It's unfortunate that the "Old Guard" just has too much power right now for LSU athletics to move forward. We are wasting precious time. I can only hope that Coach Saban and Coach Bertman will have patience and the rest of the SEC doesn't leave us too far behind before a few "wise souls" in the state Legislature see the light. I would think the new Westside upper deck is still on go, although it might be delayed a year or two now while TAF reorganizes and comes up with a new strategy. Perhaps 50% control of Tiger Stadium was too ambitious a goal. Maybe the Legislature can be persuaded if they scale that back to, say 30%. And cap the surcharges. We also need to come up with graduated ticket prices. As things stand right now, $36 gets you in the stadium. Doesn't matter if you're on the sideline 50 or at the top of the upper deck, your seat is $36. I'm sure we can find a proposal everyone can agree on. Here's what I'd do if I were the man in charge. 1. Implement a graduated ticket system. Ideally, here's how I would price it. Lower East/West sideline- $90 one game, $700 season ticket Mid-level East/West sideline- $60 one game, $600 season ticket Endzones- $40 one game, $400 season ticket Upper Deck chairbacks- $30 one game, $300 season ticket Upper Deck bleachers- $15 one game, $150 season ticket Student tickets- $5 one game, $40 season ticket 2. Let TAF's take be 40% (whether that's 40% of every dollar in ticket sales or control of 40% of Tiger Stadium, whichever is preferable) 3. Make a minimum donation of $50 (or $100 or $200, whatever is deemed reasonable) to TAF a requirement to purchase season tickets (and no, I don't care if you've had yours forever and never had to do that. Pay it or no tickets!) I know even those modest (in my humble opinion) adjustments will greatly offend the "Old Guard" Tiger fans. So what? So what if they never come to another LSU football game again. Their loss. Thousands would line up and pay whatever the price to take their place, and they may even cheer louder and put some of the fear back into Death Valley. Obviously they don't love this university enough to go to the mat for us, so who needs them? I know that may sound cold, but honestly, don't you want to see the Tigers win some national championships? Don't you want to see LSU athletics become the best in America? Don't you want to see Tiger Stadium, which, as much as I love it, is getting a little older, a little grayer, and a little uglier every year, renovated, expanded, and made the best Division 1-A football facility in America? We need these things to happen. TAF isn't perfect, but it's the best vehicle to get things done until someone comes along with a better idea. If any of you anti-TAF'ers have that better idea, I'm all ears. But don't come to me with "TAF is the evil rich man boo-whoo-hoo" crap. This is what is necessary to make LSU better.
I agree with you jetstorm. The "old guard" at LSU needs to realize that it is 2003 not 1960. The surcharge deal needs to be done to make more money for facility renovations. We had the #1 football recruting class now but what about 10 years from now if we don't have a way to generate serious revenue. Tiger Stadium will be delapated and recruites will look to schools with top notch facilities. As far as the graduated ticket prices go, $90 for a sideline seat is a bit too much. Here's what I say about the prices: Sideline:$80 a game Endzones:$45 Upper Decks Chairback:$40 Upper Deck Bleachers:$30 Students stay the same:$50 Season Another idea for the tickets is a graduated plan where the better the game, the higher the ticket cost. Example-A Ticket cost $35 to see ULM while a ticket to see Florida is $50.
TAF strategy was bad in trying to go for everything they could imagine, all at once, right now. They need to back off, come back with a deal that honors current ticket holders in some fashion, and implement things more gradually. There is plenty of room in the stadium for big TAF donors and traditional season ticket holders. People who have held tickets for years need to get seating points for their consistant support. People who donate big bucks should also get seating points. If TAF would fill seats by availability, it would take longer, but be much more fair. Let TAF donors advance to better seats gradually, just like the rest of us. If a big donation jumps them to the top of the upgrade list, that's fine. Just don't let them "bump" somebody from their seats. If ticket prices have to be raised, then RAISE THEM. We understand that LSU athletics needs the money. It's not the money that bothers people, most of us have the cash. It's the extortion that bothers us. Most of us are more comfortable with higher ticket prices than with TAF donations. Ticket pricing assures us that: 1 -- We can sell the ticket legally for its true cost at face value. 2 -- We get guarranteed seat renewability, just like now. This can be done. There is room and there is time. If TAF goes about this right, they can get the money with the suppport of the current seat holders instead of fighting them. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. The wrong way is the QUICK way. The right way is the FAIR way.
