'U' sacrifices cash for students' sake

When construction of the new ring of seats at Michigan Stadium began last year, Athletic Director Tom Goss said the expansion would allow the Athletic Department to give every student that wanted season football tickets a full set of tickets.

And Goss stuck to his word, giving all students tickets to this season's six home football games at the Big House.

But what no one expected was the huge surge of interest and anticipation last year's success would create. So when 22,200 students requested tickets this year - a full 4,000 above the department's projection - there were some sweaty brows in Schembechler Hall.

ADRIANA YUGOVICH/Daily The new additions to the stadium will be on display at an open house tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. Tours will be available for anyone interested in seeing the stadium before Saturday's game.

The result of the increase was a $1.7 million loss of potential profits for the Athletic Department from would-be season ticket buyers. The department expected to lose only $1.1 million in profits, but by giving season tickets to students at the reduced student rate and turning away buyers who would pay a higher price, Goss said the department had to take "a significant hit."

"Students have been more involved with the athletic program at Michigan recently," Goss said at yesterday's monthly meeting of the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics. The stadium expansion was designed for them, placing all students together, "from top to bottom," he said.

Senior Associate Director Michael Stevenson said the profits weren't the goal of the stadium expansion.

"The good news is they're full of students," Stevenson said. "What drove the expansion was the students."

With the first home game just two days away, the new capacity of the Big House will be announced during an open house for the stadium at 2 p.m. today.

The stadium was the largest in the country for decades before Tennessee's Neylan Stadium overtook the field in 1996. Goss would not reveal the new total, but he confirmed the fact that the Big House will no longer be second.

Although some people have expressed concern about the stadium's new look, Goss said he has been hearing "an awful lot more positive than negative" response to the renovations. The changes include large video scoreboards, some 5,500 new seats and a yellow ring at the top that features phrases from Michigan lore.

The lettering on the ring is the only part of the project that will not be completed for opening day.

The architecture firm, Venturi, Scott and Brown, which designed the additions, is purchasing the lettering from a company that uses a lengthy six paint process on all letters.

So far, all of the letters have arrived except for the letter 'I's. So fans will have to make sense of "Ha_l! Ha_l! to M_ch_gan" for two games, until the construction is completed for the game against Michigan State on Sept. 26.

"It's disappointing for all of us," Stevenson said. "Actually, it's the only disappointment."

09-10-98