KU to install ‘per-seat donation model’ for basketball, football ticketing in 2025-26
Kansas Athletics will implement a “per-seat donation model” for each individual seat at Allen Fieldhouse and David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium starting in the 2025-26 school year, KU athletic director Travis Goff has announced in an letter to ticket holders.
KU Athletics explained on its website that a per-seat-donation model (PSD) is “a new process in which fans will pay a transparent, total cost for each individual seat in Allen Fieldhouse and David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. The total price per seat will include both the season ticket cost and required donation (also known as the per-seat donation). The per-seat cost will vary based on location at each venue.”
According to the KU PSD model overview directed to ticket holders, one’s “total per-seat donation amount will be combined with any other Williams Educational Fund contributions you make to determine your annual giving level, enhancing your Williams Education Fund priority ranking, which will still be used to determine your seating and parking selection priority, postseason ticket priority and grant access to many other donor benefits.”
The way it will work is a person purchasing a season-ticket seat at, say, a men’s basketball game, would be charged the total season ticket price plus the per-seat donation.
In a letter to fans issued on Wednesday, Goff wrote to KU ticket holders: “We will be introducing a per-seat donation model in 2025-26 for Allen Fieldhouse and Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. This will result in a simplified and more transparent system for season ticket holders. Each season ticket in Allen Fieldhouse and Memorial Stadium will have an assigned value that includes both the ticket price and the required donation. More details about pricing at Allen Fieldhouse will be shared in the coming weeks. Please note, however, that the per-seat donation model will not be implemented until the 2025-26 season.”
It should be noted single-game tickets will not require a per-seat donation.
Goff said as far as the upcoming 2024-25 hoops season, because of “a new seating configuration in Allen Fieldhouse, we will be re-seating that venue for the 2024-25 men’s basketball season with a few exceptions. Season ticket holders meeting the following criteria will be entitled to keep their same seat provided that they maintain the same donor level for the 2024 fund drive year: 1.) donate at the Hall of Fame Level. 2.) have cumulative lifetime giving of at least $575,000 or 3.) point totals ranking in the top 100 accounts. All other season ticket holders will be assigned a time to participate in Select-A-Seat later this summer.”
The fieldhouse capacity will switch from 16,300 to 15,300.
A current $55 million construction project in the fieldhouse is scheduled to be completed in time for Late Night in the Phog on Oct. 18. The Phase One renovation of Booth Memorial Stadium will be finished in August of 2025.
“We have undertaken two ambitious capital projects that will not only ensure the future success of our athletics program but also significantly enhance your overall fan experience,” Goff wrote in his letter to ticket holders.
“When you return to Allen Fieldhouse this fall, you will experience a new videoboard, improved lighting and audio, enhanced hospitality options and seating reconfigurations. Moreover construction progress continues on the Gateway District and the reimagined David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which will welcome fans in the fall of 2025.”
As far as the 2024-25 re-seat of Allen Fieldhouse, KU indicated on its website on Wednesday: “The re-seating process, known as Select-a-Seat, will take place online via a 3-D seating diagram of Allen Fieldhouse, developed by Ballena Technologies, Inc. Anyone who purchases season tickets and makes a contribution will receive an email when the selection website is available for viewing. At that time, additional information will be provided on how to use the site. Season ticket holders will be encouraged to go online and familiarize themselves with the map before the Select-a-Seat process begins.”
Kansas State has a priority seating system in place that, according to the Ahearn Fund website, “ties certain seat locations in Bill Snyder Family Stadium and Bramlage Coliseum with a minimum per-seat contribution to the Ahearn Fund. The priority seating model asks that season ticket holders be Ahearn Fund members at a certain level to maintain their seating in these premier locations. Ahearn Fund members who meet these minimum annual contribution will have the opportunity to renew their seats each year. Contributions made for priority seating count toward your total Ahearn Fund annual membership level and also earn priority points.”
Of KU going to its own per-seat donation model, Jason Booker, KU’s deputy athletic director for external affairs and revenue generation, said: “I think the biggest thing is it is transparent. Transparency was the biggest thing for us so the people knew how much each seat was going to cost. Looking at the pricing modeling there are a lot of people who are going to pay less. There are some people that may pay more. At the end of the day this wasn’t about driving incremental revenue. This was about trying to be more transparent so the people knew when they donated where their tickets were going to be. The thought was we are not trying to increase or raise prices so to speak, it’s to be more transparent about what each seat’s value is.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2024 at 8:10 PM with the headline "KU to install ‘per-seat donation model’ for basketball, football ticketing in 2025-26."
