Georgia hype raises football ticket prices

Athens — Elizabeth Vaeth of Alpharetta was so excited about this University of Georgia football team that she donated $2,500 to the athletics program, hoping that would gain her the right to buy season tickets for the first time.

She got a mid-summer letter thanking her for the contribution — and telling her it wasn’t enough to make the season-ticket cutoff.

“I was disappointed,” said Vaeth, a 1984 UGA graduate, “but at the same time I understood.”

When Georgia opens its season — the first in school history as a consensus preseason No. 1 — against Georgia Southern on Saturday, there won’t be enough room on the bandwagon for everyone.

At least not within 92,746-seat Sanford Stadium.

Despite having 53,480 season tickets for donors — the rest of the seats go to students, faculty/staff, the visiting team and comps — Georgia officials say 611 fans like Vaeth were shut out despite contributing money, generally thousands of dollars, in hopes of becoming new season-ticket holders.

Also, more students sought season tickets than ever before, overwhelming the 18,026-seat student allotment. That resulted in many students receiving unpopular “split packets,” meaning tickets to three home games rather than all six.

For non-student seats, fans must make financial contributions to, in essence, buy the right to buy tickets. After one becomes a season-ticket holder, he or she can keep the right to buy the seat(s) each year by making a prescribed annual contribution — at Georgia, a minimum of $250 per seat, more for prime locations. But becoming a first-time season-ticket holder can be far costlier, especially when a team enters the season with the hype of this Georgia team.

Vaeth had never tried for UGA season tickets before, opting instead to attend one or two games a year by buying tickets from friends or on eBay. But she and her 18-year-old son wanted season tickets this year, she said, “for the same reason everyone else wants them.”

Last year, a $2,500 donation would have been enough to get them. This year, $2,500 wasn’t in the ballpark.

Just 805 season tickets opened up this year, Georgia associate athletics director for external operations Alan Thomas said. Per Georgia’s system, orders for those seats were filled on the basis of cumulative lifetime contributions. The cutoff turned out to be … $10,651.

Thomas admits the first reaction to that number — more than four times last year’s cutoff — generally was “shock.”

He attributed it to “fewer season tickets turning over than usual” — 645 fewer than last year — and “probably our most anticipated football season since 1981,” the season after Georgia won its last national title.

About $26 million was brought in this year via contributions tied to football tickets, up from $23 million last year, Thomas said.

And what about fans who demanded their contribution back after failing to get the desired payoff of season tickets?

“If they ask for the contribution back,” Thomas said, “we give it back.”

About 50 asked.

Vaeth said she didn’t ask. With her $2,500 gift still on the books, maybe she’ll try again for season tickets next year, she said. But she figures she’ll come up short again if this season lives up to its billing.

“I would rather get priced out,” she said, “and win a national championship.”