Ogden City and Weber State University have been working collaboratively to make Ogden more of a college town. Due to this push to attract college students into local businesses, many businesses offer WSU students discounts. Students can support them by eating at their restaurants or checking out the activities they have to offer.
“Wildcat Nation,” which is made up of the businesses that offer discounts, help to bring the university and Ogden City together to create the college-town atmosphere.
“Being a college town is not just having a university but having the atmosphere,” said Peter Makowski, an employee of Ogden City.
Student discounts have been offered in the past, but just recently has there been a Facebook page created by Militia Earl, a senior at WSU and intern with Ogden City. On the page, Weber State Student Discounts, is a list of all the discounts available to students. Students can comment and post about restaurants they would like to have join Wildcat Nation and start participating in the discounts.
“Many of the discounts were there, but there was no way to find out where they were,” Earl said.
The discounts range from eating establishments to attractions such as iFly and Flowrider.
At the Union Grill, when students show their Wildcard IDs, they can get 15 percent off their meals. Roosters, located on Historic 25th Street, also offers 15 percent off a meal. According to Ogden City, they are trying to draw students to the historic downtown area.
If students have the craving for a shake or a hamburger, they can visit Jake’s Over the Top, which is located right next to the university and offers a 10 percent discount.
Wednesday night at Flowrider is College Night, where students can spend an hour at Flowrider for $10. Flowrider prefers that students make reservations in advance.
“We like the discounts because we want to be a good community partner and support Weber State and make it more affordable for students,” said Shawn Hancock, manager at Flowrider. “We encourage students to take advantage of the activities.”
According to Makowski, WSU Wildcats and Ogden City are equally excited for more businesses to offer discounts to Wildcats.
“We are really excited; we think it’s a great opportunity to help the community and promote students,” Makowski said.
Currently, around 20 businesses offer student discounts.
“My favorite is Beto’s, the one on Harrison,” said Samuel Stout, a sophomore and geography major. “You can get a free drink.”
