July 10, 2003
TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of LSU Athletics
FROM: Skip Bertman, LSU Director of Athletics
This Week:
The past two weeks I have written to you about athletics facilities, particularly why they are important to the success of an athletics program and where LSU stands in comparison to major athletics facility development among SEC schools.
This week I am going to answer some of the questions that have come out of the last few Cyber-side Chats. We reply to as many e-mails as possible, but when there are two or three questions that are prevalent, I like to take a week and address those issues.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?
After seeing last week’s list of major facility developments at other SEC schools, many of you asked “Where are they getting the money?” Well, many of these schools are doing exactly what we are mostly unable to do: use funds generated by donations attached to tickets in their football stadiums.
The two areas in which LSU is most seriously lacking is Priority Seating revenue and Club Seating revenue. Georgia makes over $18 million per year from those two areas of revenue. Florida makes over $17 million per year while Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama each make well over $12 million per year.
LSU makes $3.1 million from Priority Seating and a little over $1 million from Club Seating for a total of $4.1 million per year.
Some of those other schools’ facilities, as you can tell by the names of Arkansas’ stadiums, are made possible in part by major benefactors. At LSU, the Bill Lawton Squad Room and the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes are two instances of major benefactors who stepped forward for us. We are always looking for major donors, but until other major benefactors come forward with the donations it would take to build a major facility, we must continue to generate revenue in other areas.
WHY IS LSU’S FACILITY TOTAL SO LOW?
Some of you asked about the incremental changes that have been made over the years to add seats to Alex Box Stadium, or to improve the men’s basketball locker room at the PMAC or to get Bernie Moore Track ready for the NCAA Championships last year. Surely, some of you said, that should be included in LSU’s facility improvements.
The figures that were used in last week’s Cyber-side Chat were MAJOR facility improvements at SEC schools. We asked each of the schools in the SEC to provide to us the costs of the major facility renovations or new buildings on their campuses. While LSU has done regular maintenance and made occasional improvements to various facilities over the years, other schools have done the same.
LSU’s indoor and outdoor tracks have been maintained and resurfaced, gymnastics practice facilities have been improved, tennis courts have been resurfaced on a number of occasions, the basketball court has been refinished several times, and so on. Those are regular maintenance items that every school must carry out on a routine basis.
The fact remains that LSU has spent less than $70 million in new facilities or major facility renovations since 1979. Everything else was built prior to that date: Maddox Field House (1975), the Assembly Center (1972), Robinson Tennis Stadium (1970), Bernie Moore Track (1969), Alex Box Stadium (1938) and Tiger Stadium (1924).
ISN’T LOUISIANA TOO POOR TO DO ANY BETTER?
I often hear that Louisiana is a “poor” state compared to the “economic powerhouses” around the rest of the South. In fact, according to figures supplied by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Louisiana’s per capita income is not much different than other states that comprise the SEC.
The top three are Florida ($28,947), Georgia ($28,733) and Tennessee ($26,988). Then it’s Kentucky ($24,923), South Carolina ($24,886), Alabama ($24,589) and Louisiana ($24,535). They are followed by Arkansas ($22,887) and Mississippi ($21,750).
Take just a minute to study those figures. Many are very close in range.
I also often hear that Louisiana is not only “poor” but it is also “small.” In fact, according to the most recent U.S. Census, Louisiana is No. 4 in the SEC in population.
The top three are Florida (15,982,378), Georgia (8,186,453) and Tennessee (5,689,283). The next four are Louisiana (4,468,976), Alabama (4,447,100), Kentucky (4,401,769) and South Carolina (4,012,012). Finally there is Mississippi (2,844,658) and Arkansas (2,673,400).
Alabama and South Carolina should be an interesting study for LSU fans. Their per capita income is almost identical to Louisiana’s, and their population is smaller. Yet they each support two major Division I-A athletics programs. Alabama and Auburn fans combined produce over $26.9 million in seat donations (Priority Seating plus Club Seating) every year, while South Carolina and Clemson fans combine to produce over $22 million, compared to just $4.1 for LSU.
I encourage you to send your feedback to us at LSUvision@etigers.net. Although I cannot guarantee a response to every e-mail, please know they will all be read, so I hope you will participate. Thank you for your continued support of Tiger Athletics.