FU, SU… Who Do You Think You Are?

I’ve been to the Carrier Dome a few times, but never for an SU football or basketball game.  I always thought it’d be nice to go sometime — and now that I work normal hours, I can.  But after a very poor move Syracuse University just took against some of its most loyal fans… I don’t see myself going to the Dome again anytime soon.

The poor move: this past weekend, SU told 500 season ticket holders their seats are going to be a lot more expensive next academic year.  NewsChannel 9 reports those seats will cost you the ticket price itself, PLUS a $10,000 “donation” to the University.

Rapid increases for seats at sporting events is nothing new.  The best seats for many pro sports teams now cost at least a few thousand dollars, PER GAME.  But at least the pro teams have an excuse: they have those ridiculous multi-million dollar salaries to pay.  The Mets and the Yankees also have new stadiums to pay off.

But Syracuse is a college team.  The players don’t earn salaries (or at least they shouldn’t be, according to NCAA regulations).  So why is there a need to hike the prices of these seats so dramatically in one year?  After all, some of these fans have been season ticket holders ever since the Dome opened… through good seasons and bad seasons (and when it comes to football, you don’t have to go back far to remember bad seasons).

Let’s take a look at one quote NewsChannel 9 attributed from SU’s notice to those ticket holders.  SU blames the price increase on “today’s economic times, current supply and demand of our preferred seats and their locations, the anticipated number of home games and the actual seat selections inside the Carrier Dome.”

OK, let’s review that, piece by piece.

Today’s economic times.  They’re horrible.  People don’t have lots of money to be throwing around here and there.  SU is lucky for the season ticket holders they have right now.  You might be hurting for money, SU, but so are the fans.  I guess it’s better you get the money from ticketholders, rather than raising tuition and fees for students… but there’s probably plenty of places to trim some fat, too.

Current supply and demand of our preferred seats and their locations.  Do they really have 500 people lined up, willing to pay $10,000 plus the ticket price for these seats?  For both football and basketball?  When was the last time a football game sold out?

Anticipated number of home games.  OK, finally we have something more reasonable.  But how many more games will there be, compared to previous seasons?  I don’t think one or two games is worth $10K+.  And SU is already hosting part of the 2010 NCAA tournament… they stand to make a ton of extra cash on facility use fees, tickets, concessions and parking for those games.  Why penalize the locals when you can make the tourists pay through the nose?  It works for all the central Florida theme parks…

Actual seat selections inside the Carrier Dome.  What?  Isn’t that the same thing as supply and demand?  This sounds just as stupid as the phrase “today’s economic times.”

Syracuse University, get a grip.  Yes, you have a good basketball team, and yes, it garners plenty of attention.  That’s especially true right now, with the team working its way through the NCAA brackets.  But the football team should be reminder enough, that college teams are always changing.  You can’t keep your best players forever.  Four years from now, it’ll be a completely different squad than it is today.

Overall, this just looks like a slap in the face against longtime loyal fans.  I think it would be great to see this plan backfire in SU’s face, as those prices go up, and the seats remain empty… or lowered back down to more realistic prices.