With the need for new revenue streams in college athletics, a successful revenue-generation strategy has surfaced in ticket operations. Division I athletic programs are now reseating season-ticket holders based on the amount of annual revenue they contribute to the athletic department and/or institution.
To obtain access to prime seat locations at athletic events, season-ticket holders must maintain a certain threshold of annual giving. This policy has some benefits to the fans and the schools.
The benefitsFor the fans, the cost of purchasing tickets is not tax deductible; however, 80 percent of money donated to gain access to the tickets is an allowed deduction, according to the IRS.
For example, as a season-ticket holder, I may have to donate $3,000 to an athletic department to be granted the “privilege” of purchasing two season tickets priced at $250 each. Although I would not be permitted to write off the $500 for the pair of season tickets, the IRS allows $2,400 of the $3,000 donation to be deducted.
For many colleges and universities, there is a high demand for tickets. Thus, even if the school alienates a small percentage of season-ticket holders, potential season-ticket holders on a waiting list are ready to fill the void.
Since the majority of tickets to sporting events technically are revocable seat licenses, there are typically no rights associated with any seat locations.
Among the athletic departments that have reseated season-ticket holders based on annual giving are Purdue, Iowa, Michigan, Memphis, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. Oklahoma State is reseating Boone Pickens Stadium for the 2008 football season.
Priority points In general, in determining choice seat locations, athletic departments award priority points toseason-ticket holders for a variety of reasons:
• Donations to athletics and/or the institution
• Duration as a season-ticket holder
• Purchase of postseason tickets, luxury suites or club seats
• Being a letter winner, alumnus, member of the alumni association or athletic booster club
Purdue added 240 new football season-ticket
accounts after reseating Ross-Ade Stadium
in 2003.
Purdue and Iowa reseated season-ticket holders after renovation projects to their respective football stadiums. At Purdue, the reseating program was considered a one-time event after phase one of the stadium renovation was completed for the 2003 football season.
According to George Ade, athletic ticket manager at Purdue, suites and 1,400 club seats were added to Ross-Ade Stadium, reducing the capacity from 67,332 to about 62,500.
Ade said that although a small percentage of fans was unhappy about being reseated, the process was completed in a timely manner thanks to advertising the decision well in advance and by using an online seat selection process.
Furthermore, because the process allowed fans to select their own seats online, traffic in the Purdue ticket office was not significantly affected, saving money and resources on additional staffing. When the process was complete, Purdue added 240 new football season-ticket accounts.
Iowa also reseated its entire base of 15,000 football season-ticket holders after a renovation at Kinnick Stadium. Instead of using an online system, Iowa completed the process the old-fashioned way: face-to-face and over the telephone, with about 150 incoming calls a day.
According to Pam Finke, assistant director of ticket operations, the transition at Iowa was successful because of efficient record-keeping over the years. This allowed an accurate and fair priority points system to be created.
One footnote to the process: Faculty and staff were allowed to retain their existing seats.
“One of the best things we did was to grandfather faculty and staff into the reseating process,” Finke said.
Risk and reward Although many athletic departments are opting to maximize revenue through the reseating process, pitfalls remain. Programs must be extremely careful how the information iscommunicated to season-ticket holders and fans.
 Suggestions for earning priority points: 1. Cumulative donations to the institution
2. Purchase of suite or club seat licenses
3. Deferred giving
4. Cumulative years as a season-ticket holder
5. Athletic letter winners and alumni
6. Number of years that postseason tickets were purchased in all sports
7. Enrollment in priority points club and recruitment of new members
8. Membership in athletic booster club and/or alumni association In addition to seat location, annual priority points may assist in securing: • seat upgrades
• tickets to away games
• parking
• postseason and/or bowl tickets
• admission to special athletic events |
In 2005, 10 men’s basketball season-ticket holders filed suit against the University of Pittsburgh. The lawsuit was eventually granted class-action status involving about 650 season-ticket holders.
The plaintiffs claimed advertising in season-ticket brochures in 2002 promised fans could maintain seat locations as long as they purchased the seats every year and maintained or increased the amount of annual money donated to the booster club.
In 2005, when Pitt moved into the new Petersen Events Center, the policy was changed, reseating season-ticket holders every year based on annual giving. The case was eventually settled, but damage from a public relations standpoint had been done.
Budgets and demand occasionally drive policy-making. But when considering a reseating process, athletic administrators should reward not just those with deep pockets but also longtime season-ticket holders.
From a customer-service perspective, alienating fans, regardless of how few may be affected, should never be an option. A fair and equitable reseating process can generate a wealth of additional revenue.
James T. Reese is associate professor in the sport management department at the State University of New York at Cortlandand former ticket administrator with the Denver Broncos.
