Revamping Commonwealth Stadium hasn't given a boost to UK football's season ticket sales so far
A surge in construction activity at Commonwealth Stadium hasn't equaled a notable surge in season ticket sales.
Kentucky officials told the Herald-Leader that roughly 38,600 season tickets have been sold as of Thursday, which is just slightly ahead of the pace from this time last season when the school reported it had sold 38,024 tickets.
In the summer of 2013, UK said 37,901 season tickets sold. In 2012, the final season for Joker Phillips, Kentucky officials said they had sold 38,655 by the opener.
Overall ticket sales figures haven't moved dramatically since February when officials noted that 37,109 tickets had been selected and reserved for the newly renovated stadium, which will have its grand opening on Sept. 5 when the Wildcats face Louisiana-Lafayette.
That contest is the start of an eight-game season at Commonwealth Stadium that features marquee games against Florida (Sept. 19), Tennessee (Oct. 31) and Louisville (Nov. 28) as well as the stadium's first-ever Thursday night game on Oct. 15 versus Auburn.
Generally, there is a late surge of season ticket purchases, including students once they return to campus in early August, officials have said in the past.
Students already have had the opportunity to purchase season tickets for the upcoming season and 2,500 have taken advantage (which is included in the official number), UK official Tony Neely confirmed. He did not have an exact figure for how many student seats would be available this season.
Previously, UK has said that the student section would hold somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 seats and be located in the East end zone surrounding the Cats' new recruiting room.
There has been no final word on how many fans the newly renovated and re-ticketed Commonwealth Stadium will hold, but it's expected to have a capacity around 61,000.
Kentucky averaged 57,572 fans in its seven home games last season, with a reported season high of 64,791 against then-No. 1 Mississippi State on Oct. 25.
That number was down slightly from the first season under head coach Mark Stoops when UK averaged 59,472 per game, but construction decreased the number of seats available last season.
Fans can purchase season tickets still by going to UKfootballtix.com or by calling the ticket office at (800) 928-2287.
SEC Media Days
Kentucky defensive tackle Melvin Lewis will be one of 14 featured athletes at the Southeastern Conference Media Days event in Hoover, Ala., from July 13-16, the league office announced on Thursday.
Lewis will be part of the "Beyond The Field: Stories of the SEC" series for his intriguing story off the field.
The senior's story includes growing up in Compton, Calif., and going through two years of junior college before earning his bachelor's degree in community and leadership development from UK recently. Other than the NFL, Lewis' career aspirations include "doing anything to help my community."
This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Revamping Commonwealth Stadium hasn't given a boost to UK football's season ticket sales so far."