After last years KU ticket scandal broke and the economy crash finally hit home KU finds it's self for the first time in a long time (147 consecutive sellouts) not selling out Allen Fieldhouse. A large part of that is the Lew Perkins mess that has many fans dropping season tickets to show their disgust. And the economy certainly has kept many things from selling as well this year not just basketball tickets. But maybe part of it is also that fans are beginning to decide that sporting tickets (especially college) are just getting too expensive when you count in all the cost. I know years ago I decided that going to WSU games as a season ticket holder was just getting too expensive so I stopped. I buy tickets to some if not all of the games but not season tickets. And that's because of the mandatory "contributions" required to the Shocker Athletic group. I don't think that when a donation is required it's a donation any more it's just an additional hidden cost for tickets. This all consuming grab for the money is what's fueled the whole college sports environment of today and it's hurting college sports. It's time that ticket prices were the price on the ticket and donations were raised without tying them to tickets. That's the only way to fairly let those of limited means still get tickets and to make the game about more than money.
Kansas basketball tickets no longer impossible
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two weeks before the start of Kansas basketball season, Allen Fieldhouse is not sold out. Which is to say that despite the same banners hanging from the rafters and the same chants
booming from wall to wall, it might not be the same Allen Fieldhouse this season.
The Jayhawks have played in front of 147 consecutive packed houses, dating to the beginning of the 2001-02 season. To be inside the old barn for a game meant that you had either gotten lucky, knew
someone important or cared enough about KU to spend a significant sum of money to watch 40 minutes of basketball. The place felt exclusive, which drove some KU folks crazy and led others in power to
take advantage of having access to the hottest ticket in town.
But for now, Allen Fieldhouse is not sold out. Jim Marchiony, KU's associate athletic director for external relations, said 400 to 500 reserved season tickets are still available to the public.
The reasons make sense: The economy is in the tank, forcing some ticket holders not to renew. Others chose not to pony up because of angst directed toward the Williams Educational Fund and former
Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins in the aftermath of the KU ticket scandal. And, of course, all of those tickets that slipped out the door illegally are now available to KU donors.
Add it all up, and it's a perfect storm that is threatening one of the constants of our region: sellout crowds at "The Phog."
True-blue Jayhawks take pride in that streak, so it was tough for a KU fan like Larry Tenopir to say no to his alma mater this year. He's had season tickets for 41 of the last 42 years, and as a Topeka
attorney, he has the money. Only, he's decided to drop his donation to the Williams Fund from $3,000 to $100 and spend the difference on a TV instead.
Because of donors refusing to renew for whatever reason and the newly available tickets that were being sold illegally in past years, many donors who decided to renew are being rewarded with improved
seats. The positive is that they are now getting what they deserve. The negative is that they were getting short-changed in the past.
"For me, it was Lew Perkins, completely," Tenopir said. "I had a lot of objections to him for years before the ticket scandal. The ticket scandal was the last straw. The only language they seem to
understand is money. I didn't want to pay part of his salary anymore."
KU season-ticket holder Bill Roy, a KU alum who began getting season tickets only last year, already moved a couple of sections closer to the action.
"I moved from section 10A to the inside of 9," Roy said.
Ever since Perkins in 2004 implemented a priority points system, which rewards donors who give the most money with the best seats, longtime KU fans have complained that they had been priced out of
Allen.
Now, non-Williams Fund members can buy season tickets and become members free of charge (it normally takes at least a $100 donation).
A full-season package is listed at $1,155 with a half-season costing $600. No, tickets are not exactly cheap, but at least they're available.
Read more at www.kansas.com
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