2019 season ticket sales have dropped about 15% from last year’s season ticket sales for San Diego State football.
To date, 11,658 season tickets have been sold so far this year. That’s down from 13,648 season tickets from the 2018 season, about a 2,000 ticket difference.
However, people are still able to purchase season tickets through October, so there is a chance this year’s sales could pick up.
It is not unusual for season ticket sales to fluctuate from year to year, Executive Associate Athletic Director for External Relations Steve Schnall said. He said 15% is a daunting number that can be made up with individual game sales.
“This year we’re down a little bit,” he said. “I’m sure there are several factors.”
One of those factors could be the opponents SDSU football is playing at home this season.
“It’s always about who we play and obviously, people get to decide whether they want to get seasons or just basically cherry-pick individual games,” Schnall said.
Schnall said another potential reason for the decline is because six games will be played at SDCCU Stadium this year — one less game from 2018.
SDSU football head coach Rocky Long said in a press conference he isn’t worried about ticket sales. He said he was surprised that many tickets were even sold given SDCCU stadium’s age and size.
“Right now you can show up five minutes before the game and get the best seat in the house,” Long said. “So why would you buy a season ticket? I wouldn’t even buy a season ticket.”
Consecutive season ticket owners, current season ticket owners and those who donate to the athletic department will have greater access to seats in the new stadium. Schnall said more information about that access and what this entails will be revealed in November.
“We’re basing the ability to get tickets at the new stadium, which will open in 2022, based on being a season ticket holder this year moving forward,” Schnall said. “So, the more consecutive years you have season tickets, the better your standing to purchase tickets at the new stadium.”
SDSU anticipates their new stadium to hold 35,000 fans, according to a university press release. That’s about half of the current capacity at SDCCU Stadium. At SDSU football’s Fan Fest last month, Director of Athletics J.D. Wicker said 5,000 of those seats would be reserved for SDSU students.
James Spitzer is a father to a current SDSU student, the husband of an SDSU alumnus and has been a season ticket owner since 1992. Spitzer said there isn’t much offered in regards to home games, a situation that’s made worse given the condition of the stadium.
“The TVs in front of our seats doesn’t work, [there are] broken cup holders,” Spritzer said. “I mean, the stadium is falling apart. You can tell that nobody is putting any money into it.”
He said he has requested multiple times for the cup holder to be fixed over the years, but the issue persists.
“Why would you put money into a stadium that right now you’re the only tenant at?” Spitzer said.
SDSU alumnus Nick Hernandez had season tickets for two years but said he decided not to renew this year because of the home slate. Hernandez said the product they’ve been getting hasn’t been very good and that ticket sales fluctuate with performance.
“If you’re going to be the only ticket in town, you have to at least draw people to the ticket,” Hernandez said. “You can’t live solely based on ‘we’re the only team in town.’”
Despite the decrease in sales, Long said current season ticket sales indicate great fan support.
“You can talk about going down 15% or not, I’m shocked that we sell that many tickets with the stadium situation,” Long said. “And I’m damn happy that we sell that many season tickets with the stadium situation.”
