University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football games are about to get more expensive, depending on where one parks.
The Stadium Corp. board of directors recommended at Monday's lunchtime meeting to double the parking fee at the north lot of Finley Stadium to $10. The new amount was enacted later after UTC athletic director Rick Hart went back to campus and could not find any literature mailed to season-ticket holders that referenced a $5 charge.
According to Finley Stadium executive director Merrill Eckstein, the north lot has 684 spaces, more than double the size of the next largest lot.
"I don't know if we'll fill it up at 10 bucks a pop or not," Eckstein said. "That remains to be seen, but the point is that it will produce additional revenues out of the parking lots, which, quite frankly, we need."
The north lot filled twice in five Mocs home games last season, including the opener against Glenville State that drew an announced crowd of 14,002. Selling out 684 spaces at $10 a spot would result in an additional $3,420 in parking revenue per game and $17,100 over the course of the 2010 home schedule.
UTC went 6-5 last year in Russ Huesman's first season as head coach and B.J. Coleman's first season at quarterback, which followed an eight-year stretch in which the Mocs went 22-69.
No board member could recall the last price hike for parking at UTC games, and Ryan Crimmins pointed out that $10 still is much less than fees for Tennessee Volunteers games or Atlanta Braves games. Eckstein brought up the parking issue because the amount had coincided the past several years with the least expensive ticket to a Mocs game and that the cheapest ticket recently went up to $6.
Eckstein said he had experienced "humongous negative feedback" to raising the charge in all the lots to $6 because of the inconvenience of changing a $10 or $20 bill. Gordon Davenport felt the hassle could be overcome by adding an extra attendant to each lot, and then Crimmins suggested the premium on the north lot.
Although it was a Stadium Corp. matter, Hart said he had a vested interest in the parking outcome because he cares about the experience people have at UTC games.
"I think a tiered approach makes sense philosophically to me, and I think this is a justifiable change and a reasonable rate to charge," Hart said. "Industry standards, whether it's a sporting event or a concert or whatever special event you're going to - I don't think people are unaccustomed to the closer you get to the facility, the better lit it is, and that the less streets you have to cross, the more you have to pay. "
Said Eckstein: "I am pleased with the compromise. We will generate additional revenue without an additional hassle for the folks who handle selling the parking passes."
Finley's south lot has 293 spots that are reserved for skybox holders and donors who contribute more than $700 to the Mocs Club.
Still aiming high
Hart is hoping for a crowd of 20,000 for the Sept. 4 opener against Appalachian State. Such an audience would be the second-largest ever for a Mocs home game, trailing only the 22,642 who attended Finley's debut contest in 1997.
"I know it's going to be a great crowd, and I know it's going to be a good atmosphere," Hart said, "so regardless of the final number, it's going to be an exciting day."
Single-game tickets for the opener go on sale Thursday.
Odds and ends
The Stadium Corp. wound up with a $15,594 loss in the 2010 fiscal year that ended June 30. Eckstein is projecting an $11,000 surplus for 2011. ... The Stadium Corp. is seeking owners or even renters for two skyboxes that were not renewed recently. ... Friday nights will be busy at Finley with four high school football games and three UTC women's soccer games scheduled.