Ticket sales trending lower than expected for Kansas State football games
There is a countdown clock not far from Gene Taylor’s office that he looks at every day when he arrives for work.
In the past, Kansas State’s athletic director didn’t pay much attention to it. Like everyone else before the coronavirus pandemic, he used to take it for granted that those red digital numbers would eventually hit zero and the Wildcats would play their next football game as originally scheduled.
These days, he crosses his fingers every time he walks past.
Taylor is more optimistic than ever that K-State will indeed begin the 2020 season against Arkansas State on Sept. 12 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, but some doubt remains. For now, the Wildcats are forging ahead with new COVID-19 safety protocols and modified ticket plans that will make football possible this fall.
The biggest change: K-State is only selling approximately 12,500 tickets to each of its five home games instead of the usual 50,000. Dropping fan capacity to 25% has created headaches for K-State fans and administrators alike.
So much so, in fact, that there might not be enough demand for even this limited supply.
“Ticket sales have been trending a little lower than we hoped,” Taylor said during a phone interview Wednesday. “I will be surprised if we get to the 25%.”
K-State officials won’t know for sure how many extra tickets they will have until Wednesday evening, at the earliest, after the deadline for season-ticket holders to purchase mini-plans for games this season expires. Prices for those plans range from $150 to $360 per ticket depending on location. Fans could choose between a three-game plan of games (Arkansas State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State) or a two-game plan (Kansas, Texas).
It appears the Wildcats won’t sellout their allotment the first time through.
There are obvious reasons for the slow sales. For starters, some fans simply don’t think it is safe to attend football games during a pandemic. Others have questions about K-State’s ticket options and need as much time as possible to make a decision on the available mini-plans. Enhanced safety protocols such as masks, social distancing and no tailgating may also hinder attendance.
K-State is rolling over all of its current season ticket and parking locations to the 2021 season and allowing season-ticket holders to donate their current ticket payment and Ahearn Fund donation to the athletic department. They can also roll over their payment for the 2021 season or request a refund.
So what happens if K-State has leftover tickets at this time next week?
“We have to decide how close we are to the 25% capacity,” Taylor said. “If we are at 23%, we will just stop there. Anything else we might do would potentially put us over the limit and there’s not really a fair manner for everyone to get a chance at those tickets.”
“If we are way low, we may go back to those original season-ticket holders and see if they want to buy extra tickets or buy the other package.”
One thing Taylor said the Wildcats won’t do is offer tickets on a single-game basis. Anyone hoping to purchase tickets to only the most attractive games on the schedule is out of luck.
“From a priority perspective and just a consistency perspective, I don’t see us ever opening it up like that,” Taylor said, “no matter what the percentage is.”
Perhaps students might get another crack at tickets? Any student who purchased a season pass earlier this summer will receive a ticket to all five of K-State’s home games this season, but the deadline for that offer has expired.
Whatever the case, Taylor believes K-State has a good plan for hosting fans under difficult circumstances.
He hopes K-State fans will feel comfortable spreading out in sections and watching games while practicing social distancing. Instead of specific seat assignments, all tickets will be general admission to a specific section this season. That means anyone with a ticket in Section 14 can sit wherever he or she pleases, so long as they are sitting with a small group of family members or roommates and giving other groups around them adequate space.
Masks will be required at most times, with security staff offering friendly reminders to fans to wear them, but Taylor said fans will be allowed to take them off while eating food or when they are far removed from other fans.
K-State will take safety protocol seriously, as the school needed special permission from county officials to host more than 2,000 fans at games this season. If a COVID-19 spike is traced back to a Wildcats football game, the county can always lower fan capacity for future games.
Still, Taylor is confident the Wildcats can pull off football with fans in the stands starting next month, even if he occasionally crosses his fingers in front of a countdown clock.
“We have such a loyal fan base,” Taylor said. “I know there are a number of people who will be able to come as along as we can do it safely. That‘s why we put the protocols in there.
“I think it is fair to have fans, because we have a big area that they can spread out and be socially distant. If we were a smaller venue, I could understand it. I think we know enough now with all the mask rules and everything else we are doing that we can have fans and do it safely.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Ticket sales trending lower than expected for Kansas State football games."