Syracuse, NY — Syracuse fans have claimed more than 10,000 tickets to the first spring game of the Fran Brown era, a number that should make it the most well-attended spring game in program history.
According to Syracuse.com | Post-Standard records, the school’s high-mark for spring game attendance came in 2005, when 6,029 fans attended amid the buzz and excitement heading into Greg Robinson’s first season.
Syracuse will hold its spring game at 7 pm Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome. It will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
The team is expected to begin playing actual football promptly at 7. In previous years the team began stretching or going through individual drills at the announced time.
The event is expected to include live football, including portions when the team’s starters compete against each other.
Tickets to the game are free but Syracuse is requiring fans to claim them through its website. Free parking will be available in the school’s West lots.
“We didn’t have 10,000 people saying they wanted to come our spring game when I was here,” said Ball, who played for the Orange from 2009 to 2011. “That’s really exciting for us. I would love it. It would be an amazing turnout for us.”
The number of ticket claims is another indication that excitement for the football program continues to swell under Brown, who has injected energy by bringing in Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord as a transfer and quickly putting together the school’s highest-ranked recruiting class in the rankings era.
Ball said the school will have ticket representatives located in Club 44 during the game to meet with fans who are interested in buying tickets and with returning season-ticket holders who want to discuss the school’s re-seating plan and seat selection process.
The building is set to experience another facelift this offseason, this one involving the removal of the Dome’s uncomfortable silver benches and their replacement with individual seats with chairbacks throughout the building. The improvement has been requested frequently by fans over the years.
Ball said Syracuse will begin the process of removing and installing seats after commencement is held on May 12. He said the new seats will be installed before the start of the football season. He said the school is hoping the work will be done in time to hold an open house in August.
The improvements will shrink the number of seats in each row and section of the building. Because of that, returning season-ticket holders won’t be able to purchase the same seats and the school will re-seat all season ticket holders.
Ball said the next key date for current and new season-ticket holders to be aware of arrivals on May 1.
Season-ticket holders must pay for their seats or sign up for a payment plan by that date for their purchases to count toward their donor rank.
Those with better donor ranks will have the opportunity to choose their seats first. The ranking factors in the amount of money each person has given to the school and the number of years they have maintained season-tickets.
Football season-ticket holders will receive their seat selection time on May 13. They will begin picking their seats on May 21. Men’s basketball season-ticket holders will receive their time on July 1 and begin picking their seats July 8.
To help with that process, the school has created virtual models that will show fans the view from each section in football and men’s basketball.
While re-seatings are regular occurrences at some schools across the country, this will be the first at Syracuse. The uniqueness has created anxiety among fans who are worried their gameday traditions will be sacrificed or that they will have to settle for worse seats.
Ball said the school has tried to respond to those concerns.
“At the onset of this I said we’d be the best at customer service,” Ball said. “We didn’t necessarily know what that meant at first because we didn’t know the questions they would have. Now we do. (Fans) are worried about when they will select, if their seats will be available, if they can select the seat they want, how many aisles we have. We are better equipped to answer some of those questions.”
Ball said he does not think most season-ticket holders need to worry about getting substantially worse seats.
The school’s lower bowl was not completely sold out for either football or basketball last season.
While fans might be pushed backward or sideways, he said, it’s unlikely that they will be pushed up levels or get bumped back substantially.
“There’s obviously no guarantee,” Ball said. “But if you are renewing your seats there will likely be a seat that is a comparable location to where you were. So (we are asking you to pay) knowing that you will be around that area. It might not be the first row. But I’m not going to say it’s Row 20 either. I would tell (fans) go through the process and you’ll likely get something that is comparable to where you want to be.”
Ball said the school has done modeling based on last year’s demand for season tickets.
“The model we (used) is placing people in the seats they were in before,” Ball said. “If everyone selects the same exact seat they had, even with the reduction in seats, there are comparable locations in every section.”
One concern raised by fans in a syracuse.com article earlier this year about the process was whether the seat selection process would allow them to maintain seats near relatives or long-time groups of friends.
Ball said ticket-holders in that situation should call their ticket representative. He said the school would note those accounts and try to accommodate those concerns. Syracuse’s ticket office can be reached at 888-DOME-TIX.
“That’s one we’ve heard a lot,” Ball said. “We have been able to flag those accounts and we’ll go in and allow them a way to select together. There are a lot of concerns. The best way to address those concerns is to reach out to us.”
Ball said the school does not have a set policy for how it will deal with any fans who are unhappy with their seat offerings when it comes time for them to choose. He said the school would try work with each customer to find a satisfactory outcome.
As part of the school’s new ticketing plan, access to Club 44 will be granted only to fans who buy seats in select sections of the building.
One of the traditional perks of Club 44 was that it was the only place in the Dome where fans could purchase hard alcohol. That will change this season. Ball said hard alcohol will also be sold at multiple concession stands.
“Our goal is to have the best customer service in Central New York,” Ball said. “If you are unhappy, call our ticket office, and we’ll find a way to make you happy to the best of our ability.”
Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-382-7932
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