UK football season-ticket prices reduced for some parts of Kroger Field in 2020
Season ticket renewals for the University of Kentucky’s 2020 football season begin Saturday. A lower price than last year will be available in some areas of the stadium.
Four whole sections in the upper bowl of Kroger Field — 221, 222, 230 and 231 — were reduced from the second-cheapest tier, $365 in 2019, to $250, the lowest-price tier in 2020. That’s a decrease of about 31 percent and amounts to about $10 less paid per game in 2020 than in 2019 (note: there are seven games on UK’s home schedule this year, one less than in 2019). Parts of sections 204 and 208 that are closer to the field were also reduced — from $665 (about $83 per game) to $565 (about $80 per game). All prices are inclusive of any required K Fund donation and Kentucky sales tax.
Most public seating areas (those that do not require a K Fund donation) will effectively cost the same as last season on a per-game basis. Those areas are $320 per ticket, or about $45 per game. Those seats cost $365 last season, so the 2020 price is technically about 9 cents higher per game this fall.
Every seating level that requires a K Fund donation will see an increase of at least a few dollars, on a per-game basis. The lowest price tier — $440 — averages to about $63 a game; seats in areas of that price tier, which comprise a good chunk of the lower bowl, were $465 last year, an average of about $58 per game.
Fans interested in purchasing new season-ticket packages for 2020 can place deposits for those now; they’ll go on sale in February.
Comparison: 2019 season ticket prices/sections vs. 2020 UK season ticket prices/sections
The most important factor in setting this year’s ticket prices was attempting to accurately reflect demand for seating based on section, as observed before and during the season. It made sense to increase the price of, say, club level seats — which have sold out each season since those seats became available in 2015 — and decrease or maintain ticket prices in the upper level bowl.
“Kentucky football is in the midst of an era of great success, but we believe this program is poised to achieve at an even higher level,” UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart said in a news release. “Our fans and the loyal support they give us have been instrumental in the progress we have made. They will be even more important as we work to take this next step. We thank them for their passionate investment in Kentucky football and look forward to seeing them at Kroger Field this fall.”
Kentucky drew an average announced crowd of 53,128 fans in 2019. That’s about 8,000 fewer than the capacity at Kroger Field; only one game — against Florida on Sept. 14 — was a sellout (an announced crowd of 63,076 saw that one). That was down from an average of 55,120 in 2018 (which was down from 56,468 in 2017).
“When we accurately reflect the ticket value of a seat, that enables us to price single-game tickets more in a way that makes sense and in a way that we don’t undercut ourselves and undercut season-ticket holders and their investment,” UK Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Guy Ramsey told the Herald-Leader. “ ... When someone buys a season ticket, we don’t want to make it retroactively, based on the way that we price our single-game tickets, not worthwhile for that person to have their season tickets. So we need to make sure that we protect that.”
Feedback from season-ticket holders is common, and sometimes starts from a place of anger (Question: Why is someone attending this game at a drastically lower cost than I paid?) before ending in a place of understanding (Answer: because their seat is much further from the field and/or didn’t include additional perks).
“(Fans) understand that a full stadium creates a really good experience for the team, a really good home-field advantage for the team and also just creates a better overall experience for the fans,” Ramsey said. “It’s in everyone’s interest to have a full house.”
Incentives
The rampant availability of sporting events via television broadcasts makes the addition of incentives crucial, if not essential, when schools and professional sports franchises market season (and even single-game) tickets. UK is not unique.
Season-ticket holders from 2019 will be able to renew at a reduced cost for 2020 through Feb. 7. In the last couple of seasons the school has offered facility tours to football season-ticket holders, and hopes to find a way to make that particular experience even richer in the near future.
Season-ticket holders’ names each year are displayed on a “Wall of Commitment” inside Kroger Field; it’s part of a large display that displays former NFL draft picks from the program.
“We want to build a community around our football games and, really, all of our events, and make season-ticket holders an essential part of that,” Ramsey said.
Peeks behind the curtain and early access to buy tickets to the men’s basketball’s intrasquad scrimmage are nice, but a successful team is the reward all seek. Lately, they’ve received.
“I don’t think there’s any better way we can serve our fans than to have a program that’s growing and, we believe, building toward competing for championships,” Ramsey said. “If you look at the progress that we’ve made the last few years, that progress simply does not happen without the investment that our season-ticket holders have made in us and our program. We don’t want to ever disregard that fact.”
Parking information
UK also announced pricing information for parking passes for the 2020 season. Those prices were reduced from 2019 because there is one fewer home game. They ranged from $168 to $3,280 (some passes require a K Fund Donation); click here for a complete parking map with cost, donation requirements and availability.
2020 UK football schedule
Home games in all capital letters. Kickoff times to be announced later.
Sept. 5: EASTERN MICHIGAN
Sept. 12: at Florida
Sept. 19: KENT STATE
Sept. 26: SOUTH CAROLINA
Oct. 3: at Auburn
Oct. 10: EASTERN ILLINOIS
Oct. 17: VANDERBILT
Oct. 24: at Missouri
Oct. 31: Open
Nov. 7: at Tennessee
Nov. 14: MISSISSIPPI STATE
Nov. 21: GEORGIA
Nov. 28: at Louisville
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 2:32 PM.
