BOZEMAN — Football season has brought packed crowds to Bobcat Stadium, where roughly 22,000 fans can fill the venue for Montana State University games.
Now, MSU is taking steps toward making the stadium even bigger.
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2:15“Me and my buddy tried to get season tickets this year, and we were basically told no chance,” said Bryce Peterson, an MSU Ph.D. student and Bobcat football fan.
Peterson has attended as many Bobcat games as he can since arriving at MSU in 2017. Back then, he said, getting into a game was a much different experience.
“The student tickets were a lot easier to get," Peterson said.
Peterson recalled that student tickets did not always sell out.
“I remember there was a Saturday morning, me and my buddy decided we wanted to go to the game, and that morning we got on and got a ticket no problem,” Peterson said.
That is far from the experience students and other fans are having now. MSU’s first three home games this season have all sold out, and tickets for the remaining games are difficult to secure.
The student section can hold around 4,000 students, meaning Peterson has developed a routine to make sure he has a chance to get a ticket.
“I set four alarms on Mondays to make sure I don’t forget at noon,” Peterson said. “And I’ve gotten a ticket to all the games as long as I’m in there, like, right at noon.”
The possibility of expanding Bobcat Stadium could eventually ease some of that demand.
“I would love that,” Peterson said. “I don’t know how deep you want to get, but potential move-up into the Mountain West (Conference) maybe? Probably going to need a bigger stadium.”
MSU is also aware of the demand.
“We know that fans want to come to Bobcat games,” said Michael Becker, a spokesperson for the university. “And we know that in the future, being able to seat more fans and improve that game-day experience is our top priority.”
MSU launched a survey on a potential Bobcat Stadium expansion in April. Now, another step toward a possible expansion has been taken.
“The Montana Board of Regents last week voted on a measure that gives Montana State University authority to spend up to $5 million to plan and design future improvements to Bobcat Stadium,” Becker said.
The $5 million in fundraised money would be used to hire a design firm or architects to develop plans that could increase seating and improve concessions, accessibility and other parts of the stadium.
But any changes are still a long way off.
“We’re early in the process,” Becker said. “We’re just getting started. We’re looking at a years-long process here. But it’s a first step.”
It's a step fans like Peterson are excited MSU is taking.
“Getting more people in there — it’s already a really cool environment, home-field advantage, but more people in there would be even cooler,” Peterson said.