UH banking on students for late season ticket sales

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i is hoping that a back-to-school surge will lift football season ticket sales back to or beyond last year's levels, athletic department officials said.

Last year, UH sold 23,833 season tickets. As of Monday, with more than three weeks remaining before the Sept. 4 opener with Florida Atlantic, 21,846 had been sold, according to Lois Manin, UH sports information director.

No figures were available for the same point last year.

"We're actually expecting a surge to come in as people, faculty, students and staff, start arriving back on campus in the next couple of weeks," Manin said.

Classes begin Aug. 23 on the Manoa campus.

"We're still going to sell (season tickets) until we can't sell 'em anymore," Manin said.

Season ticket sales have dropped in recent years below the 25,000 mark with much of the decline being attributed to the institution of premium seat pricing and the addition of pay-per-view sales.

Under premium seating, season ticket holders pay a mandatory fee — $25 to $125 this season depending upon area — to retain their same seat locations. Pay-per-view sales last year averaged about 10,000 subscriptions per game.

In addition to continuing season ticket sales, UH is also selling single-game tickets and four-game "WAC Packs" for home games involving Western Athletic Conference members Tulsa, Nevada, San Jose State and Louisiana Tech.

The price of "WAC Packs" vary by location from $40 in the north end zone to $75 for sideline seats. Senior citizens and students pay $25 in the north end zone.

Faculty and staff sales began in May with the institution of a lottery system. Previously, faculty and staff members waited in line.

"When I first arrived here, the process we had in place was that they were required to line up first thing in the morning to get their ticket and those in the front got better tickets than those in the back," said Tom Sadler, associate athletic director. "So, it became a camp-out situation.

"We didn't think our faculty and staff should have to go through that, so we came up with a lottery that gave everybody a fair chance," Sadler said. In many circumstances, as long as they remain UH employees, Sadler said faculty and staff will retain their same seats from year to year. They pay 50 percent of the premium fee charged other season ticket holders.

Since the institution of the lottery, sales have dipped slightly, 721 to 701. UH officials attribute that to new restrictions permitting a maximum of four tickets instead of the previous limit of eight.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.