Tulane unwraps Yulman Stadium for season opener

By ALAN SMASON

There is no Star of David atop its state-of-the-art facility, but Tulane University’s new Yulman Stadium, the 30,000-seat football arena that opens to the public for the first time tomorow, has many Jewish benefactors and promoters to thank for its construction.

Tulane University’s new facility, the $75 million, 30,000 seat Yulman Stadium opens tomorrow. (Photo by Alan Smason)

There is, of course the Yulman family, whose Tulane alumni include Richard and daughter Katie Yulman Williamson, who both remember Janet, Richard’s late wife  and Katie’s mother. The Yulmans’ large gift led Tulane to granting them the right to attach their family name to the structure.

Jill Glazer, a Tulane alumna and member of the Tulane University Board of Administrators, and her husband Avi Glazer, who own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lent their names to sponsor the Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club, a gathering place located on the ground floor of the stadium that will accommodate thousands of standing room only crowds and private parties.

But no story would be complete about Jewish involvement in the planning and construction of Yulman Stadium without including the direction and planning given by former Tulane University president Scott Cowen.

Katie Yulman Williamson and her father Richard Yulman at the Tulane press conference announcing the opening of the new football stadium named for them and their late mother and wife Janet. (Photo by Alan Smason)

Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson recalled a 2010 trip both he and Cowen took first to Atlanta and then to the Miami area.  In both cities they met with key potential donors like Yulman and inspected recently erected stadiums there.

“‘Is this the right thing?,’ Dickson recalled Cowen asking him and Yulman inside “The Cage,” the popular name of the new Florida International University Stadium. ‘Is it doable? What do you think?'”

It was Richard Yulman who responded “Let’s do it!” And Dickson claims he’ll never forget that moment when he and Cowen launched what they both felt would be a “game changer” for Tulane. Cowen’s leadership and the backing of the Tulane Board of Administrators was crucial, according to the athletic director.

Dickson believes the new stadium will have the benefit of exposing Tulane and its campus to a great many more students, faculty and outsiders than it would were the university still utilizing the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for its football games. Game day tailgating on campus will begin four hours before game time and continue until a half hour before kickoff.

Tulane University athletic director Rick Dickson recalling the leadership of Scott Cowen. (Photo by Alan Smason)

Despite concerns from neighbors, the New Orleans City Council gave Tulane permission to begin the massive construction project. Many in the area were reluctant to see a new student football stadium rise in the shadow of the former 82,000-seat stadium that had been the site of the former Sugar Bowl, played host to three Super Bowls and been the initial home of the New Orleans Saints.  They feared unwelcome visitors into the area and a possible uptick in disorderly conduct by undisciplined fans.

Tulane responded to the neighbors’ concerns and construction had proceeded over the course of the last two years in an orderly and considerate manner.

Dickson announced that the Georgia Tech game that begins at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow is a sellout and that fewer than 1,500 seats remain for the entirety of the six-game season with as few as 200 seats remaining for some games.

Tulane had also engaged the services of a game day manager, John Lange, a former member of law enforcement, whose job involves maintaining close contact with Orleans and Jefferson Parish authorities to ensure safety and order on the days and nights of Tulane University football games.

Lange will also have purview over the many on- and off-campus parking facilities being utilized by the university to keep extra cars out of the area on game days. Several of the facilities include the Loyola University parking garage, Holy Name of Jesus School parking lot, St. Rita’s School parking lot, Ochsner Hospital and the Mercedez-Benz Superdome. Special shuttles will transfer fans to and from Tulane Stadium up to seven hours after the game is over.

Lange announced that a special event phone number has been set up to report any incidents directly to Tulane and the authorities at 844-25E-VENT.