A couple NFL scouts visited the University of West Florida’s football practice this week, looked at new surroundings and complimented the quick-built stadium.
“I had to say, no this is all just temporary for now,” said Argos coach Pete Shinnick, laughing. “But they thought it looked good and thought it was a permanent stadium. But I love it. I think it’s going to be loud and crazy.”
Six years after starting a football program from scratch, the 11th-ranked Argos (Division II coaches poll) begin a whole new era Saturday at 6 p.m., launching their first full-season of on-campus, home games at Pen-Air Field with their opener against Warner University.
There will be seating for 4,000 with blue and black chair-back seats on the home sideline, bleacher seating on the visitor sideline. Plus, enough room to accommodate nearly 2,000 more in other grass areas around the field.
There will be a large video board near the scoreboard, along with food trucks, two other concession areas, hospitality tents and other additions to provide a home stadium experience.
“It is sort of like our first year of football again,” said athletic director Dave Scott. “I know the feeling we’re getting in selling tickets is that it’s a lot like the first year. A lot of renewed momentum.
“People are excited. They want to have opportunity to have that same seat every year.”
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As of Wednesday, only seats in three sections on the visitors sideline were available. That side of the field will also include UWF students and the Argos band.
UWF had a test run a year ago. Their first home game on Sept. 11 was moved to Pen-Air Field due to a scheduling conflict with the Blue Wahoos baseball season.
A crowd estimated at more than 5,000, most of whom brought their own fold-up chairs or blankets to sit, filled the area around the field.
For that game, bleacher-seating for approximately 1,000 only existed on the visitors sideline. But it still became a home-field experience.
“I knew we were in for a special day when we walked back as a team from the cafeteria, our pregame meal, and the area in front of the (UWF) Field House was full of people,” said Shinnick, who has been UWF’s head coach since hired in 2014 to begin steps for the first season in 2016.
“This was three hours before the kickoff,” Shinnick said, recalling last year’s home opener. “I saw more students here than when I walked around campus during the week.
“It was an electric atmosphere and I thought, hey, this could be a lot of fun. To see that fill up and have people everywhere, it was great. And I think this (all games on campus) will be a completely different vibe.”
The decision in February to play all games on campus was made from necessity. The Argos had reveled in playing at Blue Wahoos Stadium and the unique setting the bayfront ballpark provided with football. The Blue Wahoos staff and ushers had assisted in operations of games and the partnership was a good one.
But when Major League Baseball took over operations of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the season for the 30 Double-A level teams, including the Blue Wahoos, was extended through the third week of September to more closely mirror the MLB season.
An additional week was then added in the 2022 schedule for the post-season playoffs, which will now occur annually.
In this year’s case, the Blue Wahoos as 2022 first-half winners, could be hosting a Southern League championship playoff game as late as Sept. 25.
UWF realized the only sure dates for future season home games at Blue Wahoos Stadium would be in October and November.
“We knew that we would eventually come to campus,” Scott said. “But we were not working with a plan until February to actually make that happen, because had a pretty good situation (at Blue Wahoos Stadium). It was great for us to start there and it meant a lot to our development.
“But now, in February, it’s like, okay, we have to have a plan. And it’s a feeling that this could be a piece that helps move the institution to the next level, a stadium in place. We feel this could be catalyst to help the University of West Florida grow even better.”
Tony Nguyen, assistant athletic director for operations, worked in fast order during the past seven months to ensure the Sept. 3 opener could happen.
“I started looking at vendors and different things just to getting everything set up,” he said. “And once we knew it was coming (move to campus) then we really started working on the bleachers, portable restrooms, concessions.
“We had an idea it (change) could happen. And I think when people come to our first game they will say, wow, this is a pretty awesome venue even though it is a temporary venue.”
“We like how it looks and I know we will make adjustments through the year. And next year will be so much better.”
During their five years at Blue Wahoos Stadium, the Argos created many keepsake moments. The first-ever game was a special memory. In the 2019 season, the Argos went undefeated at home with a pair of upset wins. It led to an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II playoff and UWF won five games on the road to become historic NCAA champions.
The Argos are the fastest start-up football team in college history – across all levels – to win a national title. Even more, they made the Division II title game in 2017 in only their second season, which had never been done before as well.
On Saturday, it’s another one of these milestones in the program’s advancement. The Argos’ opening opponent, the Warner Royals, are an NAIA member team from Lake Wales, located between Orlando and Lakeland.
“I really think the energy is going to be different, because at Wahoos Stadium, everyone was kinda far away except behind the one end zone (first base side),” Shinnick said. “Now, we’re going to have fans on both sides, tight knit. I think it’s going to be a different level of energy and different level of noise.”
The video board was rented from the same company the Senior Bowl uses for its annual game in Mobile. For restrooms, there will be 19-21 Porta Potty rentals, along with restroom trailers on the home sideline for men and women.
The concessions will feature food trucks from Chick-Fil-A, Domino’s Pizza, Sonny’s Barbecue, King Popcorn, a snow cone truck, along with Aramark Concessions.
Tailgating will occur in the parking area fronting the UWF Field House. The “Argo Walk” will occur in the tree-lined, grass opening from that area to the Argos’ Darrell Gooden Center where the football team is housed.
The announcers, stats crew, video camera operators will be on a scaffolding platform erected behind the last row of seating on the home sideline. The visiting team will dress in the Health, Leisure and Sports (HLS) building near the Gooden Center.
“A lot of work and planning went into this,” Scott said.
The Argos played four regular-season games in 2021 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. They hosted an NCAA D-2 playoff game on Nov. 20 for the first time. That day, however, became a difficult one in a 33-30 upset loss to Newberry in the first round of the playoffs.
“Little did we know when we walked off the field that day, it would be the last time we played there,” Shinnick said. “I give our administration a tremendous amount of credit.
“We’ve had people building stands out here, so we can play home games, and all of it has happened in a six-month period. And now we are starting to talk about possibility of a stadium on campus and what it might look like.
“I’m very thankful for our president, doctor (Martha) Saunders’ leadership to be able to put some things in motion, so we can be here, and this will be our home.”
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.
WHO: Warner Royals vs. UWF Argos
WHEN: Saturday, Kickoff at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Pen-Air Field on UWF campus
TICKET INFO: www.goargos.com.
INTERNET STREAM: www.flofootball.com (subscription required).
PARKING: $10 (cash only) in various lots near the field. Free lot exists in the University Commons area of campus.
RESTRICTIONS: Only clear bags permitted at Pen-Air Field. No backpacks.