UCLA opens courtside seats to a select few

Following a growing trend in the Pac-10, UCLA men’s
basketball season ticket holders received invitations to the best
seats in Pauley Pavilion last week ““ at a price.

For $10,000 a seat, a row of 44 courtside seats opposite the
players, announcers and coaches were made available to season
ticket holders and the major contributors to the university and
athletic department.

Associate Athletic Director Rick Purdy, who has overseen the
project, expects all the seats to be filled, but “if they
only sell 40, we’ll only put 40 seats out there.”

The courtside row was formerly reserved for the media, which
will now move to the areas above and below the television camera
platform at the middle level of the stands. Season ticket holders
were given first priority for the new seats.

According to Purdy, the bulk of the money generated by the new
seating plan will fund the renovation and expansion of the Acosta
Athletic Center, the primary fitness, rehab and locker facility for
UCLA athletes.

The move by UCLA comes on the heels of similar changes made at
other Pac-10 schools.

Two years ago, the University of Arizona and the University of
Washington both replaced courtside media tables at their basketball
stadiums with seating for donors or season ticket holders.

“Unfortunately it’s becoming commonplace in college
basketball to do that,” said Richard Paige, associate media
relations director for Arizona. “Just like at an NBA game,
the seats are at a premium.”

Wildcat season ticket holders pay anywhere from $4,100 to
$15,000 for each courtside seat.

At USC, most of the courtside seats go to donors and season
ticket holders; courtside seats at Stanford are sold to the public.
Since the opening of Haas Pavilion at UC Berkeley in 1999, Cal
donors have priority on courtside seats. Athletic administrators at
the University of Oregon are currently drafting a similar plan.

Washington State is the only Pac-10 school where students have
the closest view of the court action. Cheerleaders stand directly
along the sideline opposing the players, with students in a
bleacher section immediately behind them.

Some students feel the best seats at Pauley Pavilion should be
theirs.

“I’m not too opposed to switching the media with the
alumni, but I think students should get the best seating in the
house,” Undergraduate Students Association Council President
David Dahle said. “We pay student fees, and then after we
graduate, the students after us should get priority.”

The new seats will get broken in Nov. 13, when the Bruins host
Branch West in their Pauley Pavilion season opener.