COLLEGE FOOTBALL
College football remains a hot ticket
In some regions, high gas prices are hurting college football ticket sales. But not in Florida -- except for FSU.
Posted on Fri, Jul. 25, 2008
BY JEFF SHAIN
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UM TICKET UPDATE
Single-game tickets for University of Miami football games go on sale at 5 p.m. today at hurricanesports.com. Prices begin at $29, and tickets are available on the 100 level, club level and 400 level at Dolphin Stadium. Tickets also can be purchased starting 8:30 a.m. Monday by calling the ticket office at 800-GO-CANES or 305-284-CANE.
Maybe it is Randy Shannon's bumper crop of freshmen. Or the move to a more centrally located stadium. Or the benefit of being based in a metropolis.
Whatever the reason, the souring economy hasn't put much of a squeeze on University of Miami ticket sales.
By the time the Hurricanes kick off Aug. 28, season tickets are expected to match last year's total of more than 28,000.
''That's a positive in this economy,'' said Jim Frevola, UM's associate athletic director for external affairs.
Although rising gas prices have colleges in other regions of the country working harder to fill seats, Florida's seven Division I-FBS institutions have come away largely unscathed. Several even report increases.
The lone exception: Florida State, where high travel costs are linked to a 6 percent downturn in season tickets.
''That's what we're hearing over and over again,'' said Patrick Martin, FSU's assistant AD who oversees the ticket office. ``People are just cutting back now.
``[It relates to] the price of gas, and the way it's going up isn't helping any.''
NO ONE IMMUNE
In Gainesville, UF again had no trouble selling out its season-ticket supply of about 65,000, continuing a streak that dates to the late 1970s. Even so, the Gators took something of a hit.
A donation of $4,200 was required for new subscribers this season, said assistant AD Mark Gajda -- a price established by demand and the number of tickets going back into the pool.
Coming off the Gators' 2006 national title, last year's entry donation was $13,000.
''I don't think anybody's immune to what we're seeing in the economy,'' Gajda said.
On Thursday, the state's average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $4.01, according to American Automobile Association statistics. A year ago, it was $2.97.
''We're all very aware that people are taking a hard look at their discretionary income,'' Frevola said.
The Hurricanes begin a new era this season at Dolphin Stadium, leaving their Orange Bowl home after 71 years. Although the move upset many traditionalists, the new locale in Miami Gardens has picked up fans among those who didn't want to drive to Little Havana.
''Sales in Broward and Palm Beach counties have been way up,'' Frevola said. ``There are a lot of positives from the markets we've moved a little closer to.''
But Harry Rothwell, general manager of the allCanes shop across from Mark Light Stadium, also senses a change in buying habits among longtime UM fans.
Years ago, Rothwell said, supporters would try to help the program by buying a few extra tickets and dishing off the lesser games to friends and business associates. That is not so easy to absorb anymore.
''If you're playing Florida State, you don't have enough tickets. If you're playing Charleston Southern or Duke, there are too many tickets,'' said Rothwell, who pays $2,240 for four season tickets.
``The bottom line is people want to make sure the seats they're paying for are being used.''
UM CUTS PRICES
UM officials, too, have taken a proactive stance by cutting some of their lowest ticket prices. A $99 season ticket went on sale two weeks ago; last year's lowest season ticket was $190.
''That's a pretty good value -- $99 to see Florida State and Virginia Tech and North Carolina,'' Frevola said.
In addition, single-game prices begin at $29 when sales open Friday to the general public. ''It was a big decision for us to have more affordable tickets,'' Frevola added.
In Tallahassee, though, ticket prices might take a back seat to the other costs of making the trip.
Martin suggested geography works against the Seminoles, with Tallahassee at least two hours from any of Florida's other metro areas. More than half of FSU's ticket-holders come from out of town.
For a car that gets 30 miles per gallon, a round trip of 330 miles from Jacksonville to Tallahassee eats up $44 in gasoline. Double that if you are driving an SUV.
Factor in a two-night minimum hotel stay, Martin said, and ''it makes a little bit of a difference.'' Season-ticket sales now stand at 38,200.
Rising programs at the state's other schools appear to have offset any economic malaise.
Nowhere is that seen more than at USF, which made a national splash last year by contending for the Big East title. Season-ticket sales already have surpassed last year's by 20 percent, now approaching 25,000.
At UCF, sales for last year's Conference USA champs are up 400 tickets over last year, when the Knights got a sharp upturn from their new on-campus stadium.
FAU also reported an increase on the heels of its Sun Belt title, though ticket director Christine Flood didn't have specifics.
FIU, set to rechristen its stadium Sept. 20 against USF, chose not to disclose any ticket numbers.
Miami Herald sportswriter Susan Miller Degnan contributed to this report.
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