While attending home football games the past few weekends, I've had a number of people approach me about the Doak Campbell Stadium West Sideline project expressing concern about whether they will be able to afford their seats in coming years. As I listened to their concerns I realized the majority of my friends had not been through the presentation yet and were operating with information they are hearing was second or third hand. And some of those who had been through the presentation didn't hear or ask the right questions about lower priced west side seats including the chairback and bleacher seats.
I understand the concern and wanted to create this forum where I can try to be of some help to our subscribers.
If you have concerns, please express them here and I will try to be a conduit for providing accurate information and maybe alieviating some of your concerns.
Because I've been a season ticket holder and a donor for nearly 50 years, I have accumualted enough points to have been through the presentation, so to start this thread I'll tell you what I know, which I hope helps, and invite you to share your questions or concerns which I will solicit answers for from the right people at Florida State.
1. Patience will relieve unnecessary anxiety
I suggest you wait to hear the presentation for yourself before you make up your mind.
Right now FSU is only selling club seats, so the prices you are hearing are for club seats ONLY. The next product they will sell is the chairback seats and Champions Club seats but they have not released those prices yet.
What I know is the capital campaign gift will be much lower for these products as will the seat price. If the chairback seat prices are too much for your budget then FSU will get back to you with a bleacher seat price once that product is released for sale. The bleacher seats WILL NOT REQUIRE A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN GIFT.
My number one suggestion is patience as it will take time to get to every one of the seat holders and donors as they are doing the presentations one at a time.
2. Why are they communication it this way?
Why not do a blast communication of every product to every donor and season ticket holder?
Athletic Director Michael Alford has had success running projects like this one at Alabama, Oklahoma and the Dallas Cowboys and has found this the most fair way to do it.
The idea is to start with existing season ticket holders and current Boosters, in priority point order, as each of seven products are released for sale, starting with the highest premium products.
They want to meet individually to communicate the project and the experience they are selling, get a better idea of the experience you want and the budget you can afford. Based on Alford's experience, he believes this is the most fair way to provide existing ticket holders the first opportunity to see each prduct they release and allow the donor/ticket holder the first opportunity to decide if this is the right experience and price point.
If it is not the right experience or price point, as it was not for me, they used the meeting to ask me what experience and price point I would have an interest and will offer that product to me once it is released. While they weren't able to tell me what the price point would be they did give me an assurance it would be less than the club seats and I left the meeting feeling there would be a product to fit my budget.
I personally believe they are doing it this way to sell their premium products first, as those products provide the lion's share of the funding for the project. And, very importantly, this process is an opportunity to meet every donor and ticket holder on a personal basis and get a better idea of their interests and capacity.
3. Where is FSU in the process?
They started with mid-level skyboxes and once they were sold out, went to Founders Loge seats, then club seats where they are more than half sold out today. The seat prices, and capital campaign gift requirment, you are hearing right now are for club seats only.
They have worked through the priority list and I believe are still meeting with the large group of Tomahawk donors now.
FSU has not released the chairback seat prices, or the capital campaign gift requirement yet, so again the prices you are hearing are only for the club seats. The chairback seats will have a much lower campaign gift requirement and seat price.
Once they have the club seats sold out, they will announce the chairback seat prices and begin selling those products in priority point order. Those chairback seats will have a lower seat price than the club seats and a lower capital campaign requirement. They have not released those prices yet.
When they are done selling chairback seats, they will annonce the price of the bleacher seats on the west sideline, which are illustrated on the endzone sidelines. These seats will not require a capital campaign gift but will be wider, with more legroom and have access to all the new concourse, concession and restroom amenities.
4. Why are they rebuilding the west sideline?
There are a couple of reasons which I have some personal knowledge.
a.) Doak is more than 70 years old and the metal structure has served its useful life. I was involved in the last major repair to the stadium, some $20 million dollars in 2016, and I can tell you this is ultimately a longterm maintenance issue. The new structure will be concrete.
b.) The second reason is to provide fans with a better fan experience, wider seats, more leg room, less steep stairs with handrails, more ADA seating, better concessions and restrooms. When done, I believe this will be a much improved experience including in the lower priced bleacher seats.
c.) At the end of the day, the primary reason for pretty much every project is to be able to provide your program with adequate funding and I'm sure this project will be just another source of funding for the football program. Athletics is not a profit making enterprise. Whatever money is generated through tickets, contributions, concessions, etc. is plowed right back into funding 20 men's and women's sports.
5. Financial and emotional reaction
I've been retired from Seminole Boosters since 2019 but have vivid memories of conversations with our ticket holder and donors as we implemented four ticket priority policy changes between 2000 and 2019.
My first assignment was to implement the 2000 ticket priority policy change, which was the first in 25 years. I spent a lot of time on the phone and in meetings listening to both financial and emotional concerns and as a paying season ticket holder and donor, it was easy to have empathy for each person, whether a young family or a retiree, so I get it.
