by Plainsman Park, what are your thoughts about what Plainsman Park has become now?

COHEN: “I think it is one of the premier facilities in our league and that is saying a lot. Andy, you’ve seen them all. When you talk about the Arkansas’, Ole Miss’, the LSU’s, and what Florida just built. We’re in that conversation now and that means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to Butch (Thompson). Listen, that ballpark, there was a lot of thought and really good bones, great preparation for the future the way it was built. It was tremendously put together. The things we have done to add to it, and a lot was Butch Thompson’s vision. On top of the War Eagle Wall out there, to see all of those kids on top of that is so much fun for me because it was so important to Butch, but was going to cost a tremendous amount of money from our budget. So, we scaled back in some areas, and moved forward in some areas, and got it done. I’m so glad we did it, the premium areas, field level and behind home plate, the Broadway Club along with what we did in right field and the Hall-of-Fame Club. I think it’s a first-rate facility and it was so much fun to be a part of it.”

BURCHAM: Why is there so much more of a need for premium seating than there was in the past?

COHEN: “I saw a graphic last semester and we have used it a lot. Mark Twain once said there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. I’m going to give you some statistics. This was with the old SEC, with 14 schools instead of 16. Our graduates were the third highest wage earners among the 14 schools in the SEC 15 years after graduation. Our students at Auburn go out in the world and our highly successful. When they’re highly successful, they want a premium level opportunity at our venues. The demand is incredibly high. We have 114 different accounts, groups of families, saying they are interested in a suite in Jordan-Hare Stadium. We’re not going to build 114 suites, but there’s a real demand there. For whatever reason, looking at Jordan-Hare as an example, we probably have the second or third lowest amount of premium opportunities in our football stadium per seat in the SouthEastern Conference. We have done a lot of work, a lot of statistical data, our board here at Auburn loves this institution and wants it to grow in every single way. We have a lot of work to do, but I do think that Auburn fans have really expressed an interest in premium seating in all of our venues.”

BURCHAM: When Auburn basketball played at Texas–Auburn’s first trip to Austin in Men’s Basketball–there was President Roberts, yourself, Quentin Riggins, and others that were there. You spent a couple of days visiting different football stadiums in that area. TCU, Texas, and Texas A&M. Was that for gathering ideas for what could become the North endzone in Jordan-Hare Stadium?

COHEN: “Absolutely, we want to have the best of all worlds. It’s like getting ice cream, you don’t want one flavor, you want two or three different flavors to have a great experience. We want to take little things from each one of the facilities we see that are done well and bring that to our facility here. You’ve seen that around the league. There are several folks who have come to the arena in basketball and taken a lot of what was created 15 years ago and have really gone to school on what we have done. We’re trying to do that with others. Of course you can go online and see pictures, but you need to see what that vantage point looks like. You need to have that experience of what the premium fan is having at other places. We are committed to giving our fanbase the best experience possible. So, we’re going to do a lot of research in the process.”

BURCHAM: I’ve had this question, so I’m going to pose it to you. With the new premium opportunities coming to football–which are now reality at baseball and basketball–for the fan that has had a bleacher seat for 40 years, have you had anyone say, “Hey, that’s great for those who can afford premium seats, but what about us?”

COHEN: “Hugh Freeze has mentioned that so many times to me because that was his existence as a kid growing up and mine and probably yours, too. My father was a college professor, we sat in aluminum bleachers, and really high. We are always going to have a place for opportunities at a reduced price. We want to make it affordable for everyone. But, at the same time, we have to balance that with increased expenses and an incredible demand for premium seating. All of that has to come together and we have to honor all of those experiences.”

The North Endzone Project

BURCHAM: This will be a multi-use facility. What does multi-use mean to you in regard to the North Endzone project?

COHEN: “When you look at it, Andy, all of our facilities are multi-use: the arena houses graduation, there are different organizations on our campus that use our football stadium, the recruiting center. All of those different things are being used maybe seven times a year, the spring game may be eight, a couple of other special events, that gets you to maybe 15 out of 365 days a year. That leaves a lot of space, a lot of square footage on campus, whether it is the Greek system or whatever the phase of the University. We have had a lot of very positive discussions about this and feel that there is a way for everyone to gain through this type of construction.”

BURCHAM: Can you give us an example of what multi-use means for that North Endzone?

COHEN: “Certainly, and these are just things we have discussed. We know that the Greek system on campus is an incredibly positive thing here, but there is a little bit of a shortage of meeting space. That is one thing mentioned. There are just all kinds of requests. This is why this will be an Auburn project, not necessarily an athletics project, but an Auburn project for us to suit the needs of an entire campus instead of just the athletic department.”

BURCHAM: What is the next step in this process, John?

COHEN: “We have been tasked by the Board to go and essentially create the plan. Then we get to go back to the Board with the plan, then keep marching the ball down the field. Hopefully, our Board, who has great ideas and have been incredibly supportive, keeps buying into the vision. We just all work together to create the best product for the Auburn family we can possibly put out there.”

BURCHAM: I know you have been asked, when will we see those plans and renderings at this point?

COHEN: “The planning process alone usually takes about 12 months. To get a final product to show the world is going to take a year. We just got approval to do that. I think a year from now, we will see some examples of exactly what we’re talking about.”

BURCHAM: When we see that scoreboard this fall for football, it might look a little awkward to know that the North end zone project is going in and around that video-board, right?

COHEN: “When you build a video-board, the greatest expense is not the board itself, it is the support mechanism that holds it up. While we are building the support mechanism for the board, we are very careful to say this structure has to fit in. It has to be part of what we’re going to build in the north end zone. You can really see the bones of what that will look like just by looking at the back of the scoreboard structure.”

Neville Arena, Softball, and Soccer renovations

BURCHAM: In addition to the North Endzone project, there will be renovations made at Neville Arena with regard to both men and women’s basketball for work space. In the future, there will be brand new construction at both softball and soccer?

COHEN: “We have a lot on our plate. We are also going to spend $25,000,000 on new scholarships and NIL for our student-athletes. So, all of that has to come together and it’s going to have to be a huge collective effort. We have needs from a facility standpoint. Our basketball programs are both very deserving of some upgrades in that building. I do want to say Neville Arena, is to me, not only the best home-court advantage in college basketball, but the way it was designed was truly genius. I don’t know everyone who was involved in that process, but boy they had a lot of vision. Jay Jacobs was one of those people. There isn’t a bad seat in that building. Everything has a premium look to it from the Maddox Club to the Pearson Club to the Terrace Club. It’s just an incredible experience, but we can help make it better.”

There’s two things here: we need to make the student-athlete’s lives a little better. Some of the facilities are 15 years old and a little tired. We have to work on that. Then, also, the fan experience has to continue to improve for us to stay where we are in the college basketball world.”