Thursday August 16, 2007

IPTAY Seat Equity Plan

A Little More In-Depth Look at the Seat Equity Plan
Next week Clemson University Athletic Department and IPTAY will unveil the much anticipated seat equity plan for tickets beginning in 2008. I have an advanced copy of the plan and hope to shed some light on the matter and hopefully be helpful to you as you prepare for the release next week.

First let me say that I consider myself of average intelligence (some might argue for the lower end of average) but I still have a hard time understanding all of the number crunching and statistics involved. I have taken a few hours and studied the 37-slide Power Point presentation that you will see next week and have a clear understanding of the objectives and the implementation of the plan. I also believe that I may have more questions in the future once I get more of a grasp on the specifics.

Today, I will try to give you some of the basics of the plan but I encourage you to wait until you see the entire plan before you formulate your opinion. Also I encourage you to take time next week to research all of the material you will be given and then apply your situation and see where you stand before you formulate your opinion.

In defense of the policy we should understand that this was a long and difficult process. They have done countless hours of research and have come up with a plan that they think is fair to almost all involved. There will be individual cases pop up but they have considered what is best for Clemson, IPTAY, the Athletic Department and the supporters of the program.

I cringe when I hear the argument, “Well, everyone else is doing it.” But this is the case with this issue. Clemson is one of the final major programs in the country to take this action.

Allow me to outline a few areas and hopefully provide some helpful information about the plan.

The Objective:
*Align Clemson with other BCS schools. Clemson is the only top 20 school in terms attendance that has not implemented a new plan.

*Create the least amount of problems for all.

*Provide opportunities for larger donors to purchase better seats.

*Reward longevity and loyalty.

*Generate revenue.

What This Does Not Do
*This is not a re-seating. You will be given a chance to remain in your current seats.

*This is not a PSL (Personal Seat License) like some have implemented.

*They did not make different prices for different seat locations.

*They did not sit back with the status quo and get lapped in the process.

*According to the data I have received, only 37% of the ticket holders will be financially impacted.

*However, it really affects everyone because for the first time in a long time you now have incentive to give more if you wanted to get better tickets. In the past it was difficult for some to see the need to give more if they would not personally benefit. Now some will not feel shutout by the process and will have the opportunity to give more and receive more.

What is Right About This
*I think loyalty is important but so is fairness. Is it fair that someone may be a Heisman Donor ($10,000) and sit in the upper deck while some give $140 and sit on the 50-yard line?

*This season 774 tickets between the 25-yard lines will be given to those who give $140 a year while five people that give $10,000 have tickets in the upper decks.

The Competition Still Charges More
They studied all of the top 25 powers and the competition in the ACC and SEC and found that an average ticket on the 35-yard line at Clemson will still be lower than Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and Florida State. Here are the numbers for an average combined cost of a ticket plus donations per ticket on the 35-yard line would cost at the competition:

Tennessee-$1,546
Georgia-$1,157.50
Florida-$1,157.50
South Carolina-$995.00
Virginia-$850.00
Florida State-$713.00
Clemson-$649.00

What to Expect Next Week
You will be flooded with information next week. They will have a press conference that will allow access to the print and electronic media in an attempt that they will help relay the information to the public.

You will also get a full and detailed account of the new plan in next week’s Orange and White. Also www.clemsontigers.com will have a presentation segment on the new plan.

Options
After you acquire the information you need for your personal situation you will have four options:

Option 1-Retain your current seats by making the required contribution to the IPTAY Seat Equity Plan.

Option 2-Move to an area that has been identified as premium seating or upgrade to better seats.

Option 3-Move to an area that requires a lower priority contribution or downgrade.

Option 4- Move to an area that has less or no priority contribution.

Summary
I have seen the charts and graphs for each section and each level of commitment but it would be too difficult to get into each here on this space. You will have to research your situation next week but I wanted to give you a little heads up on what to look for and what you will hear. Hopefully this has been helpful.

Not everyone will be happy but the only perfection solution that would make everyone happy is to have a stadium with 85,000 seats on the 50-yard line and we know that stadium would look funny. So they have spent time to develop a plan that will benefit the most. I hope you are one of the ones that will benefit from the new plan. One thing I think most can agree on is the idea of IPTAY and the students athletes will benefit and that is more important than any one individual’s needs.

One final note, Bill D’Andrea is coming on our morning show tomorrow (Friday at 7:00 am). If you have anything you would like us to ask concerning this issue please feel free to post below or e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com and I will try to get your question answered. You can hear the show in the upstate on 104.9 FM or online at www.wccpfm.com.

864-834-6060

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency