Posted on: Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Fans of foes moving on up
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The next catcalls from visiting volleyball fans will be long-distance calls.
"They can yell to their hearts' content from the Jack in the Box signs," Hawai'i coach Mike Wilton said.
MPSF rules require the host team to provide 30 complimentary tickets to the visiting team.
For UH home matches, the opposing team received tickets in the lower bowl's Section C, behind the visitors' bench in Games 1 and 3. (Teams trade benches every other game.)
Annoyed by barbs from Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara supporters this season, Wilton decided to change the seating arrangements for Saturday's match. Pepperdine hecklers repeatedly yelled, "Cheater," a reference to the Warriors being stripped of their 2002 national championship for using a player with professional experience.
WHAT: Quarterfinal match
WHO: No. 5 Hawai'i (seeded 4) vs. No. 4 Long Beach State (seeded 5) WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center TICKETS: SCC Box Office and etickethawaii locations Wilton estimated that 30 season tickets in Section C are valued at about $4,500.
Wilton said the MPSF, which receives a portion of the postseason ticket revenue, does not require a host team to provide complimentary playoff tickets to visiting teams. But as a courtesy in previous years, UH set aside Section C tickets for visiting fans.
The Stan Sheriff Center is the only MPSF arena with all reserved seating.
When the Warriors play on the road, Wilton said, they receive 30 general admission tickets with first-come, first-served seating.
"It's the luck of the draw," Wilton said. "If you get there early, you can get a seat near our team. ... (But) usually for road matches, our friends are sitting up in the boonies."
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
Starting with Saturday's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoff match against Long Beach State, visiting fans will be banished to the upper level of the Stan Sheriff Center.
"Those are 30 seats in a prime location," Wilton said. "If (visiting fans) want to sit in the lower bowl, they'll have to pay for it. We prefer to have our fans sitting in that section."
MPSF Playoffs
