Seats for the Dec. 1 SEC Championship game in Atlanta, which will likely match No. 3 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama, “have already become the toughest ticket in town,” according to a front-page piece by Chip Towers of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. A win by UGA likely puts them in the BCS Championship game, making the SEC Championship the "biggest game for Georgia in 30 years." The SEC said that “only 16,000 tickets go to the two competing teams.” That leaves “another 40,000 that are gobbled up quickly among corporate sponsors (6,800), the SEC and other member schools (4,600), Georgia Dome suite holders (4,600) and lease holders (4,000) and, most notably, the SEC Championship game renewable ticket holders (20,000).” UGA must hold out of their ticket allotment "six for each player in uniform (420), 430 for the Redcoat Marching Band, several hundred for UGA and athletic association employees, faculty and staff.” UGA AD Greg McGarity “estimated the university would distribute between 12,000 and 13,000 tickets to season-ticket holders.” He added that the school “processed requests for 42,000,” which means “a lot of disappointed Dogs when notifications are sent out” Wednesday. Some fans “took care of business 20 years ago,” as the SEC with the creation of the championship game in '92 “offered annually renewable tickets for face value.” SEC officials said that “annual championship game sales have renewed on average rate of 96 to 98 percent from year-to-year.” The SEC “still offers the renewable ticket packages, but there is a long waiting list to get in” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11/20).