Each of those priority policy changes asked for incremental changes to maintain the same seats with the same experience. This change is more dramatic financially but unlike prior changes will provide fans with a much improved experience, which should not go unnoticed in these discussions but natually does.
If you have concerns, comments or questions, fire away. If I don't know the answer, I know where to find it.
I understand the concern and wanted to create this forum where I can try to be of some help to our subscribers.
If you have concerns, please express them here and I will try to be a conduit for providing accurate information and maybe alieviating some of your concerns.
Because I've been a season ticket holder and a donor for nearly 50 years, I have accumualted enough points to have been through the presentation, so to start this thread I'll tell you what I know, which I hope helps, and invite you to share your questions or concerns which I will solicit answers for from the right people at Florida State.
1. Patience will relieve unnecessary anxiety
I suggest you wait to hear the presentation for yourself before you make up your mind.
Right now FSU is only selling club seats, so the prices you are hearing are for club seats ONLY. The next product they will sell is the chairback seats and Champions Club seats but they have not released those prices yet.
What I know is the capital campaign gift will be much lower for these products as will the seat price. If the chairback seat prices are too much for your budget then FSU will get back to you with a bleacher seat price once that product is released for sale. The bleacher seats WILL NOT REQUIRE A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN GIFT.
My number one suggestion is patience as it will take time to get to every one of the seat holders and donors as they are doing the presentations one at a time.
2. Why are they communication it this way?
Why not do a blast communication of every product to every donor and season ticket holder?
Athletic Director Michael Alford has had success running projects like this one at Alabama, Oklahoma and the Dallas Cowboys and has found this the most fair way to do it.
The idea is to start with existing season ticket holders and current Boosters, in priority point order, as each of seven products are released for sale, starting with the highest premium products.
They want to meet individually to communicate the project and the experience they are selling, get a better idea of the experience you want and the budget you can afford. Based on Alford's experience, he believes this is the most fair way to provide existing ticket holders the first opportunity to see each prduct they release and allow the donor/ticket holder the first opportunity to decide if this is the right experience and price point.
If it is not the right experience or price point, as it was not for me, they used the meeting to ask me what experience and price point I would have an interest and will offer that product to me once it is released. While they weren't able to tell me what the price point would be they did give me an assurance it would be less than the club seats and I left the meeting feeling there would be a product to fit my budget.
I personally believe they are doing it this way to sell their premium products first, as those products provide the lion's share of the funding for the project. And, very importantly, this process is an opportunity to meet every donor and ticket holder on a personal basis and get a better idea of their interests and capacity.
3. Where is FSU in the process?
They started with mid-level skyboxes and once they were sold out, went to Founders Loge seats, then club seats where they are more than half sold out today. The seat prices, and capital campaign gift requirment, you are hearing right now are for club seats only.
They have worked through the priority list and I believe are still meeting with the large group of Tomahawk donors now.
FSU has not released the chairback seat prices, or the capital campaign gift requirement yet, so again the prices you are hearing are only for the club seats. The chairback seats will have a much lower campaign gift requirement and seat price.
Once they have the club seats sold out, they will announce the chairback seat prices and begin selling those products in priority point order. Those chairback seats will have a lower seat price than the club seats and a lower capital campaign requirement. They have not released those prices yet.
When they are done selling chairback seats, they will annonce the price of the bleacher seats on the west sideline, which are illustrated on the endzone sidelines. These seats will not require a capital campaign gift but will be wider, with more legroom and have access to all the new concourse, concession and restroom amenities.
4. Why are they rebuilding the west sideline?
There are a couple of reasons which I have some personal knowledge.
a.) Doak is more than 70 years old and the metal structure has served its useful life. I was involved in the last major repair to the stadium, some $20 million dollars in 2016, and I can tell you this is ultimately a longterm maintenance issue. The new structure will be concrete.
b.) The second reason is to provide fans with a better fan experience, wider seats, more leg room, less steep stairs with handrails, more ADA seating, better concessions and restrooms. When done, I believe this will be a much improved experience including in the lower priced bleacher seats.
c.) At the end of the day, the primary reason for pretty much every project is to be able to provide your program with adequate funding and I'm sure this project will be just another source of funding for the football program. Athletics is not a profit making enterprise. Whatever money is generated through tickets, contributions, concessions, etc. is plowed right back into funding 20 men's and women's sports.
5. Financial and emotional reaction
I've been retired from Seminole Boosters since 2019 but have vivid memories of conversations with our ticket holder and donors as we implemented four ticket priority policy changes between 2000 and 2019.
My first assignment was to implement the 2000 ticket priority policy change, which was the first in 25 years. I spent a lot of time on the phone and in meetings listening to both financial and emotional concerns and as a paying season ticket holder and donor, it was easy to have empathy for each person, whether a young family or a retiree, so I get it.
Each of those priority policy changes asked for incremental changes to maintain the same seats with the same experience. This change is more dramatic financially but unlike prior changes will provide fans with a much improved experience, which should not go unnoticed in these discussions but natually does.
If you have concerns, comments or questions, fire away. If I don't know the answer, I know where to find it.
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