SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A long time group of University of Utah football tailgaters say they are taking their fandom to new heights.
”... we created the bacon balcony, and so we’ll have the best view in the tailgate lot at the University of Utah.”
That’s Ryan Lufkin, the self proclaimed ringmaster of the Pig Bus tailgate crew at The U, talking about their new addition that’s now ready for the season opener.
The Pig Bus got its name after Lufkin and his crew roasted a pig for one of Urban Myers’ teams. Two decades later, they’re a fixture in the tailgate lot. This season they’re unveiling the so-called Bacon Balcony, a rooftop patio, ready to be christened before the Utes first game of the season against Southern Utah.
Ryan Lufkin can’t wait. “We’ve been talking about doing an upper deck for a number of years. And it really took finding the right person that could turn that vision into reality.
You’ll see from the sketches, we’re not, none of us are engineers.”
For the building they turned to Ryan Morgan, a man Lufkin calls a metal master. Morgan was says he was definitely up for the challenge.
“He came up to me with some sketches, just scribbles with a sharpie. And he said; ‘Hey, can you build this? I said; ‘Heck yeah I can build that…I can build that in my sleep!”
Morgan put those rough sketches into his 3D, computer program to determine dimensions and measurements, then chose lightweight aluminum to work with. 86 hours later the Bacon Balcony was finished.
“I’m super happy with how this turned out! I did my best to make it look good so that on game day, this thing really sparkles.”
Ryan Lufkin says he was blown away by the finished product. “Everything we envisioned came to life! And this idea that we could create an upper deck and do it in a safe and secure way that people would be able to have this amazing view, we’d be able to stand out in the tailgate lot, but do it safely.”
The upper railings fold down for easy travel. The ladder folds up and locks, the stairs have traction strips while the entire upper deck is slide proof and easy to clean.
Ryan Morgan says safety was a big part of his design. “We used scaffolding planks as the decking because of the anti-slip capability of it so if somebody spills their Diet Coke up there, they’re not gonna slip.”
With the Utes about to begin a new season in a brand new conference, the Big 12, Ryan Lufkin says the Bacon Balcony is the perfect way to kick off another tailgate season. “And that’s really grown over the last 20 years and I think we’ve got one of the most active tailgate communities," Lufkin explains. "It really was in the Pac12 and now in the Big12 we already think we represent incredibly well from a national standpoint.”
Ryan Morgan says the balcony weighs less than 600 pounds and technically hold about 9,000 pounds. But he’s not sure if the roof of the Pig Bus will hold that so they’re gonna start off by having about a dozen people or so up there at a time.
Ryan Lufkin says it was actually Utah athletic Director Mark Harlan who essentially challenged his crew to get this done in time for football season. They ran into each other at the PAC 12 hoop tournament in Vegas this spring. That where Lufkin says Harlan essentially told them to get it done. So they’re hoping the A.D. will come by and christen the pig bus.
