By Josh Ballard
Recently, several lawmakers complained about the cost of premium seating fees at the new KFC Yum! Center.
Before University of Louisville basketball moved to the new arena, U of L traditionally offered legislators the opportunity to purchase basketball season tickets at face value, waiving the premium seating fee. So when lawmakers received this year’s notice that season tickets would also include a $500 to $1,000 extra fee, several lodged complaints with the Office of the President.
“There were some phone calls made from a few legislators to the president’s office and some others at the university, with a twofold complaint,” said Mark Hebert, U of L spokesman. “They weren’t aware what the price was going to be with the tickets and the premium seating fee, and they weren’t given enough of a heads up.”
According to Hebert, the legislators argued that all other season ticket holders had been made aware of the premium seating fee months in advance.
“We didn’t send the letter offering legislators the chance to buy tickets until fairly recently,” said Hebert.
The university has declined to name which specific lawmakers had called with complaints, but Democratic Rep. Darryl Owens told The Courier-Journal that he had contacted U of L President James Ramsey.
“There were a number of legislators that voiced concern,” Owens told The Courier-Journal. “And as chair of the delegation I transmitted those concerns to the president.”
Ramsey then responded with a letter in which he offered to help pay for the tickets this year. He also expressed regret that U of L could not originally offer the tickets free of charge to lawmakers, saying the economic climate contributed to the university’s inability to do so.
“In this economy, any funds we use to pay premium seating costs will be funds we cannot use to support scholarships and other enrichment for our students,” Ramsey said in the letter.
Hebert said that the private funding offered up to pay for the lawmakers’ tickets would have come from the University of Louisville Foundation. He also noted that prior information regarding where the university would find the money to pay for the tickets may have been misinterpreted.
“President Ramsey made clear he was not going to spend any money that came from tuition, fees or state taxes,” said Hebert.
The U of L Foundation – which exists independently of the school but is also headed by Ramsey – collects donations and distributes them in the interest of the university’s goals. Some of the foundation’s money supports scholarships, specifically the Hallmark Scholars and Overseers Scholars programs.
Hebert said that, of the 27 lawmakers who purchased basketball tickets, none accepted Ramsey’s offer.
