FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas Athletic Department announced plans to cover the cost of fines related to on field celebrations from fans following victories by increasing the ticket price to the annual War Memorial Stadium game in Little Rock.
Arkansas was fined $25,000 by the SEC following last weekend’s victory over rival LSU after fans rushed the field to celebrate the teams first conference victory in two years. The Razorbacks hope the ticket price increase will cover any victories the fans want to celebrate each year.
“We are excited for our team and for our fans. We want them to experience all the joys of a big victory while leaving someone else to pick up the tab,” Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long tells us. “We feel that fans in Little Rock will be more than happy to pay for us enjoying games that were previously theirs. It is the price for us to continue to grace them with our annual presence as our second string players take down a lesser opponent.”
Under the plan base ticket prices will increase $15 per ticket, taking the price from $55 to $70. The increase would result in an additional $825,000 for the university if the Little Rock game is able to sell all 55,000 seats.
The University says they are exploring other fine based violations to include in the Razorback Stadium game day tradition with the increased funding allocated for fine payment.
“At $25,000 a violation we have the funds to rush the field with every major victory and have money remaining,” Long says. “We are looking into what other fines we can incorporate. For instance we have strictly enforced the artificial noise maker ban, but can you imagine 75,000 duck calls blowing as Auburn is in a tough third and short? We were fully prepared to ditch the Little Rock game, but this may make it worth keeping.”
Long went on to stress that the fan celebration penalties are exclusive to games located in Fayetteville. While the University will continue to schedule games in Little Rock that no one would want to celebrate, on the off chance that a celebration resulting in a fine does occur all fans involved will be expected to cover the cost of the penalty.
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