For those of you who haven’t been keeping an ear to ground of Purdue Football, you may have missed the big news. No, we didn’t get a five star-recruit. Danny Etling hasn’t evolved into an elite passer, and no, the first down dance hasn’t been outlawed and is not punishable by being burned at the stake. The big news out of Ross Ade Stadium is more focused on its layout rather than what gets put on the field.

Purdue Sports announced on Tuesday, July 8, that it would be removing the large section of bleachers in front of the iconic scoreboard and will install a new patio area. It will include “...a 3,200-square-foot high-peak tent, patio-style furniture including tables with umbrellas and six, 46-inch TVs. It can hold 1,500 fans at a time. The Boilermaker Special, Purdue’s official mascot, will reside in the 16,000-square foot area.” (facts via ESPN).

This new area will open up before every home game approximately 90 minutes before kick off and will serve beer and wine. That’s right, Purdue Athletics will now be actively serving adult beverages in the stadium during football games. You may be saying, “Wow, what a step forward to trying to fill the house and bring people back to Ross Ade, all while being inclusive to the tailgate culture you have painstakingly tried to cultivate, Steve.”

And you’d be right, at least partially.

The Purdue Patio (trademark pending) will be open to season ticket holders and students -- at least some. Students who buy VIP passes and are presumably of age will be admitted into the patio, but it appears that the buck stops there. It is unclear and rather vague whether or not students who have season tickets will be admitted or if the season ticket holders are only alumni, adults and families. My initial guess is that they are trying to keep the students in the student section, which as we all know is located on the other end of the stadium, while being inclusive to the other people needed to fill the stadium, and also encourage more post grads to buy season tickets. Other questions still remain as well, like: Will people be allowed to carry beverages out of the patio? Will the beer and wine be subject to the astronomical pricing we see at NFL games? What about the security presence?

Will the jerk bouncers from Harry’s be working the gates? Will this cause Purdue to potentially ease up on the strict tailgating regulations outside of the stadium now that a major campus buildings will be “wet” on six Saturdays a year? A lot of questions do remain, but there are some early pros and cons.

A pro, as Purdue Athletics hopes, is that this will raise the average attendance numbers. In 2013, attendance averaged 48,953 people, which is about 75 percent capacity at Ross Ade and an increase of about 5,000 people from 2012. That is promising to see, but with a 1-11 record last year, it is hard to fathom the numbers will remain rising, or even stay stagnant, early in the season. With this new addition, Purdue hopes that season ticket holders will come to every game and for the whole game experience rather than staying in the parking lot.

A potential con is further alienation of the students, particularly the upper classmen. It is not secret that majority of people who regularly sit in the student section are freshman and sophomores, and the appeal of watching Purdue football starts to fade going into junior year. Also, most upperclassmen I know do not buy VIP passes, which is a requirement to gain access to this patio. Could this cause upperclassmen to simply ignore this renovation and stay holed up in their houses or in parking lots while the game is going on? 

Could it drive a rift between the 21+ students and Purdue? Could it anger students who do not see value in purchasing the $200+ VIP card? We will see. What we know now is that Purdue has made an active attempt at getting more people inside of Ross Ade stadium on an average game day, and that is a refreshing step in the right direction. I can only hope that the coaching staff is quietly working away at putting a better product on the field so that the patio is used for celebration, and not drowning out sorrows.

As always, feel free to follow me on the tweet machine @newcheddarwolf and send your fan mail to my agent.