By Staff
Athletic Management, 15.6, October/November 2003, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/am/am1506/wuseats.htm
This summer, the University of Kansas did something many other schools have done. It told some of it men’s basketball season-ticket holders that they would be moved to less optimal areas of the arena if they didn’t contribute more to the school’s athletic scholarship fund. The response, however, was anything but typical.
A pair of the ticket holders filed a lawsuit, claiming that the plan was unreasonable and arbitrary. A county court judge denied a request for a stay of the ticket plan, ruling that the plaintiffs did not have the “substantial likelihood” of winning the case that was required to obtain a delay. The judge cited a 2001 case involving Wichita State University, during which the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled that season tickets were annual licenses controlled by the owner of the facility and that terms of the license could be changed when a new annual license is issued. Required donations to a specified fund were specifically listed as an allowable practice in the court’s decision.
Despite the judge’s ruling, Brock Snyder, the attorney and season ticket holder who brought the case, planned to continue his fight and was exploring other legal avenues.
But even after this case is settled, all may not be calm at Kansas. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the school is considering a new ticket plan that would tie seating to donations, seniority, and other factors, which may set off a new round of legal battles.