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Top Donors Get Priority Options With Auburn's Complex Football Ticket Sales Strategy

The process of selling football tickets at Auburn -- "especially coveted seats in the lower bowl between the 30-yard lines -- is convoluted, and ... designed to offer priority donors places at the head of the line," according to Brandon Marcello of the BIRMINGHAM NEWS. Many fans, including donors, either "don't understand it, or are unaware of all of its intricacies, often leading to frustration and even anger." The school over the last few seasons "often relied on 'high-tier' donors to purchase dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of additional tickets to help sell out." As other schools "look at dynamic pricing, or opening ticket sales to the public and third-party systems such as StubHub early in the process, Auburn is sticking with what it believes is a tried-and-true system that gives donors and 'friends' access to tickets at all levels before making them available to the public." Some periods of ticket availability "are akin to the Wild West, as tickets go up for grabs to these high-tier donors and, later, to the public -- sometimes without much notice." At other times, the strategy is "even more clandestine." Current season-ticket holders are "allowed to renew their seats from December through March 1." During that time, they may "also request better seats, but fulfilling those requests is prioritized based on longevity and the amount of donation." New donors may "request prime seats, but they will not learn whether their request is granted until April or May -- after requests from current season-ticket holders are fully addressed." However, before tickets are "made available to non-donors, season-ticket holders may also request additional season tickets with no limit on requests, which can result in dozens of additional seats for a single donor." Auburn "agrees its ticket system is complex." School officials said that it is "exploring options to improve its website to better explain their process" (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 5/20). 

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