Tailgating during college football season is a dream come true and a nightmare all rolled into one. The dream part is the food, the fun and the anticipation of your team kicking the crap out of your most bitter rival. The nightmare comes in getting up at the crack of dawn, rushing to claim your favorite spot on campus, setting everything up and taking it down and packing it all away before kick-off. Two University of Georgia graduates and avid tailgaters themselves have created a service where they will set everything up and take everything down for you on game days. All you have to do is Pull up and Party.
Pull Up and Party was founded by Steven Kent and Jared Penso and the concept is simple. One of the staff members takes all your gear (or you can rent their gear) to your favorite tailgating location and sets up your tent, tables, chairs, etc. at 7 a.m. (That’s the earliest you can set up tailgating equipment at University of Georgia.) Your spot is reserved for you and you can arrive when you please and start tailgating without any set up. Once you are ready to head into the game, simply call the folks at Pull Up and Party and they send a member of their staff to break down your tailgating area, pack it up and haul it away. All you have to do is make sure you have your tickets in your back pocket when you walk up to the stadium gates.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with founder Steven Kent and he said the concept of Pull Up and Party was born when he was tailgating and saw one fan struggling to get everything together before kick-off.
“One mental picture sticks out in my mind,” Kent said. “It was a guy that was moving his tailgating equipment and trying to take it all down. He had a TV in his hands, he was dragging a tent and a cooler and his girlfriend had all the chairs. They are running back to their car to load it all up and then get into the game. I thought if someone could take that off their hands and they are not in such a rush, they would be able to enjoy their whole game day experience and enjoy tailgating. It just takes a big load off their shoulders.”
Say you have specific tailgating gear you like to have at every tailgate. Pull up and Party will keep all your tailgating equipment in their facility in Athens for you so you do not have to drop off and pick it up for each home game weekend. Many UGA fans live in the Atlanta area and make the drive north to Athens. Atlanta UGA fans need to drop off their gear at the beginning of the season and the remaining games just drive up in their passenger car knowing their gear will be set up and waiting for them.
Packages are very affordable and are based on an individual tailgating space that consists of one (1) 10 x 10 tent, one (1) five foot folding table, one (1) 60 gallon cooler and two folding lawn chairs. Set up and break down for a single game is $150, three games is $350 and the entire 2008 Georgia Bulldog home football schedule of six games is $550. A ‘Tailgater’s Special’ which includes the set up of one 10 x 10 tent is $300 for the season. The Tailgater’s Special just reserves your favorite spot on campus at 7 a.m. and you bring the rest.
Right now Pull up and Party only services the Georgia campus but there are plans for potential expansion. Kent says he and his business partners are focused on providing the best game day service to the UGA tailgaters this season before they try to franchise and offer the service at other college football schools.
“No matter how big the party is, we make it feel like you are actually tailgating because we only use 10 x 10 tents,” Kent added. “No matter how big your group is, it could be under one 10 x 10 tent or five of them. It doesn’t matter. We don’t want that feel of that big, wedding sized tent. We want it to feel like an a real tailgate. Our long term goal is to expand to other colleges. Short term is to grow the business within the base of Athens but plans are in the works to potentially expand beyond UGA. ”
Pull Up and Party already has six reservations to use their service for the Georgia Bulldogs’ home opener against Georgia Southern on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008. With current staff levels, Kent predicts Pull Up and Party could successfully and efficiently handle the set up and break down of 70 to 100 tailgating spaces per game day.
You can download their flier that includes rates and payment options by clicking on the document below. Or you can just visit their website and reserve your spot so all you have to do is… Pull Up and Party.