Long believes Pitt will sell out season tickets

By Rob Biertempfel
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, May 28, 2005


Pitt athletic director Jeff Long is expecting big crowds at Heinz Field this fall.
Long said ticket sales for the 2005 football season are on track with where they were a year ago. The university sold 35,000 full-season plans last season, about 8,000 fewer than in 2003.

"But the timing of our campaign and renewals is different now than it was two years ago," Long said. "I expect in the next month we'll catch up and really get more in line with the pace that we set in 2003.

"We will be sold out (of season tickets) this year. I believe that strongly."

One reason for Long's faith is a home schedule that opens with a nationally televised prime-time game against Notre Dame. Another is the arrival of coach Dave Wannstedt.

"Dave is a Pittsburgher and he's very proud of that," Long said. "He loves this place, he loves the university. We've seized upon that and we're marketing our program a little bit differently because of that."

Pitt began its push for football season-ticket renewals in March, just as basketball season was winding down. The campaign begun its second phase over the past few weeks, with a blitz of billboards -- featuring Wannstedt and the new block script "Pitt" logo -- and radio ads geared toward first-time buyers.

The price tag on the two lowest-priced full-season plans, which had been $60 and $99, rose to $85 and $144. The $240 base price for club-level seats (which require an additional donation) stayed steady.

Individual tickets will go on sale in mid-August. A Pitt spokesman said the price for those seats has not been finalized.

Predicting a full house for the Notre Dame game Sept. 3 is a no-brainer. After that, though, it will be a tougher sell.

The rest of the home slate has games against Connecticut, Syracuse, Big East newcomers Cincinnati and South Florida, and former Division I-AA power Youngstown State.

Last season, those five schools had a combined record of 29-29. Even Notre Dame (6-6 last season) is coming off a down year.

The two games on Pitt's schedule that figure to have the most impact on the Big East title chase -- against Louisville and West Virginia -- both will be played on the road.

It fails to mention how many tickets constitute a sell-out. I think Heinz field holds about 65,000. I sure would like to see it filled for the games. Even if Long sells 40,000 tickets, will there be a wak-in crowd of an additional 25,000 for teams like Youngstown State.

I was very pleased to read the other day that Pitt is negotiating with several B10 schools for future dates. It's time they stopped sitting around waiting for PSU. I, for one, would prefer a series with Ohio State. The old man in Happy Valley grows tiresome.