COLUMBUS – Buckeye football fans who want to buy season tickets for some of the best seats at The Horseshoe will pay extra for that access beginning in 2022 to help fund athletic scholarships.
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A tiered ticket plan that university trustees approved Thursday requires a per-seat contribution of up to $1,500 in addition to the ticket price for top-tier seats at Ohio Stadium.
Athletic director Gene Smith says that’s more in line with what other large schools do and will lower season ticket prices in less desirable sections.
He says the change isn’t related to his department’s revenue deficit from the pandemic, which is estimated at $60 million this year, but instead modernizes a system the university counts on to provide $29 million in athletic scholarships.
Under the plan, Ohio Stadium will be divided into six pricing zones instead of the current two and each zone will have a different annual per-seat contribution and ticket price. The per-seat contributions will range from $0 to $1,500, athletic department spokesman Jerry Emig said.
According to the Department of Athletics, one-third of current season ticket holders will pay less for their same seats and more than 14,000 season ticket locations will be available to the general public without an annual contribution beyond the cost of the tickets.