Fewer Tide fans will make trip to Hawai'i
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
When it comes to Alabama football fans, it figures to be a low Tide next week at Aloha Stadium.
University of Alabama officials and travel agents forecast a 20- to 30-percent drop in Crimson Tide fans attending next week's game with the University of Hawai'i.
An estimated 7,000 Alabama fans attended last year's 21-16 Tide victory, which was declared a sellout.
Approximately 5,000 are expected for this year's game, which will start at 2:45 p.m. to accommodate ESPN's national telecast.
About 8,500 tickets remain for the game.
Alabama officials and travel agents cited games here in successive years and the declining fortunes of their team, which is 4-7, as reasons fewer fans are expected to travel.
Rhoda Vaughn, Alabama ticket manager, said the school has sold 3,262 tickets, down from the 4,518 it sold last year. A UH athletic department spokesperson said Alabama was given an allotment of 5,000.
The tickets Alabama sold were made available only to members of its Tide pride booster club who donate $75 to $1,200 to purchase season tickets. Non-season ticket holders had to go through Alabama travel agents or UH.
Penny Allison of Adventure Travel in Tuscaloosa, Ala., said sales were down significantly over last year. "Some people who went last year figured it was too expensive to go again," she said.
A staff member at Fairwinds Travel of Montgomery, Ala., an official Alabama outlet, said sales were down about 20 percent from last year. Standard travel packages have been going for $1,525 and above.
UH and Alabama had not played before last year when the Crimson Tide sought out Hawai'i to use the game as a "bowl" for its seniors who were prohibited from playing in the postseason because of NCAA rules violations. As part of its two-year probation for improper payments to players, the Crimson Tide was ineligible for bowls in 2002 and '03.
Alabama, which is known for "traveling" a lot of its fans, took 16,450 to UCLA in 2000.
"A lot of our fans travel with the motor homes," Vaughn said. "But it is a little tough to drive to Hawai'i."
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
