---

STAR-BULLETIN / FEBRUARY 2002 This year's University of Hawaii football season includes seven home games played at Aloha Stadium -- but many longtime fans are refusing to renew their season tickets because of higher ticket prices.

---

Season ticket sales
for UH drop

Price increases are causing
many fans to not renew

Henry Fujita was given two choices: pay more for his prime Aloha Stadium seats, or move to another section. He picked a third option.

"I decided, forget it. I'm not renewing," the former University of Hawaii football season-ticket holder said.

Declining sales UH season-ticket sales over the past five years. 2001-02 figures are estimates. 2005 *19,195 2004 22,684 2003 23,834 2002 24,500 2001 24,000 * As of yesterday

Many other fans made the same decision last spring when their renewal forms came in the mail. UH announced yesterday only 19,195 season tickets have been sold for the Warriors' seven-game home schedule that starts Sept. 3 against national champion Southern California. (Around 41,000 tickets have been distributed for the USC game, and it could be a sellout.)

The 15 percent drop-off is the steepest in three consecutive years of decline, and sales have been falling steadily since the early 1990s.

"Any time you're not able to sustain the number from the year before, it's reason for pause," UH athletic director Herman Frazier said. "But we knew going in we might lose some numbers. It's not something we'll beat our chest over, obviously."

Frazier expected a drop-off because ticket prices -- and premium seat donations to buy them, called licenses -- have increased dramatically. Last year, donations ranged from $30 to $300.

Now, some of the best seats, like Fujita's, are going to corporate entities that can afford even higher price tags: from $5,000 to $20,000, according to UH.

UH announced last week that it had sold out the 167 major donor packages that include season tickets, parking and other benefits for football and other sports. It estimated that $2.5 million would be added to the athletic department's 2005-2006 revenue with the sales.

Yesterday, Frazier said football season-ticket sales had totaled $4.75 million. He projected $5 million in total football ticket sales for 2005-2006 in his plan to bring the department out of deficit.

"Revenue is holding where we thought," Frazier said. "We haven't lost revenue."

UH has, however, lost some fans. And Fujita, a 62-year-old retiree who lives in Salt Lake, is among many teetering on the edge. He liked the seats he and his wife sat in for three years (and which his brother had for 10 years previously) in Section PP.

"Only if there was Kona wind would the rain hit us, and we liked the people around us. They're good seats," he said. "They asked if we wanted seats in another area -- nothing for the inconvenience. They told me how much to stay there, and I said, 'You got to be kidding.'"

Fujita will probably watch the USC game on TV to "see how bad they lose," he said. "Maybe if they're lucky, they'll hold them under 70 (points)."

Willie Davis, 60, of Pearl City said he had been a season-ticket holder since 1975. But he did not renew this year, mostly because many of his friends did not. He and his wife and two other couples who used to go to every game will watch them on pay-per-view instead.

"I kind of understand the university's side of it, but I think they should look at how people have supported them for a long time, back to before they were Division I," Davis said. "We want to show loyalty to the team, but they shouldn't forget the ones who have been supporting the team pre-June Jones, maybe even before Dick Tomey time. Even (Fred) vonAppen. It was very disgusting sitting through 0-12. The university should look at giving us some kind of break. It's just unfair to people like us. Good people are getting penalized."

Stanley Tamura, 62, of Aiea renewed his tickets for $1,700 this year but said it might be the last time.

"I'm kind of upset because they're saying I might not get a parking pass next year; it might go to a bigger donor," he said. "They're telling me they don't care how long I've been here -- I'm out if someone else gives them more money. That's the way they're coming across."

Tamura said he knows 15 people who did not renew their tickets this year.

Frazier said athletic department officials and football coaches call every previous purchaser of season tickets who does not renew.

"We pride ourselves on that," Frazier said. "It's all hands on deck and everyone gets their stack. Everybody gets a call, and we keep cards to track it."

He said fans getting "out-priced of their seats" is unfortunate, but there are many other ways they can continue to enjoy UH sports.

"Our program is viable in many ways," Frazier said. "There are many contests other than football they can come to. They can pick up single (football) games; they can also get a WAC Pack or the Credit Back card (promotions for discounts on packages of several games)."