In 2018, the Thomasville Bulldogs played host to crosstown-rival Thomas County Central in what is the community’s biggest game of the regular season. That game brought in $65,000 in general-admission ticket sales for Thomasville.
This season, with Thomasville’s attendance currently reduced to 30% capacity because of COVID-19 restrictions, that same matchup Sept. 11 brought in $12,000, according to Bulldogs athletic director Chris Merritt.
That’s one of many examples across the state that shows the financial struggles high school athletic programs face as they balance playing football with taking measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. Reduced stadium capacity isn’t the only factor hurting gate sales. A lot of fans, especially the elderly, are choosing to stay home, sometimes resulting in even limited-capacity games not being sold out. Concession stands are either closed or reduced to pre-packaged food that hurts profit margins.
To combat the loss of football game revenue, which helps fund all athletic programs for most schools, programs are having to turn to alternative resources to stay afloat financially.
“You have to be creative with fundraising,” Merritt said.
Thomasville, which is located 13 miles from the Florida border, held a reverse raffle, where tickets are drawn at random until there’s a single, winning ticket remaining. Milton held a fundraiser selling face masks with the team logo.
At Dalton, 20 miles from the Tennessee border, the first home game was against Calhoun on Sept. 4. In a normal season, that game between the northwest Georgia rivals could expect to yield almost $40,000 in ticket sales. Operating at 50% stadium capacity, Catamounts athletic director Jeff McKinney was hopeful this year’s game would bring $20,000.
It brought in $16,000.
“We haven’t found a way to replace (the lost revenue) yet, but we’re going to have to,” McKinney said. “We’re already planning fundraisers we don’t normally do to meet our spring sports needs. We hope we don’t see any downfall, but it’s going to take a lot of work from the community, the kids and the coaches.”
Milton, where Fulton County Schools are operating at 30% capacity, is in a little better of a situation with its springs sports because some of their programs — including their perennially nationally ranked lacrosse teams — are self-sustaining. But those teams also took a hit when spring sports were canceled last school year.
“We’re not losing a lot of money, but we’re not putting any away either,” Milton athletic director Gary Sylvestri said. “And we’re cutting back where we can. For example, we’ll have eight people working the gates instead of 10. Fewer custodians ... wherever we can save.”
The Eagles were scheduled to play a road game against a school in Virginia this season, but Fulton County Schools banned out-of-state travel. Sylvestri said that decision was a blessing in disguise because it was a significant cost-cutter.
Sylvestri said boosters have come forward offering financial assistance.
“We need the booster clubs more than ever,” Sylvestri said. “Our community is amazing, and they are rallying around the team. We tell them we need help and sponsors are taking care of pregame meals; boosters are paying for more things the school would normally pay for, like apparel, and they even offered to pay game officials fees.”
“We have very strong support from our community,” Thomasville’s Merritt said. “Our boosters, local businesses, alumni, stakeholders — they all want to help the kids. Some of our older boosters, for example, bought season tickets knowing they wouldn’t be able to attend, just to support the team. The community has stepped up and said, ‘We will take this on with you.’”
Despite the losses at Dalton, McKinney has a positive outlook.
“I’m very optimistic,” he said. “We have a job to provide for our kids, and we’re going to make that happen. I’m optimistic our country will get an antidote and that it will hopefully clear a way to get back to normal. What normal looks like in the future is still unknown, but I’m very optimistic, and I’ve always been that way.”
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