Ok Zipp give me the run down never had season tickets before. I moved back this way when I retired from the Navy in 06. I do go to games when I can, try to travel when we have away games also. Need feed back on this.
Distills down to three issues IMO...
- Do you need/want the tax deductibility of a large portion of what you pay?
- Do you want tickets in your name and the "security" of having them every year?
- Are you willing to work a little?
If "not necessarily" is the answer to the first two and "maybe" for the third, you can likely buy in the secondary market for less and get more. I was a season ticket holder (primary buyer) in basketball for a long time. Now, I'm exclusively buying those tickets in the secondary market and getting a lot more value for money.
You may get a seller who wants to sell to you every year, or you may have to be a little flexible and sit in different locations--but all of them CHOICE locations. I have maybe missed one or two good basketball games that I wanted to see over the last five years. You have to advertise yourself and develop a little bit of a network. I keep a record of contacts, and now, I have sellers calling me when they need a quick sale. And obviously, U of L won't help you with this.
I'll give you an idea of what I'm talking about in football... I sell a pair of tickets in the B&W Club at the 40-yard line every year to the same buyer. He pays me $600 per seat plus the cost of the tickets and parking pass. His parking space is near the CardMarch. That outlay is in line with what you're paying in an endzone club but with no initial donation and probably with inferior parking.
I don't want to undermine U of L's financials. But if you're buying in the secondary market, the way I see it, you're supporting the primary buyers who otherwise might not buy at all. We're just little pieces of a big expensive puzzle, wherever we fit in. I'd encourage anyone to strike out on their own. If you can hand someone an envelope of $100 bills, you can get a long way toward what you want...