Athletic director Mike Holder says high ticket prices keep some fans away.
In spite of having the Big 12's smallest stadium and a home schedule that includes dates with Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma, Oklahoma State likely will not have a single sellout crowd this season.
For last week's homecoming loss to A&M, the Cowboys drew a crowd of 43,006 to 43,500-seat Boone Pickens Stadium.
"The problem with the A&M game was, the cheapest ticket you could get was $175," OSU athletic director Mike Holder said. "The only seats left were in donor seating."
For Saturday's 2:30 p.m., ABC-televised meeting with Nebraska, 3,500 tickets were unsold Thursday. About 200 of those tickets are priced at $85. Others are offered at $175, $240 and $425 (for a north-side club seat).
The result of OSU's price increase was a drop in season-ticket sales -- from 37,000 in 2005 to 33,000 this year. Prices for club-level seats were increased by 71 percent. Several hundred of the new north-side club seats were vacant during OSU's home games with Missouri State, Florida Atlantic and Texas A&M.
Holder predicted that there will be empty seats for the Nebraska and OU games. The Sooners visit Stillwater on Nov. 25.
"It won't sell out," Holder said, referring to the Bedlam contest, "unless people come and buy those club seats tomorrow. Where have they been for the last five months?"
The lowest-priced Bedlam ticket is $100.
Holder said OSU will not reduce any ticket prices in order to ensure a Bedlam
sellout.
"That's not fair to the season-ticket holders," he explained. "I'm not going to have a (season-ticket holder) sitting next to someone who paid less money, just because they waited around for a discount.
"People just might as well get ready, because our football team eventually is going to be competitive in the conference. People are going to want the seats. We're not (reducing prices) in the short term. We're just not. We're going to hold the line on what the price is. We're going to uphold the integrity of the pricing structure we have."
Because of the ongoing stadium renovation, OSU's seating capacity has dropped from 48,500 to 43,500. In 2005, the average attendance for six home dates was 44,860. This season's average is 42,456.
While ticket sales declined, an OSU source indicated that ticket revenue will wind up being about $1 million greater than it was in 2005. Holder did not confirm any such increase. "I really haven't looked at it," he said.
Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com
