[NU Sports] Tipping Point Near ?

[Mark Ament]

I'm not paying that much for my seats at Louisville football games, 
which are at the 40 yard line and close to the field but I do pay a 
considerable "donation" for the privilege  of purchasing them and I pay 
a  considerably higher donation for the privilege of purchasing my 
basketball tickets which are midcourt.  There is a reason why Louisville 
is both the highest grossing and highest netting basketball team in the 
country while playing in a 50 year old arena with very few luxury 
suites.  That privilege comes at a very high price.  At least it's 89% 
deductible.  Oh, and for basketball they throw in pregame cheese and 
crackers, but you have to pay for the drinks.

John Labbe wrote:
> Yes, NU does have this arrangement.  When they added the luxury seats 
> up in the press box as part of the Ryan Field renovation in 1997, you 
> had to pay a certain fee in addition to the ticket price to be able to 
> purchase tickets for those seats.
>
> You can read all about it here:
>
> http://nusports.cstv.com/boosters/boosters-static-info/nw-boosters-seating.html 
>
>
> Anyone ready to pony up between $1000 and $3000 per year per seat 
> (that includes all fees, some of which are tax deductible)??  
> Personally, even if I could afford it, I would not want to be totally 
> indoors for college football.  I suppose I could get used to the 
> semi-outdoor seats at the $2000 price point.
>
> John
>
>
> On May 8, 2007, at 8:00 PM, Mark Ament wrote:
>
>> And since when did you think they haven't already done PSLs? Most of 
>> the "bigger" programs have instituted a variation of the PSL by 
>> forcing season ticket holders to "donate" to the school's athletic 
>> fund in order to buy season tickets;  the better the seats, the 
>> higher the donation.  It's not called a PSL for the simple reason 
>> that as long as it's styled as a donation to the athletic department, 
>> it's stilled 80% deductible.  I would imagine, although I don't know 
>> this for sure, that even NU has this in place for some seats.
>> Mark
>>
>> Abrahamson, Alan (NBC Universal) wrote:
>>> Dennis (and everyone),
>>>  I don't dispute for a second your conclusion that it would be sad.
>>>  But do I think it's inevitable?
>>>  Yes.
>>>  And as I say, I don't understand why someone hasn't thought of it
>>> already. Bluntly, it's a function of supply and demand.  From where 
>>> I sit, it's inevitable that colleges will take up the idea
>>> of making fans pay for PSLs -- personal seat licenses -- like the NFL
>>> teams do. That's a fee you pay just for the right to buy season 
>>> tickets.
>>>  Club seats and other "premium" seating "innovations" are inevitable,
>>> too.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com]
>>> On Behalf Of Dennis W. Brandt
>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 9:08 AM
>>> To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
>>> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Tipping Point Near ?
>>>
>>>
>>>>  say, Celine Dion or Cirque du Soleil are sold in Vegas.
>>>> You wanna go? OK, it's $250/seat between the 40-yard-lines.
>>>> Field-level? $450. Or whatever.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Alan, the day that happens will be a sad one for American sports.  It's
>>> already gone that way in pro sports where the number of businesses
>>> owning season tickets shuts out most fans from good seats.  I 
>>> personally
>>> would not pay $250 for any Las Vegas attraction whoever it may be, but
>>> there is a major difference here.  Most people go to Las Vegas
>>> occasionally or only once.  Ergo, they are more willing to pay inflated
>>> prices because it's a once-and-done vacation event.  College football
>>> games are another matter. Most people sitting in the stands got in 
>>> on a season or a student
>>> ticket. Few are there on a once-and-done vacation.  They're 
>>> regulars.  What's
>>> next? Making the students pay the same price as everyone else?
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>>>
>>>
>>
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>
>