Attention season-ticket holders! The deadline for Beaver Stadium’s Seat Transfer and Equity Program (STEP) applications is soon upon us. June 30th marks the last day for season-ticket holders to initiate a one-time transfer of their  seats.

Folks, this is the only time to transfer seats to family or friends, and now it is a bit more costly.  Some fans will be paying upwards of $2,000 in the form of a donation to allow a loved-one to take their seat.

“From our standpoint, it really came down to two things: finance and fairness,” said Greg Myford, Penn State’s associate athletic director for business relations and communications. “We consistently hear, ‘Why should we pay more for football tickets when our tax dollars fund the athletic program? That says we need to do a better job of explaining how we’re funded.”

Penn State’s athletic department does not receive any money from the University or Pennsylvania taxpayers, according to Myford.

“And as for the fairness issue, for the first time, we’re doing what is commonplace in the sports and entertainment industry worldwide,” Myford said. “We’re aligning the annual donation and costs associated with a football ticket with where that ticket is located inside Beaver Stadium.

Many season-ticket holders believe fairness is nowhere in this equation and loyalty is now a concern.  Fans only paid $23 per game in 1993, and in 2011 could be paying more than $2,000 in addition to the $55 ticket price, an increase that will likely see even more backlash.

To counteract, STEP will be conducting 30-minute meetings that explain the STEP program with information sessions and a seat selection seminar.  These meetings will be held prior to each “Evening with Joe Paterno”.

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