The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY/AUGUST 2024 ■ 21 varied pricing depending on location will now more closely mirror the system for men's and women's basketball season tickets. This was a necessary change. The extra revenue generated from this change will provide valuable resources. "Those are just some things that we needed to adjust to stay competitive," Broussard said. "The additional revenue that gets generated by this will provide Boo some opportunities to do the things that he wants to do to stay as competitive as we possibly can." Both Broussard and Wolfpack Club as- sociate executive director Buzzy Correll emphasized that this change was not a reaction to NC State's recent success. The plan has been in the making for years in a collaborative effort between Corri- gan, deputy athletics director Stephanie Menio, the Wolfpack Club and others. To come up with the pricing model for Pack Forward, they looked at what NC State football tickets were selling for on the secondary market and also analyzed the systems of some other universities. While costs will rise for some, this new initiative also provides consistency for Wolfpack fans. Season-ticket holders will select their seats for the 2025 sea- son and then have the opportunity to renew that location for the following two years. In 2028, the fans will pick seats once again based on their Wolfpack Club Priority Rank. "We think that's a really big benefit," Correll said. "We haven't needed it to sell season tickets because we're selling out every year, but we think it will in- crease the value and the perceived value to people that do buy season tickets. "They know at least for a few years where they're going to be, and it gives them an opportunity to sort of jockey for the next time in 2028 when we'll do it again." Parking passes employ a similar sys- tem. The base price remains $150, while the required space donation ranges from $0 to $350 depending on the location and proximity to the stadium. Parking passes will change every year but will be renew- able once construction is complete in the arena lots. The communication process for sea- son tickets has not changed. NC State's ticket office will still reach out to Wolf- pack Club members directly. Broussard does not take the support of Wolfpack Nation for granted. He called it the most dedicated fan base in the coun- try, adding that this is how the NC State athletics department will sustain its current level of success and take further steps forward. "This is a way that we can continue to provide our student-athletes the oppor- tunity to get a degree from an amazing institution, while we're competing for championships," Broussard said, "just like we did this year in spades." For more information about the Pack Forward program, visit gopack.com/ Pack Forward. ■ LIFETIME SEATING RIGHTS Lifetime Seating Rights (LTRs) were first offered in 1996 to begin in the 1998 season as part of the Wolfpack Pride Capital Campaign. Funds for this campaign were used primarily toward NC State's share of what is now PNC Arena. Lifetime Seating Rights that were put in an individual's name are good for the donor's life, their surviving spouse, or 20 years, whatever was longer, provided the tickets were ordered by the deadline each year, the required annual gift level was main- tained each year, and the capital seat gift was fulfilled each year. Further capital campaigns such as Goal Line Drive, Building Futures, Championship Commitment and Pack Passion, among others, were all seating rights campaigns that provided funding for NC State Athletics capital projects. In 2019, it was determined by NC State University, the Department of Athletics, and the Wolfpack Club Board of Directors that no new Lifetime Rights would be offered and a new seating model would replace LTRs. HEIR Seating rights were tied to a donor's lifetime, but to protect the donor's invest - ment, a 20-year minimum term was put in place. An "heir" listed on a seating rights contract was the individual who would receive the seating rights for the remainder of the 20-year period if something should happen to both the lifetime rights holder and their spouse before the 20 years had passed. The heir would be responsible for maintaining the required annual scholarship gift tied to the seats on their own account, purchasing the tickets by the deadline and fulfilling any seat gift balance that may be on the account to retain the rights for the remaining term of the 20-year period. The original donor's priority and giving history are not passed down to an heir. In this situation and after the 20-year period is up, the Wolfpack Club may grant the heir first right of refusal to re-secure the seats for a period of time based on the current seating model, but that is not guaranteed. ORIGINAL DONOR An Original Donor to Carter-Finley Stadium is a donor who made a direct con - tribution to the construction of the stadium prior to its opening in 1966. In the reseating of Carter-Finley Stadium in 1998, Original Donors were allowed to retain up to six of their original donor seats for the rest of their life or their surviving spouse's life, provided they ordered the tickets each year and main- tained membership in the Wolfpack Club. A plaque honoring these donors is located just inside the west stadium gates in Dail Plaza West. Original Donors who are in a company name had their seating rights expire after the 2021 season. BAFA ACCOUNTS (BUSINESS AND FAMILY ACCOUNTS) Business and Family Accounts are Wolfpack Club accounts in an entity name, such as a family, LLC, or business name, etc. BAFA accounts did not re- ceive Lifetime Rights (since there is no life tied to the entity), but had 20-year rights at the onset of the LTR program. In 2019, the first set of BAFA accounts had their seating rights expire, and for a few years were able to extend these seating rights with a 10-year seating license. BAFA accounts are subject to potential different priority point calculations in the future. TEN-YEAR SEAT LICENSES In 2019, the Wolfpack Club unveiled 10-year seat licenses with differing price points for both BAFA and Individual accounts. This gave expiring rights holders an opportunity to extend their seating rights for an additional 10 years, while also allowing others to secure seating rights for the first time or adding to their existing LTRs. In 2021, the 10-year seating license program was phased out, shifting to more of an annual seating process until a new model could be developed (which occurred in June 2024 as part of the Pack Forward model). UPGRADING LIFETIME RIGHTS Donors may upgrade (but not add) or change existing Lifetime Seating Rights using the Unified Pricing Matrix for Men's Basketball and Football. These can be found on the Wolfpack Club's website at www.wolfpackclub.com. SEATING RIGHTS DEFINITIONS