FSU athletic board approves new football ticket policy
Changes will include an increase of slightly more than 8-percent across each donor membership level and a method that sets minimum per seat requirements by section inside Doak Campbell Stadium.
Changes will include an increase of slightly more than 8-percent across each Seminole Booster, Inc., donor membership level and a method that sets minimum per-seat requirements by section inside Doak Campbell Stadium.
This marks the first change in the policy by the FSU Athletics Board in 10 years. The only other across-the-board increase, since the policy was created in 1976, occurred in 2001 and 2006.
While the FSU Ticket Office and Seminole Boosters – the fundraising arm of FSU athletics – agree FSU’s ticket policy has worked extremely well over nearly 40 years, change was needed to continue to maintain a vital stream of revenue for the athletic department.
The Seminoles’ 2014-15 Athletics Budget totaled nearly $90 million across 20 sports programs.
In 2014, season ticket holders generated $13.56 million in ticket revenue with $14.2 million in booster contributions tied to those season tickets as part of the ticket priority policy requirements.
The Boosters project new policy will generate an additional $2 million with a renewal rate of 80 percent next season.
The Seminoles' home schedule in 2016 features games against Atlantic Coast Conference members Boston College, Clemson, Wake Forest and North Carolina, in addition to state rival Florida of the Southeastern Conference.
The fundamental difference between the policies is in determining the minimum donation requirement.
It will be based on a per-seat minimum contribution requirement for its section in the stadium. The number of seats a fan purchases within that section determines their minimum donation level.
In the old policy, the donation level determined how many seats fans could purchase, no matter where the seats were located.
FSU officials believe the new system features improved equity because the contribution requirement is based upon seat location.
Overall, 47-percent of the Seminoles’ football ticket holders will be affected by the new per-seat requirement, according to Booster officials.
The remaining 53-percent won’t be impacted by the new per-seat requirement because they are already giving more than either the new or the old policy requires.
The ticket holders most affected by the new policy, according to FSU officials, are those who have purchased the full allotment of seats in the highest demand sections (west side middle sections) and have contributed only the minimum donation required for those seats.
Booster officials stressed the change will give donors “a number of contribution options they didn’t have in the old policy.”
Sixty-two percent of Seminole Boosters’ 18,000 members use the organization’s season ticket priority benefits.
Many college football programs emulated FSU’s policy for years, but recently have adopted an equity method that sets minimum per-seat requirements by section of the stadium.
In the 10 years since the policy was last updated, the cost of athletic scholarships alone has increased by $4 million per year (from $7.5 million to $11.5 million).
The Boosters generate close to $45 million each year from various sources to fund athletics scholarships, facilities and operations.
One important component of those fundraising efforts is the $17.3 million Annual Fund which is most closely associated with ticket priority benefits. The fund is comprised of eight different membership levels ranging from $60 to $25,000 per year.
The Seminoles fund 246.2 scholarships – the maximum allowable for their 20 men’s and women’s sports – with about 500 student-athletes receiving some portion of the athletic scholarship aid.
The cost of scholarships is now $11.5 million annually and includes the cost of new NCAA legislation approving cost of attendance stipends for student-athletes in excess of scholarship costs, which is $2 million per year.
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