New season ticket policy 'better than anticipated'

CLEMSON — When Clemson unveiled a significant restructuring of its football seating last summer, it did so with care, caution and no small amount of concern.

Change typically doesn't go over well among the Tigers' fan base, and that's part of the reason Clemson officials paid marketing giant IMG to help introduce a new season-ticket policy that takes effect this season at Memorial Stadium.

The athletic department's movers and shakers are happy — and no doubt relieved — to report that most people have bought into the plan, which was devised to reward donors willing to pay more for seats occupied by fans paying at minimum levels.

"Our donors have certainly embraced everything we've done," said Bill D'Andrea, Clemson's senior associate athletic director for external affairs and the man in charge of IPTAY, the athletic department's fundraising arm.

"It's been positive. … The bottom line is, it's gone better than we anticipated."

When Clemson's "Seat Equity Plan" was announced before the 2007 football season, it was estimated that 37 percent of season-ticket holders would have to come up with more money to avoid being moved to different and less-desirable seats.

Ticket manager Travis Furbee said that, of the 4,000 people who were asked to increase their donations, 70 percent have followed through.

"I think that says a ton right there," he said. "IPTAY donors have stepped up in a huge way."

D'Andrea and Furbee supplied some other numbers that indicate fans' support of the new plan.

Clemson has sold 57,000 season tickets and is expecting to reach 58,000 in mid-July. Fans set a record last year by purchasing 57,991 season tickets, surpassing 57,625 set in 1988.

IPTAY's membership base is at 15,922, a 1.5 percent drop from last year's total of 16,143.

"I think that says a lot right there about our numbers," D'Andrea said. "Other schools that have implemented different plans for reseating their stadiums have lost a lot more than that."

Changing the seating structure was a particularly delicate issue at Clemson because IPTAY was built on grassroots loyalty, with large numbers of people contributing at low levels.

That model became the envy of many schools in the 1970s and 1980s, when IPTAY rose to pioneer status because of its rich success. But football has since become big business, and the money has to come from somewhere to support monstrous coaching salaries, the facilities boom, and the rising cost of athletic scholarships.

Clemson spent 18 months of research while coming up with its plan, whose unveiling was facilitated with a PowerPoint presentation on the athletic department's Web site. A call center was even set up to handle complaints.

"There were times where trying to explain it and getting people to understand it, it was very taxing on the office," D'Andrea said. "Phone call after phone call. E-mail after e-mail. It's like any change. People have difficulty with it."

D'Andrea estimated in August that the ticket restructuring at Memorial Stadium would generate about $3 million. He said Wednesday an official figure will be released in August.

Before the plan's implementation, 51 percent of IPTAY's donors were contributing at the minimum $140 level, according to Clemson's research. Also, in the 2007 season, 2,387 people who donated $1,400 or less occupied a total of 10,061 seats between the 25-yard lines in the lower decks.

"I think this was essential," D'Andrea said. "The important thing is, we want to be competitive. This is not about getting ahead as much as it is staying abreast."