Ohio State trustees to vote on ticket price increase proposal

COLUMBUS (AP) — It’s likely going to cost more green to follow the scarlet and gray.

Ohio State’s Board of Trustees will vote Friday on a proposal to increase 2010-2011 football ticket prices as much as $7 apiece, basketball tickets as much as $1 and membership dues at the university’s golf course as much as $70 a year.

“We really struggled with doing this,” OSU athletic director Gene Smith said today. “We know what’s going on economically with everybody. We know with many of our fans, it might be a challenge. It’s something we had to do with the large program we had. We hope they’ll find a way to stay with us.”

Smith said the increases were needed to offset increases in operating costs and losses caused by a flagging economy.

He said concessions revenue was down 9 percent and merchandise revenue another 26 percent, with payroll and other expenses rising 10 percent.