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3/5/04-
Preferred Seating Plan- Part 3
The Preferred
Seating Plan is here to stay. In part 1, I addressed the
'benefits' of the new program. In part 2, I addressed the
circumstances that have contributed to the current budget crisis.
In part 3, I'll address what it means to season ticket holders.
Preferred Seating Plan- Worse Than Personal Seat
Licenses
I want to believe that there is a special place in hell for the
person who came up with the idea of personal seat licenses (PSL).
For those who are blissfully unaware of what a PSL is I'll offer a brief explanation. A PSL is a fee that
some sports teams charge their season ticket holders for the
right to buy season tickets. Often a PSL is a one time fee that the buyer can pay
over several seasons.
The good news for
Michigan fans is that the athletic department
is not instituting PSL's. The bad news is that they've come up with something
worse. The Preferred Seating
Program (PSP) announced by the athletic department will
eventually charge an
annual fee over and above the cost of season tickets.
Preferred Seat Plan = Seat Taxes
The best way to understand the PSP is to call it what it is- a tax.
Like taxes people will pay different levels depending on their level
or in this case their section number. Like taxes the PSP is
something that you're forced to pay and probably won't be happy
about. The PSP is about as voluntary as taxes
are, too. Let's be clear on this point. After years of
enjoying great seats people are going to voluntarily give them up? I don't think so. To quote the legendary Bob Ufer, 'Football
is a religion and Saturday is the holy day of obligation.' People
will pay. Asking most to give up their seats is like telling
an American that they can avoid taxes by simply moving to another
country.
Tax the Rich!
The athletic department is spinning the current plan to minimize the
outrage of season ticket holders. We're told it will
only affect 30% of the seats in
Michigan Stadium and about 45%
of all season ticket holders. Much like taxes the athletic
department has created a program where a majority of season ticket holders
can feel good because a minority will end up getting soaked by the
plan.
And those people
deserve to pay, right?
How dare they have tickets for 30 years and
end up sitting near mid-field?
The problem is that just like taxes we'll
all eventually end up paying.
First, they introduce the PSP
for the better seats and after a while every season ticket holder
will end up paying a 'voluntary' donation. How do I know?
Look at the budget. This program is only targeted to fund infrastructure upgrades,
none of which will generate any
substantial new revenue. It's like paying the monthly minimum
on a credit card. Unless you start paying down the principal,
you'll be paying forever...
As scholarship
costs continue to rise it's only a matter of time before more money
will be needed. These infrastructure upgrades aren't
investments
in anything that will create sustainable income.
End zone season ticket holders your time is coming...
How does the PSP program alter the true cost of
tickets?
I've read where people have said
the PSP is just a way of adjusting ticket prices. For the sake
of argument let's assume that's true. What will the tickets end up
costing? Let's flash forward to the 2006 season. Let's
assume that there 6 home games. Let's also assume that tickets
don't go up in price (?!). Under the current program here is
an estimate of how much you
will pay for a 6 game schedule:
Here are season
ticket and PSP charts so you can figure out how much your seats will
cost.
Now what opponents
will you pay to see for those 6 games? The conference schedule
includes Wisconsin, MSU, Iowa, and Northwestern. Not bad.
Unfortunately the two non conference home games haven't been posted.
Notre Dame lists Michigan as a home game for 2006. Needless to
say we won't be seeing Oklahoma or USC coming to Michigan Stadium
either.
People on the 50 yard line get ready
to pay $138 a ticket
to see the likes of Eastern Michigan or Houston.
The PSP program
does allow you to write-off a certain percentage of your PSP costs
which might take some of the sting out of your season tickets.
Details are available on the
PSP Site.
Is it Worth it?
Ultimately, season ticket holders will need to make their own
decisions. $138 per game.
No problem getting that for Ohio State or Notre Dame but try
charging $138 for Indiana or
Central Michigan. Geez, the reality is that you'll have a
tough time giving away tickets
for those games. I guess the people who came up with this plan
have never noticed all the tickets sold outside stadium for less
than half of face value.
Season Ticket Holders Pay the Price
PSP ensures that season ticket holders pay the greatest price for the
privilege of owning season tickets. People who buy single game
tickets aren't penalized. Neither are opposing fans.
Sure, single game prices are higher than season ticket prices but
not after you figure in the seat tax, err- PSP charge.
Say What?
Athletic department spokespeople have an annoying tendency to invoke
the name of Fielding Yost when talking about PSP. It usually
goes something like this, 'You know, when Michigan Stadium was built
it was financed through a program that tied contributions to the
season tickets, PSP fits into the Michigan tradition.' What
they neglect to tell you is that Yost financed Michigan Stadium with
bonds. Which are very different from PSP. People who bought bonds
got their money back plus interest after the bond matured.
Kiss your PSP money good-bye- you'll never see it again...
The Beginning Not The End
Here's the really bad news. This is just the beginning.
I have no doubt that eventually all season ticket holders will have
the opportunity to participate in the PSP. Suites or enclosed seating and
advertising is also on the way. Athletic Department
spokespeople will only say these things are being 'evaluated'.
Which is exactly what they've been saying about required donations the
last couple years.
And guess who gets to pay for all of these
wonderful things that will benefit wealthy donors and corporations?
You the season ticket holder!!
Do you see the why
the PSP is really just a tax in disguise?
Go Blue!
Phil
Callihan
UMGoBlue.COM, Editor-in-Chief
phil@umgoblue.com
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Phil Callihan is the Editor-in- Chief of
UMGoBlue.COM. Phil graduated from the University of Michigan
in 1993 and has been a football season ticket holder since 1994.
Full Bio
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