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Arkansas Set To Formally Announce Donation Increases For Ticket Priority

by Chris Bahn

8/11/2010 at 1:02pm

New pricing levels for Razorbacks Stadium are disclosed in information sent to donors. Scroll to the bottom of this article to see a larger version, along with another for War Memorial Stadium.

Arkansas will formally raise the minimum donations required for season tickets at Reynolds Razorback Stadium and War Memorial Stadium in 2011.

Donations to sit in Razorback Stadium will range from $50 for upper deck seating to $300 for midfield seating in premium sections. Donations are per-seat. At least 15 percent of seating in the stadium will not require a donation.

War Memorial ticket priority will require donations of between $75 and $160, depending on the section.

(See the List: View new prices by section at Razorback Stadium and War Memorial Stadium.)

Ticket prices are not expected to go up in 2011 as part of what is being called the "RSVP" program. Previously the donation was $150 and the lowest in the Southeastern Conference.

A news conference on the new prices is set for 3:45 p.m. in Fayetteville. ArkansasSports360.com will update this story after the news conference.

Another news conference on the changes is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday in Little Rock.

Materials have already been mailed to season ticket holders and arrived to some donors sooner than expected, sources within and outside the athletic department said.

Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long spoke on the possibility of a ticket donation increase on July 27, shortly after the UA released its annual report. In the report, it showed Arkansas to have the lowest donation values associated with seats among all SEC school.

Long said a number of avenues were being looked at to generate additional revenue. He did not confirm a chance in seating priority was coming, but did acknowledge additional money was needed to fund the department, which has an approximately $60 million operating budget.

"Growth opportunities are becoming less and less. We do have to work at it," Long said. "The good news for us, we have unmet potential. Some other schools with larger budgets might have, they don’t have much room for growth. I think we are in a position to make up ground."

Compared with the rest of the league 50-yard-line seating in Reynolds Razorback Stadium is currently the cheapest. It currently takes only a $150 donation per seat for what the athletic department terms "mid-field lower-level football seats." That ranks 12th in the SEC.

Similar seats at Alabama require a $1,300 minimum donation per seat. Tennessee is at $1,250 and Florida is $1,000, while the rest of the SEC charges between $250 and $950 per.

Even Vanderbilt charges more per premium seat ($250). SEC teams ask for an average donation of $672 per seat for premium seating.

Above: Some donors have already received their seating charts, which describe the new donation levels required to reserve the right to buy tickets at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.