Tucson architect Page Repp bought a 33-foot RV a few years back.
He drives it 12 miles a year.
His destination: Smack in the middle of the University of Arizona Mall every Saturday that the Wildcats take the field at Arizona Stadium.
βIt serves a purpose,β Repp said last week as he was likely thinking about dusting off the RV and hitting the road for the first UA tailgate of the 2019 football season.
The RVβs purpose is to serve as party central for nearly 200 friends every Saturday before the UA Wildcats take to the field of Arizona Stadium.
Page and his posse are among 250 tailgate season-pass holders who fill the UA Mall lawn with cars, trucks, tents and RVs hours before the players take the field. The cost to snag one of the coveted spots is $400 to $500 a season and you have to have at least two season tickets to get a season tailgate pass. (They are all sold for this season, but you can still reserve a single game tailgate pass by calling the McKale Box office at 621-2287, box office officials said.)
βIf you havenβt ever seen it, I think you wouldnβt believe it,β Repp said of tailgating on the Mall. βTucson tailgating is great, they do a really good job at the UA. Tailgating on the mall and all the grass is such a unique experience. I know itβs nothing like tailgating at a SEC school, but youβre right in the heart of everything, right in the middle of campus.β
Reppβs tailgating includes grilling burgers, hot dogs or brats and occasionally whipping up fajitas. The coolers are stocked with beer, soda and water, and many of the 200 or so who gather around his RV and the three or four other vehicles in his party bring snacks or beverages.
Repp himself said he probably spends a couple hundred dollars a game on food and drinks.
Repp, who earned an architecture degree from the UA and is one of the founders of the popular Dusk Music Festival held downtown each October, said he discovered tailgating long after he graduated in 1998.
βI just went once and it was the most fun ever, just to walk around and have fun with people you didnβt know,β he said. βIβm like, βI need to get involved in this.ββ
You can spot Reppβs tailgate from nearly every direction on the mall thanks to the inflatable tube man waving 30 feet in the air.
βAs soon as you get to the mall you see it,β he said.
And while no one will be turned away from joining the fun, which often includes loud pop/rock/rap music that you can expect to hear at the Dusk Festival, Repp cautioned that guests might want to bring a six-pack of beer to donate to the cause.
βIf you are going to walk around and meet people, always bring somethingβ to share, he said.
Casino del Sol Executive Chef Ryan Clark is looking for the best tailgate dishes in Tucson.
