As hard as the University of Hawaii is pushing sales of season tickets this football season, there is a growing realization that smaller plans will be critical as ticket buyers adopt "a wait-and-see" approach on the 2014 Rainbow Warriors.
As such, officials said they are trying to make so-called four-game "mini packs" more attractive.
In recent years as much as 70 percent of UH football ticket revenue has come from season sales. Meanwhile, sales of individual game tickets have been sparse, averaging less than 7,000 per game in 2013, and many of those were accounted for in the season opener against USC.
But coming off a 1-11 finish and the first string of three consecutive losing seasons in 15 years, "I think people are taking more of a wait-and-see attitude," athletic director Ben Jay said. "From what we saw in the spring, I expect us to be a much better team, but I know people are waiting to see if we’ve turned the corner."
UH said season-ticket renewals for this season have come in at less than 70 percent of 2013, when it sold 18,354 overall, a seven-year low. And while sales of new season tickets begin Monday, they will be followed July 21 by a push for the "mini packs."
"I think there were lessons learned from last year, so we’re adjusting our (ticketing) plans and, basically, setting up a choice of plans," Jay said.
The seven-game home season will offer four-game "mini-packs" with the option of choosing either the Aug. 30 Washington opener or Sept. 6 Oregon State game plus a choice of two games from the four-game Mountain West Conference schedule (Wyoming, Nevada, Utah State and Nevada-Las Vegas). The Sept. 13 nonconference game with Northern Iowa will be included in all packs.
Prices will vary from $60 to $160 for the four-game package, depending on seat location, UH said. The senior citizen price will be $50-$60 and youth (ages 4 through high school) cost $40.
Six-game "mini packs" will be offered for women’s volleyball at $60 (adults), $45 (senior citizen) and $30 (youth) on July 21.
Individual game tickets go on sale Aug. 4 for Rainbow Wahine volleyball and Aug. 11 for football, UH said.
"I really expect us to get over the hump (in football)," Jay said. "I mean, they have been out there working hard every day this summer in the voluntary workouts. It is a different team. But we know it is going to take some proving to some of the fans first."
