The season for football is almost here, Pensacola! Next year in September, the University of West Florida’s new football team—The Argonauts, or Argos for short—will play their first home game of the inaugural 2016 season against Missouri S&T at Bayfront stadium in Downtown Pensacola. With over 5,000 seats available in the stadium, the Downtown Crowd’s welcoming cheers for Pensacola’s new home team will surely echo through the streets: Go Argos!
In the meantime, while we wait for the inaugural season to kick off, there’s four intrasquad scrimmages open to the public this fall: Oct. 3, 17, 24 and Nov. 7. The scrimmages are scheduled on Saturdays and start at 11 am. While the team hones their skills for the upcoming season, Pensacolians are encouraged to attend the free practice game and root for our players. The first Argos scrimmage on Sept. 12 drew a total of 750 supporters from the school and community.
“A scrimmage isn’t really a game, there’s no score, so you don’t know whether to expect 50
or 1000 people in the crowd,” said Dave Scott, UWF athletic director. “But we drew a crowd of 750 and people really wanted to be a part of it. They get to say, ‘I was here at the first UWF scrimmage’.”
If you missed September’s scrimmage, then catch up with the team at UWF’s University Field on Oct. 3 and Oct. 24. Mark your calendars for the special scrimmage on Oct. 17 at Bayfront stadium, where you’ll be able to enjoy the fall breeze by the bay and get a glimpse of how a 2016 Argos football game will be set up at the stadium.
“For me, the best part was after our first scrimmage,” said Dave Scott. “We saw student athletes come off the field to thank those in the crowd for being there. At UWF Athletics we’ve prided ourselves on recruiting good, quality individuals to be student athletes and football has stepped right into that mold.”
The stadium was designed to host football and baseball games, and soon locals will get a chance to see the ol’ pigskin tossed around Bayfront stadium by Pensacola’s first college-level team. To accommodate the game, the green will be altered so a football field will run down to the third baseline and into the infield, then the fence will be extended to the left field so there’s a full-length football field (100 yards) in the stadium. To create a football venue that runs parallel to the third baseline, there will be bleachers placed in the outfield. A lot of the stands already in the stadium will be used, and Hancock Club will still be treated as a President’s Box.
“The Wahoos have done a great job providing an awesome entertainment experience for the people of Pensacola,” said Dave Scott. “We want to work with them to do the same for UWF football and bring additional people to the downtown community.”
The team strongly recommends buying tickets sooner rather than later since many are reserved ahead of time for athletic staff, players and boosters, so the number of seats are limited. Dugout Club tickets start at $250 and includes dugout access, food and beverages. Other ticket levels include Blue at $115, Green at $95, and Silver at $70 per person. Tickets for the inaugural 2016 season are available for purchase now by visiting goargos.com/footballtix. If you’d like to purchase Argos apparel, read more on the UWF football team, or you want a look at the 2016 schedule, then check out goargos.com.