The Foster Pavilion is going up fast, I drove past it last week on I35. I'm hopeful some our Waco local folks can update us on parking, handicap parking, ticket prices and access to this new modern facility.

Reading the information on the Baylor Athletic website gives us the 2022 status. It states the seating capacity to be 7,000, with parking for 1,000 cars. It talks about access for students using First and Fifth. The season ticket pricing is not available as yet.

This is not about NIL, players, coaches or the transfer portal. Please contribute if possible. There are a substantial number of Baylor WBB fans making a 200 mile round trip and we would like more current info on the issues.

1. Will there be sufficient handicap parking at the Foster or will some folks be bused from the Farrell Center?
2. If you park in the Foster Center Garage, how long will it take to leave after games when you're on the top levels?
3. Will all parking be reserved based on your donation level?
4. Will seating for smaller donors be even possible?

Good news regarding I35 construction, from Austin to Dallas northbound construction is complete, subject to bridges over I35 north of University Park Blvd. Southbound, the area just past Willie Nelson's truck stop to I35W and I35E junction is just about fully open. Within a few weeks the construction will be complete.

It looks like Buc-ees is constructing a new super station north of Hillsboro.

Alll comments and updates are appreciated.

WRT to your question #2:

Consider that exiting Ferrell lots uses 3 primary exits (2 on U-P and one on LaSalle), all exiting onto 6 lane roads leading away from the arena. Your only options were to turn right onto U-P or LaSalle and head toward I-35 or the Circle. If you needed to go the other way, you had to make a U turn or cut through the area near campus. Any pedestrians leaving either crossed U-P next to the main entrance to Ferrell (where there was little or no car traffic), headed up U-P to the Mayborn or Simpson complexes, or sprinted across LaSalle to the indoor tennis/intramural lots.

Foster garage may have multiple exits, but they will all feed only onto a 4 lane stretch of U-P, with a possible feed onto 2 lane Clay (as it crosses U-P). I presume they will allow traffic headed to I-35 to turn left and pass the entrance to Foster, which will entail stops for pedestrians to cross U-P, then stops under I-35 to allow pedestrians to get back to campus. Most likely these stops will back up traffic exiting the garage such that all cars in the garage will be stopped to allow pedestrian traffic on U-P. And cars stopped in the garage mean that other cars can't get out of their parking spaces until there is a break.

My only real experience with a parking garage at a college basketball game was several years ago at a BU-UT womens game on a Sunday afternoon in Austin back in 2016. Crowd of about 9K, which was pretty full in the lower level at Erwin, but not a capacity crowd of 16K there. I'll use it as a comparison to my usual Ferrell experience.

My mom used to attend games regularly until her health gave way in 2022, but we had to use the wheelchair dropoff/pickup. When games ended, my wife would stay with her and I would sprint to the car in my reserved space about 40% of the way back in Lot B (near LaSalle), and make my way (somewhat against the flow) up next to the entrance to pick them up. If I left just as the game ended, I could usually have them in the car about the time the coach's interview ended on the postgame show (sometimes sooner). We would usually get home about the time the postgame show ended. If my mom wasn't with us, my wife and I could usually get to the car, get out ahead of most of the traffic, make it to the circle about the time of the coach's interview, and usually be home before the player interview was over.

Now to compare to my UT garage experience. I was parked about a block away, on about level 4. I left my mom at the street level entrance to the Erwin Center, then ran to the car. By the time I got there, traffic was already backed up all the way to the top of the garage. I could get a signal for 1660 and listen to the postgame show. It was over before I could even back out of my parking space. Thankfully, a nice usher at the Erwin Center waited with my mom until I could make it around the block to pick her up, about 45 minutes after the game ended.

I will be pleasantly shocked if I don't have a similar experience almost every game at Foster.

So the capacity will go down from 10,300 to only 7,000? Wow, didn't know it was going down that much. That would make Baylor the smallest stadium in the Big 12. Our family is looking forward going to a basketball game, and maybe a football game, when we visit our family in Waco.

BearTiger said:

---

So the capacity will go down from 10,300 to only 7,000? Wow, didn't know it was going down that much. That would make Baylor the smallest stadium in the Big 12. Our family is looking forward going to a basketball game, and maybe a football game, when we visit our family in Waco.

---

I think TCU arena is smaller.

TCU's arena was remodeled in 2015 and now seats 6,800. The new Dickies arena in Ft Worth seats 13,550 for basketball and is a multi purpose facility, handles rodeo's, concert's convention's and other events.

Foster updates were emailed this weekend by the Foundation. Season ticket sales start 1st week of June. Women's tickets are reasonable. Men's tickets have significantly increased. Email stated that they will fill the Foster with season ticket holders with no General ticket sales for men's games. We plan to give up our women's tickets and buy GA for games we attend and apply that saving to men's tickets.

Unless your giving a pretty penny, don't expect a parking pass at Foster. To my knowledge there won't be any handicap parking there either. FC lots are currently planned to be used and shuttle people. Honestly wonder if mclane parking would be better. I'd guess it'd be a little faster but maybe they don't want to have to use the access ramp there who knows.

If u are in the garage, don't expect to get out quickly or you will just make your self mad. Majority of fans will be walking from other parking areas. I'd bet that the shuttles will be a slow service as I assume the current ones to the campus garages are but I've never used them so idk. I'll likely park at McLane and walk over

BearTiger said:

---

So the capacity will go down from 10,300 to only 7,000? Wow, didn't know it was going down that much. That would make Baylor the smallest stadium in the Big 12. Our family is looking forward going to a basketball game, and maybe a football game, when we visit our family in Waco.

---

Downsizing athletic venues is part of the national trend. With few, if any exceptions, attendance at sporting events is declining, and has been for years, regardless of how many athletic marketing departments tout their "sold out" games. (Which usually accounts for season tickets, and almost always come with a LOT of empty seats.)

This downsize will be good for Baylor. It'll make for a much better looking and appealing product on TV.

The new Moody Center at UT seats fewer people for basketball than the Erwin Center did.