Students react, suggest at forum

Although students have scrambled for basketball season tickets the past two years, student… Although students have scrambled for basketball season tickets the past two years, student attendance at games has been low, averaging 763 out of a possible 1,400 seats.

Wednesday night, students recommended ways to fix the problem.

Erik Frazier, a student at Pitt, suggested that tickets sell for $150. For every game a student attends, he proposed, a refund would be issued. If a student attended all the games, the season tickets would still cost $35 – the current price.

About 50 students headed to the Petersen Events Center Wednesday night to take part in an open athletic forum, organized by Pitt’s athletics department and Student Government Board. Students were allowed to offer suggestions and respond to ideas proposed by a panel of athletics officials and SGB members

Jim Earle, Pitt’s associate athletics director of marketing and merchandising, described the problems the athletics department faces when trying to fill seats at basketball games.

“We have students who buy tickets, who don’t show up,” Earle said. “We’ve had tickets on sale every single game.”

Earle answered most of the questions addressed to the panel, stressing that none of the panel’s suggestions are official.

“We’re by no means advocating it; it is just an idea,” Earle said of an idea to create a football ticket upgrade system, which would allow students with football season tickets to bring friends. “Everything we have tried to do has been in the interest of our students.”

Brent Healy, vice president of public relations for Panther Pitt, was critical of a plan that might bring non-students into student seating areas at football games.

“You would have people in student seating not cheering for Pitt,” said Healy, whose student organization is trying to unite students at Heinz Field into a cheering section similar to the Oakland Zoo, the basketball student section.

“It would be a detriment to the fan base,” Healy added.

Brian Kelly, SGB president, introduced the topics and moderated the discussion between students and the panel, which also included Jason Heggemeyer, director of sales and ticketing; Matt Hutchinson, SGB member; and Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney.

Delaney brought up another issue regarding the problems with creating a unified student section.

“What do you do with someone rooting for the other team?” Delaney asked.

Kelly offered his own solution.

“Give them some body gear,” he replied.

Delaney asked the audience for suggestions to improve the crowded quarters of the student lot at Heinz Field, but he admitted that there will always be a large number of people at the tailgate events.

“It’s football. It’s a college game; it’s a student event; it’s the place to be,” Delaney said.

Some students suggested allowing oversized vehicles, which many students use for tailgating, to park in a separate lot. Others advised making students pay a nominal fee to reserve a space in the student lot.

Earle stressed that money was not an issue, since construction at Heinz Field has limited the total number of spaces available.

“It’s not a revenue issue. We just want you to have fun,” Earle said.

Delaney cited progress in controlling the amount of garbage left on the lot, thanks to officers, including him, handing out garbage bags to tailgaters.

“You’re teaching the kids responsibility,” Delaney said. “Sometimes students come to tailgate without being prepared.”

The distribution of basketball season tickets was another major topic, as both the panel and the students devised ways to make the system fairer – and to make sure that students who really want tickets can receive them.

“You’ve got to raise the ticket price,” said Bob Bagaley, a junior at Pitt. “It’s supply and demand, like we learned in school.”

Earle repeatedly stated that the athletics department does not seek profit from student ticket sales.

“We’ve never looked at our student ticket sales as a source of revenue,” Earle said.

Someone suggested that a partial solution to this problem would be to sell the season tickets in two sets, one for games held during student vacations, and one for games held on normal days.

“I completely agree that games held over break should be separate,” Kelly said. Student attendance at basketball games during student vacations is considerably lower than it is while school is in session.

The subject of student campouts was brought up as a way to make sure that only students who are serious would get tickets.

Kelly was open to the idea, but not as a regular occurrence at Pitt.

“I think one sponsored, safe campout would be fine,” Kelly said.

Earle emphasized that the number of students at Pitt complicate ticket sales, and that activities like scalping, or selling tickets off the street for an inflated price, are extremely difficult to stop.

“There are some issues that are impossible to solve to everyone’s satisfaction,” Earle said.

Kelly appreciated the feedback from the students who attended, but he said he was disappointed that there was not a larger turnout.

“I wish we had a few more students,” Kelly said. “The ones who were here were great.”

Kelly cited SGB attempts to draw as many students as possible to the event. The organizers mailed announcements to all season ticket holders, posted signs in the Towers Lobby, and notified the Greek community.

“We reached out to literally thousands of people,” Kelly said. “I really don’t think there was much more we could have done.”

Healy said he appreciated the attempts of the athletics department to reach out to students.

“The athletics department is willing to sacrifice profit for student enjoyment,” Healy said, citing the many cameras around the room as proof of commitment by the department.

“It really does show that they were listening,” he said.