Ticket sales back to pre-pandemic numbers

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic changed many day-to-day operations for USD. Many departments, such as the athletic department, faced new rules and regulations that were put in place to keep everyone involved safe and healthy. 

Entering the 2021-2022 sports season, fans and students flocked to athletic events again, leading to the game-day atmosphere appearing similar to how it did prior to COVID-19 

While the athletic department is excited to see many of the regulations from last year lifted, and fans returning to the stands, director of athletic marketing and promotions Jarren Duffy said there’s still a little way to go until USD sees the Sanford Coyote Sports Center (SCSC) and DakotaDome filled like they were prior to last year. 

“Last year we had reduced attendance, and then within that reduced attendance there were still season ticket holders and single-game buyers who normally would go to our games who felt uncomfortable going, and we’re still dealing with that to some extent,” Duffy said. “There’s still some people who are vaccinated or not vaccinated who are uncomfortable heading into a building with thousands of people.”

Although there are still some fans who have yet to make their way back to gameday in the SCSC or the Dome, Duffy said both attendance and revenue are beginning to look a lot like they did back in 2019, when the last normal season of volleyball and football took place.

With the basketball season quickly approaching, athletics have noticed that the season ticket sales for the incoming basketball games appears very similar to ticket numbers from two years prior. While many basketball season ticket holders are renewing their tickets again, many of them are coming with special requests.

“Our ticket sales are bouncing back, but we have some requests,” Duffy said. “Some people may want seats in a less-crowded area rather than sit right on mid-court or at the 50-yard line. They’re a little more comfortable sitting off to the side in less-crowded areas, so we are making accommodations where needed.”

Duffy said he’s glad to be back to a normal sports schedule this year. While the athletic department did a good job of keeping all faculty and staff in the loop last year, Duffy said that the worry of not knowing whether he would keep his job was always in the back of his mind because of budget concerns raised with COVID-19. 

While many operations have gone back to the way they were in 2019, not all challenges that the athletic department has faced throughout COVID-19 have ceased.

“This year still has its challenges,” Duffy said. “The pandemic isn’t completely over yet. There’s still some threats out there, some people still aren’t comfortable coming back, but this year feels a lot more normal than last season and we can really focus on the things that we got into this job for, like getting people to games, making sure they are having fun and keeping fans up to date throughout the season.”