Post by exterminator on Oct 20, 2005 11:00:10 GMT -5
A&By Rob Daniels
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO -- N.C. A&T athletics director Dee Todd said this week she intends to discuss reducing the cost of the school's homecoming football game tickets from the national-high figures of $50 and $45 charged last week.
"With six home games next year, I think we can reasonably look at what we're doing," said Todd, who assumed her post on June 15 -- several months after the 2005 prices had been established. "We have heard comments."
A&T almost certainly pulled in a record amount in ticket revenue for this past Saturday's 23-13 loss to Delaware State. The university has not yet tallied the amount.
But there is some concern that sticker shock curtailed attendance, which fell about 2,500 fans below average for a homecoming game. As a result, A&T's investment in temporary bleachers did not pay off.
Anticipating extraordinary ticket demand, A&T imported 3,100 additional seats at a cost of about $50,000, said Angela Peterson, a university accountant. The extra seats increased Aggie Stadium's capacity from its published size of 21,500 to 24,600.
Attendance was reported at 22,137, which suggests only 637 of the additional 3,100 tickets were purchased. At that rate, A&T lost about $21,335 on the temporary seats.
The larger issue, Todd said, is public access to the game. The prices were the highest for any single contest at any of the NCAA's 117 Division I-A schools or the NCAA I-AA playoffs. The national median cost for a I-AA game ticket is $15.
Todd took over for interim athletics director Reginald E. Wade, an A&T executive of varied experience who replaced the fired Charles Davis on Nov. 12, 2004. Todd said she has asked but not yet found out who set this year's ticket cost.
"I don't know how the decision was made to come up with that price, but after this season, we will sit down and discuss ticket policies, including homecoming," she said.
In 2006, the Aggies will play six games on their home turf for the first time in more than a decade. That means the university stands to make more money from football games next year than this.
Chancellor James C. Renick said two weeks ago that he considered the cost reasonable in light of the general excitement surrounding homecoming, which the university marketed as the greatest such event on Earth "and beyond" on billboards across the Triad.
The typical price structure is $25 for a reserved seat, $20 for general admission and discounted costs for children 12 and under ($8) and for students at other schools and colleges ($12). A&T students get in free.
The discounts were not in effect this year for homecoming. Fans paid $50 for reserved seats and $45 for general admission.
AD to review homecoming prices
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO -- N.C. A&T athletics director Dee Todd said this week she intends to discuss reducing the cost of the school's homecoming football game tickets from the national-high figures of $50 and $45 charged last week.
"With six home games next year, I think we can reasonably look at what we're doing," said Todd, who assumed her post on June 15 -- several months after the 2005 prices had been established. "We have heard comments."
A&T almost certainly pulled in a record amount in ticket revenue for this past Saturday's 23-13 loss to Delaware State. The university has not yet tallied the amount.
But there is some concern that sticker shock curtailed attendance, which fell about 2,500 fans below average for a homecoming game. As a result, A&T's investment in temporary bleachers did not pay off.
Anticipating extraordinary ticket demand, A&T imported 3,100 additional seats at a cost of about $50,000, said Angela Peterson, a university accountant. The extra seats increased Aggie Stadium's capacity from its published size of 21,500 to 24,600.
Attendance was reported at 22,137, which suggests only 637 of the additional 3,100 tickets were purchased. At that rate, A&T lost about $21,335 on the temporary seats.
The larger issue, Todd said, is public access to the game. The prices were the highest for any single contest at any of the NCAA's 117 Division I-A schools or the NCAA I-AA playoffs. The national median cost for a I-AA game ticket is $15.
Todd took over for interim athletics director Reginald E. Wade, an A&T executive of varied experience who replaced the fired Charles Davis on Nov. 12, 2004. Todd said she has asked but not yet found out who set this year's ticket cost.
"I don't know how the decision was made to come up with that price, but after this season, we will sit down and discuss ticket policies, including homecoming," she said.
In 2006, the Aggies will play six games on their home turf for the first time in more than a decade. That means the university stands to make more money from football games next year than this.
Chancellor James C. Renick said two weeks ago that he considered the cost reasonable in light of the general excitement surrounding homecoming, which the university marketed as the greatest such event on Earth "and beyond" on billboards across the Triad.
The typical price structure is $25 for a reserved seat, $20 for general admission and discounted costs for children 12 and under ($8) and for students at other schools and colleges ($12). A&T students get in free.
The discounts were not in effect this year for homecoming. Fans paid $50 for reserved seats and $45 for general admission.
AD to review homecoming prices
