May 29, 2009
Laura Goldman reporting for GamecocksOnline.com
When you walk through Dan West’s front door in Columbia, it’s obvious he’d rather be sitting somewhere other than his couch.
A University of South Carolina graduate, Dan has enjoyed the last 14 years of Gamecock football in seats bought through a friend.
“I just felt it was necessary for me to go out on my own and purchase them so I would have control over my own tickets,” West said.
Director of Revenue Development Jeff Crane says the new Yearly Equitable Seating program makes that possible for Gamecock Club members.
“Since March 1, we’ve had over 600 new people join the Gamecock Club and pick seats,” Crane said.
The interactive YES seating Web site gives donors the opportunity to see exactly what seats are available to them at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“They can look at this map, see what’s available, so the benefit that we have is that we’ve got some great technology to help the donors and give them a better experience,” Crane said.
It’s beneficial for donors like Dan who travel a lot or live out of state.
“It allows me to have total control of my seats as well as total control of the money that I’m spending to purchase these tickets,” West said. “Also, it allows you just to simply click on the seats that are in the section. It tells you the section, the row number, the seat number and you can control everything; it’s at your disposal, at your fingertips. And, you can do it anywhere in the country.”
The YES program not only makes choosing seats easier for donors but paying for them a little easier on the wallet.
“This is the year because in the past, it was a $1,500 Gamecock Club membership to get season tickets. This year, it’s $55,” Crane said.
“There’s no better time to join the University and purchase your tickets because everything’s there for you,” West said. “The seats are available, the technology’s in place to allow you to go on the Web site and make these selections; it just puts you in control.
“And, that’s a great opportunity for a young graduate or someone who graduated many years ago that didn’t have access to their own tickets; now is the time to do it,” West added. “If you want to get premium seats at a great price, also, to have control on where you are going to sit, this is the time.”
Tickets for the 2009 football season are still available. Please call the YES Office at 803.777.7328 or log on to YESdonation.org for more information.
