Ohio State offering multiple ticket packages after decline in attendance

Credit: Jamie Sabau

Credit: Jamie Sabau

Ohio State football is getting creative after a sizable drop in football attendance.

The athletics department announced Friday afternoon a multi-pronged plan to bring fans back to Ohio Stadium, which had fewer fans in the stands per game last year than any season since 2000.

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The general public will be able to purchase a full-season ticket package for east side stadium seats Monday at http://go.osu.edu/FBTix.

They will cost $702 per ticket along with a $1,500 membership to the Buckeye Club. (One membership includes the right to buy a pair of seats, and younger fans, recent graduates and letter-winners are eligible for a discount.)

In June, the department plans to sell partial-season packages for the first time. Those three- and four-game ticketing plans will range in price from $249-327 (see below for more details) and will not required a Buckeye Club membership.

A single-game ticket sale is planned for July.

“We understand this new ticket marketplace and that fans want options,” deputy director of athletics Diana Sabau said in a university release. “We have inventory and we want to respond to the needs of Buckeye Nation. We realize it can be difficult to commit to a full season ticket, so we want to provide numerous ticket buying alternatives to make Ohio State games more accessible to more fans.”

Ohio State was bound to see at least a slight drop in attendance last season with construction reducing the official capacity from 104,944 to 102,092, but the actual drop was larger than that difference.

The Buckeyes averaged 101,947 fans per game in 2018, down more than 5,000 per game from 2017 when an average of 107,495 were at the Horseshoe each game.

Only 93,057 attended a 53-3 win over Rutgers on Sept. 8, and the 30-14 win over Minnesota on Oct. 13 drew an announced crowd of 100,042.

The 2018 average is the lowest since the stadium was expanded in 2001. That year Ohio State broke the six-figure milestone for the first time, drawing 103,532 fans per game.

Average attendance the year before was 97,757.

Partial-season ticket package details:

Buckeye Flex Pass

  • 100 percent digital plan with seat location sent to your mobile phone the Friday before the game
  • A unique seat location for each game, ensuring various viewpoints/experiences for the games
  • A limited number of four-game packages priced at $249
  • Includes Florida Atlantic, Miami, Michigan State and Maryland games
  • On sale June 17

Rush Plan

  • A unique seat location for each game
  • Customers will know seat locations prior to purchasing the plan
  • Full ticket management options (mobile entry, transfer to friends, post for sale on Ohio State TicketExchange)
  • Three-game packages priced at $327
  • Includes Miami, Maryland and Wisconsin games
  • On sale June 24

Blitz Plan

  • A unique seat location for each game
  • Customers will know seat locations prior to purchasing the plan
  • Full ticket management options (mobile entry, transfer to friends, post for sale on Ohio State TicketExchange)
  • Three-game packages priced at $297
  • Includes Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati and Michigan State games
  • On sale June 24

The Buckeyes are scheduled to open the season August 31 at home against Florida Atlantic.

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