The Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry game is less than a month away and tickets for the Nov. 21 matchup will cost both Lehigh and Lafayette students $31 this year.
“We sell roughly 3,000 student tickets per year, on average, over the last 20 years,” said Rich Haas, Lehigh’s assistant director for sales and marketing. “The price was increased by a few dollars three years ago due to a combination of a new Bethlehem City Amusement tax and the per-ticket fee increase by our ticketing company. Prior to that, it hadn’t been raised in eight years since the t-shirts were introduced.”
Haas strongly emphasized the athletic department’s fundamental belief that the game is primarily for students.
“Since they only have four years here to experience it as undergrad, we want to make sure they get every chance to enjoy the game,” Haas said. Because of this reasoning, students receive the highest percentage of tickets of any group, along with receiving a discounted ticket price accompanied by the t-shirt.
Max DeZarn, the president of the Class of 2016, expressed curiosity as to why this game is charged in comparison to the other season games that are not charged, but he recognizes the reasoning for it.
“Honestly, $3 more to me is not really a big deal,” he said. “Do I wish the price were always at the lowest possible cost? Of course, but I understand the reasoning behind it all, and it is a fun rivalry so I get it.”
All other Lehigh athletic events are free of charge for students. However, Haas said this game is the exception because it gets sold out almost every year. Although rivals, Lehigh’s and Lafayette’s athletic departments work together in terms of negotiating ticket prices, as well as the number of tickets that are allowed to be sold at a reduced rate for students.
Haas mentioned the additional benefits that are paid for by the hosting Lehigh athletic department including: tailgate set up and cleanup costs, bus transportation to and from the game, increased safety and security for the larger crowd, and increased entertainment such as on-field speakers for louder music in the student section.
The additional rivalry t-shirt was implemented about eight years ago and intentionally included in the $31 ticket fee in order to help improve student spirit, as it provides thousands of students with identical brown t-shirts to be worn at the game, future Brown and White Fridays and around campus for years after the game as alumni.
“I’m only here for four years, so if that means paying $31 for an exciting rival game that I know almost everyone is going to be at, I’ll do it,” DeZarn said. “It’s not like we get charged for any other game, plus, hey, I’ll take a free t-shirt and cheer on my beloved Mountain Hawks.”
Haas made it clear that the goal is for students not to be worried or solely focused on paying for the tickets but for the students, families and fans to know that unlike Yankee Stadium, which has the capacity of 49,642 people, Lehigh’s Goodman Stadium only holds 16,000 people. He said Lehigh’s and Lafayette’s athletic departments have earnestly worked and negotiated the most fair and encouraging deal for the Lehigh-Lafayette 151st rivalry game as best as they could in order for all fans to enjoy the experience, according to Haas.
While tickets are expected to sell out shortly, they are still available and students should check their email from Lehigh Athletics for their promo code, or email [email protected] to get their code.
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