BATON ROUGE — The LSU Board of Supervisors on Thursday approved a three-part plan, including a contribution program for the right to purchase football tickets in Tiger Stadium, which will help ensure the future of the LSU Athletics program.
The plan will be effective with the 2004 season and will enable LSU Athletics to invest in capital improvements to its facilities and help stabilize its financial operations.
The three-part plan includes folding current surcharges into a single price for all tickets in Tiger Stadium, the establishment of a Preferred Seating Program to generate new revenue, and the utilization of lease agreements to facilitate construction and renovation of athletics facilities.
The Preferred Seating Program will establish an Athletics Contribution on 45,197 seats in Tiger Stadium, with a higher contribution required on seats nearest the 50 yard line. The amount of the contribution, an annual obligation separate from and in addition to the full price of admission printed on the face of the ticket, will be scaled according to the best seats in the stadium and could be partially tax deductible to the season ticket holder.
The Preferred Seating Program will generate approximately $7.5 million more per year for the LSU Athletics program to be used for construction, renovation and maintenance of athletics facilities, and for financing the athletics program on an annual basis. As part of the plan, the athletics department will dedicate $500,000 annually to the repair of academic facilities on the LSU campus.
Of LSU’s nine major athletics competition facilities, six are more than a quarter of a century old. Compared to investments made by other Southeastern Conference schools, many of which have spent millions of dollars on facility upgrades since the early to mid 1990s, LSU’s capital construction has been relatively sparse since the original construction of the west side expansion of Tiger Stadium in 1979.
The Preferred Seating Program will enable LSU to generate new revenue necessary to make a significant investment in its athletics physical plant.
Planned improvements include the renovation of the west side of Tiger Stadium, improvement of fan enjoyment elements throughout Tiger Stadium, construction of a stand-alone football operations center and the renovation of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU will also develop a plan for the future of Alex Box Stadium, Tiger Softball Park, the LSU Natatorium and other LSU athletics facilities.
The renovation of the west side of Tiger Stadium will include over 3,200 club seats and a new press box. Improvements to the fan enjoyment elements in Tiger Stadium will include maintenance and repairs of all restrooms, repair and replacement of seats, cleaning, painting, and waterproofing of the 79-year old stadium to prevent leakage, replacement of the playing field and new entranceways by the opening game of the 2005 season.
The new Athletics Contribution for seats in the bowl of Tiger Stadium will be $400 per seat annually for the right to purchase sideline seats between the 25 yard lines, $350 for the right to purchase sideline seats outside the 25 yard lines, $100 for the right to purchase sideline field box seats, and $85 for the right to purchase end zone seats.
West upper deck chairback seats during the 2004 season will require an annual per seat $150 contribution between the 25 yard lines and $85 outside the 25 yard lines for the right to purchase those tickets. There will be no contribution required for the right to purchase non-chairback seats in the west upper deck. There are over 5,700 non-chairback seats in the west upper deck.
The renovation of the west side of Tiger Stadium is scheduled for completion by the 2005 season. At that time, west upper deck seats will carry an annual per seat $250 contribution for the right to purchase chairback seats between the 25 yard lines and $200 for the right to purchase chairback seats outside the 25 yard lines. New Tiger Terrace seats will require a contribution of $400 for the right to purchase seats between the 25 yard lines and $350 for the right to purchase seats outside the 25 yard lines. There will be no contribution for the right to purchase west upper deck non-chairback seats.
East upper deck seats which currently require a $50 donation to the Tiger Athletic Foundation will not require an Athletics Contribution for the right to purchase those seats.
As part of the Preferred Seating Program, any current season ticket holder who does not want to make the required Athletics Contribution will be given the opportunity to purchase the best available ticket in a lower contribution range, or a seat with no contribution required at all.
Season ticket holders will also be able to utilize a one-time Transfer Option Period beginning in January during which time each season ticket holder will have the opportunity to transfer any number of season tickets they currently hold into the names of other persons.
Also, LSU season ticket holders will have the option to utilize a flexible payment plan for the Athletics Contribution. For example, a $400 contribution could be paid in six monthly installments of less than $67, and an $85 contribution could be paid in six monthly installments of less than $15.
The Internal Revenue Code, Section 170 (l) provides that a contribution for the right to purchase football tickets is 80 percent tax deductible as a charitable contribution. LSU advises season ticket holders to consult with their tax advisors to determine the applicability of the deduction.
Certain groups and individuals who are currently contributors of cash or of in kind donations to the LSU Athletics program may be given credit for those contributions and would not be required to make the additional Athletics Contribution.
Any seats in Tiger Stadium that currently require a donation to the Tiger Athletic Foundation will continue to require that donation. The TAF would make the Athletics Contribution by cash and/or in kind contributions. In other words, there will be no change in cost for the TAF ticket buyer.
For the 1,343 seats in Tiger Stadium assigned to Athletics Endowed Scholarship donors who made a one-time major contribution to the LSU Athletics program, no additional contribution will be required.
Current and retired LSU and A&M College Faculty and Staff members will not be required to make a contribution on up to two tickets.
The Board also approved a measure that allows the existing surcharge on tickets to be folded into the ticket price to create a uniform cost of $36 per ticket for the full price of admission for all seats other than student seats in Tiger Stadium.
Season ticket holders will receive a full informational brochure on the plan, including details on the Athletics Contribution and the Transfer Option Period, in November. Notices for contributions will be mailed in January.