Athletic director Eric Hyman presented today what he called “a concept” of football ticket prices for 2007 and beyond to a University of South Carolina athletic committee.
The concept would have USC highlight certain “headliner” games at Williams-Brice Stadium, such as those against Clemson University and high-profile Southeastern Conference rivals such as defending national champion Florida.
The price of tickets for those games would be higher than other games, allowing the athletic program to generate more money as it tries to reach a more level financial playing field with the top SEC schools.
Hyman said he wanted to “find out philosophically” what the Board of Trustees thought about his concept before presenting it officially in the “near future.”
“If the board is receptive to it, than I’d like to do something like that,” Hyman said after a meeting of the Intercollegiate Activities Committee. “But I don’t want to do it until they have a chance to process it.”
Under the concept, it would cost fans $60 to see USC play Clemson at Williams-Brice Stadium and $55 for the Florida game. The highest-priced ticket in 2006 was $45 ó for games against Georgia, Auburn and Tennessee.
USC’s games against Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt in 2007 would be $45. Tickets would cost $35 for games against Louisiana-Lafayette and S.C. State under Hyman’s concept.
Part of Hyman’s push for higher prices for “premium” games is to help bring USC more in line with money other SEC programs generate in football. According to a survey done by USC, the school generated $311.74 per seat in football.
That was lower than all but one of the 12 league schools. Ole Miss generated $270. Georgia, by comparison, brought in $714.20 per seat, according to the survey, while Tennessee made $548.
Under Hyman’s concept, USC’s per-seat revenue would rise to $351.74, which would place it ahead of Ole Miss and Mississippi State, which generated $327.01 in 2006 and just behind Kentucky at $351.20. Hyman told the committee that placement is based on 2006 figures and most, if not all, SEC schools are planning to raise ticket prices in 2007.
(above was reported in the Greenville News 2.09.07)
Thoughts?? Too Much? Are you going to pay more??
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