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Courtside seats are revenue producers Saturday, Feb 16, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - Instead of faces, I kept seeing dollar signs. Big Orange ones. Looking at the same scene in Knoxville, Tenn., Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long might envision a new revenue stream for the Razorbacks. Without being specific, he mentioned in a recent interview that his job includes the pursuit of fresh income and I wondered if there might be some changes in store for Walton Arena. To the right of Tom Hammond and Larry Conley, doing the Arkansas-Tennessee game for TV, there were 28 sturdy folding chairs. To the left, there were about 18 more. Those are the courtside seats that the green-clad ushers whisper about. Somebody called them "Jack Nicholson" seats. They cost $40,000 up front with an annual renewal fee of $10,000. If one ever becomes available, there might even be a one-time capital gift involved. Slightly elevated and just behind is another row of about 50 seats. They are the cheap ones, supposedly $30,000 to purchase and $7,500 per year to keep. The price tag is the same at Rupp Arena, one of the greenies offered. Seats up against the sideline offer a deluxe view of basketball, and a dismal view of football. Selling courtside space at Walton would mean bumping the media, scouts, and others off the first two rows cross-court from the team benches, but the media "works" behind the baseline at Tennessee and at other Southeastern Conference schools. It's also that way when Arkansas plays at Alltel. At Auburn and Texas, the seats are in the corners. For their money, Tennessee's high rollers also get a scrumptious pre-game meal in an appropriately exclusive area and some words from head coach Bruce Pearl or an assistant. Across the court, right in front of Arkansas announcers Mike Nail and Rick Schaeffer, the nifty electronic display rotated from ice cream, to a financial institution, to a soft drink. That, too, could be another cash register ringer at Walton. On that same side of Thompson-Bolling Arena, up in the overhang, there are about 200 club seats behind glass. Supposedly, they went for $4,000 per and the "Sold Out" sign went up after six weeks. Just above that section are two sets of suites, 32 in all, added during a recent $15 million renovation that included a conversion to all-black seats. To make room for the suites, UT reduced the arena capacity from 24,535 to 21,000. It took a while to get around to taking a gander at the suspended scoreboard, a monstrosity of a thing with lots of graphics and a high-def picture that is crystal whether the subject is a JaJuan Smith 3 or a couple on Kiss Cam. The scoreboard dangles from a roof that was reinforced so that Tennessee can make better use of the arena by scheduling more concerts and other shows, even a three-ring circus. There is a sense of community obligation and the UT Athletic Department is responsible for any deficit, usually $1 million or so per year. This weekend, there is a Motocross. On March 1, the Blue Man Group is in town. The next day, Kentucky is in for basketball. In years past, scheduling a stage show the day prior to any game would have been frowned on because the players would have been banished to 50-year-old Stokely Athletic Center to practice. Now, the Vols have a new practice facility - actually two courts end to end - built on a parking lot hard by Thompson-Bolling. When the Ohio State Buckeyes came to Knoxville and wanted a shoot-around the day before, they used the practice pavilion, which includes goals identical to those in the arena. In an interview with Alex Abrams of The Morning News, Long touched on projects that are ongoing and renovations to come. He also mentioned the possibility of a practice facility for basketball. "How far down the line, I can't say at this point, but that is a facility that many campuses have these days," he said. Before next year, he might look at rearranging the student section. At Knoxville, behind a basket, the students are on risers, an inducement to stand throughout and participate. Shooting at the frenetic orange and white, Arkansas made 11-of-20 free throws on Wednesday night. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
