Maryland Having Difficulty Selling New Football Luxury Seats

Byrd Stadium's Tyser Tower Being Renovated As Part Of Stadium Modernization Efforts

The new suites and mezzanine seating inside and below the renovated Tyser Tower at the Univ. of Maryland's (UM) Byrd Stadium are "nearing completion," but UM still "needs to find buyers" for the seats, according to Jeff Barker of the Baltimore SUN. The tower is "targeted for completion about two weeks before" UM's September 12 home football opener against James Madison Univ., and the school said that it has "sold 40 of the 64 suites and 345 of the 539 mezzanine seats, of which 440 are new." Barker notes season-ticket sales have fallen to 24,894 with an 83% renewal rate, down 8.1% from 27,110 and an 86% renewal rate through the same period last year. UM's athletic department in mid-June "began offering suite rentals on a per-game basis," and it has also "held four events so far with prospective buyers," with UM football coach Ralph Friedgen among those appearing at the programs. The cost of a "typical suite ranges from $40,000 to $50,000 annually," while typical per-game rentals "range from $6,500 to $10,000 and include 24 game tickets, six parking passes and some food and beverages." UM "decided last year to permit beer and wine sales in the new suites but will still not sell the beverages anywhere else in the stadium." There are also "caps on beer and wine purchases." Besides the suites, Tyser Tower will "house a kitchen, press box, television and radio booths and football coach boxes." The project, which cost in excess of $50M, is "part of Maryland's effort to modernize" the stadium. Barker notes UM is "among the last schools" in the ACC to provide luxury suites. Duke Univ. "still doesn't offer them." Wake Forest "opened 22 suites at the beginning of last season," and school officials said that those suites are "sold out." The following lists the capacities and opening year for the 12 ACC schools' football stadiums (Baltimore SUN, 8/6).

SCHOOL	STADIUM	CAPACITY	OPENED
Boston College	Alumni Stadium	44,500	'57
Clemson	Memorial Stadium	81,500	'42
Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium	33,941	'29
Florida State	Doak S. Campbell Stadium	82,300	'50
Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium	55,000	'13
Maryland	Byrd Stadium	51,500	'50
Miami	Land Shark Stadium	74,916	'87
North Carolina	Kenan Stadium	60,000	'27
N.C. State	Carter-Finley Stadium	57,583	'66
Virginia	Scott Stadium	61,500	'31
Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium	66,233	'65
Wake Forest	BB&T Field	31,500	'68

RUBBER STAMP OF APPROVAL: In Akron, Tom Gaffney noted the Univ. of Akron (UA) has "found a way to finance a new playing facility, InfoCision Stadium, that will open on campus" with the school's September 12 home football opener against Morgan State Univ. But the $61M stadium will "make sense only if the product has an entertainment value and the masses recognize that." UA went 1-4 at home last season, but attendance "didn't take much of a dip because fans wanted to be part of the final Rubber Bowl experience." But Gaffney wrote a "similar performance in 2009 might lead to empty seats and disinterest as the InfoCision Stadium experience wears off" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/5).