Ticket sales up from last year

Anticipation for football and convenience contributes to high sales

By Maggie Thach
The Collegian

There are 16 days until the football home opener at Bulldog Stadium against Weber State. So far 25,477 tickets, 560 of them student season tickets and 190 student guest tickets, have been sold. Matt Gonzales, who sells tickets on the on-campus ticket booth outside of the Kennel bookstore, thinks sales are up from last year because of the success of last year’s team and the ticket office’s effort to make tickets easier for students to obtain.

“There is definitely more people,” Gonzales said. “We actually ran out of applications for season tickets today. I guess it’s just the overall anticipation.”

This year, the Bulldogs ticket office has started a Web site where students can get some of the 4,000 tickets reserved for them. Group seating is also available online for friends who want to sit together.

Tickets are available at the ticket office but Gonzales said the on-campus booth will reach out to more students.

“It’s more of a convenience,” Gonzales said. “Students can come and pick up their books, get their tickets and then go get Taco Bell.”

Steve Weakland, assistant athletic director, said students should take advantage of the six-game package deal on sale for $75.

“At other schools, students are paying for maybe three times as much,” Weakland said. “They are good seats. They’re right behind the team bench. It’s a great deal.”

Pat Hill, head football coach, wants to see more students at football games. When he first started coaching at Fresno State eight years ago, there were about 300 students coming to game. Now, the number has grown to more than 3,000.

“We still need to get more students out there,” Hill said. “The student section adds to the game atmosphere. They have prime seats. You can’t get better than that.”

The on-campus ticket booth will remain on campus for the remainder of the week and next week. Tickets can also be purchased by phone or online.