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Ticket sales brisk for YSU’s next game
Ticket sales brisk
for YSU’s next game
youngstown
It’s been a busy week for Eric McLellan, but as far as he’s concerned, that’s a good thing.
The manager of athletic ticket operations for Youngstown State has been working around the clock as fans have been purchasing tickets for this Saturday’s FCS quarterfinal playoff game against Wofford at a steady rate.
“We’ve had a lot going on and that’s a good situation we have over here,” McLellan said. “We put our tickets on sale on Sunday and the internet was blowing up and once Monday morning hit we had lines over here early waiting for us. The phone has been ringing off the hook and it’s kept us very involved.”
McLellan has been working 12-hour days at a minimum this week trying to accommodate everyone trying to purchase tickets. He thinks this will be the largest crowd to see a game at Stambaugh this season.
“I would hope that’s the case,” McLellan said. “I would imagine we’re going to have our largest tailgate crowd of the season by far.
“As far as tickets go I really honestly expect we’re going to have a larger crowd than we’ve had for any of our other games.”
Over YSU’s first seven home games this season, the Penguins have averaged an announced attendance of 13,063 per game.
That number dipped in the first round of the playoffs against Samford when only 5,322 showed up to see the Penguins win 38-24. An Ohio State-Michigan game that went into double-overtime and the Thanksgiving weekend didn’t help fill the stadium at kickoff.
“The holiday didn’t help,” McLellan said. “It’s always a struggle that first playoff week for first-round attendance. Initially we were really, really excited because we had a lot of people the first couple days and then things kind of tailed off a little bit.”
Still, that 5,322 number was higher than any other program that hosted a first-round game.
“Ultimately we had the highest attendance so that was something to work on,” McLellan said. “That was something to build off. I can tell you we’ve surpassed all of our sales from the Samford game.”
Fans still looking to purchase seats can now snag some spots that haven’t been available all season. Season ticket holders had until Wednesday at 6 p.m. to buy seats in their location for this Saturday’s game and some went unclaimed, making those seats now available to the public.
Students and military members are being taken care of, too. PNC Bank and the YSU Office of the President combined to purchase 1,000 student tickets and MS Consultants chipped in as well.
Pizza Hut then purchased tickets for veterans and active-duty military members. Members of both groups can pick up two free tickets at the YSU ticket office.
What could a big crowd on Saturday and an enjoyable game mean for the future of attendance at Stambaugh Stadium? McLellan believes an increase in season ticket sales.
“We’re expecting a spike in season tickets,” he said. “That’s typically what happens and then the first game of the year will generate interest as well.
“We had some fans this year who came to the first game this season, really enjoyed themselves and it turned into season tickets. We’re hoping some of that will take place as well.”
Quarterback Hunter Wells said he’s seen pictures of crowds back in the 1990s and would love to see something similar on Saturday.
“I really hope there’s a good crowd. It would mean a lot to us,” Wells said. “We see all these pictures from the ’90s when we were rolling and there’s people everywhere. You look up the stands and there’s not one empty seat. There’s people hanging off from the top of the stadium. It’s unbelievable.”