‘College athletics has gotten very expensive’: Gonzaga starts process of raising costs for men’s basketball season tickets

Aug. 23—If you have the money, it’s going to be easier to become a Gonzaga men’s basketball season-ticket holder for games at McCarthey Athletic Center.

But it’s also going to cost more to remain one.

In a process that started Thursday, existing season-ticket holders — a collection of fans, former players and ex-employees who have some of the most coveted tickets in college sports — must begin informing the university if they want to pay the higher costs to keep their existing season tickets or give up their spots inside the home of the Bulldogs.

For the first time since the 6,000-seat arena opened in 2004, Gonzaga will raise ticket prices and begin what’s known as a reseating process in which fans can essentially buy their way into season tickets, and more coveted seat locations, based on a point system that combines years of loyalty and financial donations provided to the Bulldog Club.

That means that some fans, who have had tickets longer than 30 years, could pay the higher prices for tickets and still lose those specific seats in The Kennel, and be reseated somewhere higher up in the arena.

Gonzaga Athletic Director Chris Standiford called the process an unfortunate reality facing college athletics, as the landscape has dramatically shifted toward player compensation and movement, not to mention federal court cases against the NCAA that could eventually lead to schools needing to help pay off costly lawsuit settlements.

The process is also giving an opportunity for some Gonzaga fans to get tickets years ahead of the former waiting list, which could take decades.

“This is a hard process for everybody because change is hard,” Standiford said. “I’m really optimistic and hopeful that once we get to the other side, and people see their outcomes, that they will feel good not only where they are at but also where we are going.”

Tickets

Unlike buying access to a concert, where the ticket price is the only cost, Gonzaga fans must pay the face value of the season tickets and a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-athletics-gotten-very-expensive-020300782.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-08-24 02:03:00

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