Chancellor Addresses Question on JMA Wireless Dome Reseating at University Senate

Thank you, Professor Reed.

My only remark today is to answer Senator Van Gulick’s question from the Jan. 24 meeting. To remind folks, he asked about reseating the JMA Wireless Dome this summer, which will make it much more accessible and more comfortable, but also reduces the number of seats and moves almost everybody’s seats. As part of that, they’re repricing the Dome seats, and that’s been public. Senator Van Gulick’s question was, in the repricing, there’s a charge for a donation and a charge for the ticket price combined. Although he phrased it much more tactically, I think his question was really: Is the new pricing intended to avoid taxes under our RCM budget model?

I looked into that and the short answer is: No, it’s not intended to do that. Actually, it’s been the case since 1980 that there’s been for many, if not most seats, a separate ticket charge for the donation and for the ticket price, and that’s handled differently under RCM. That’s continuing now. Because people’s seats have moved, they’re seeing different percentage allocations. The intention is not to change what’s been the system since the 1980s. But because of Senator Van Gulick’s apt question, I’m going to closely monitor whether the RCM taxes on Dome ticket revenue as a percentage of total ticket revenue remain consistent under the new pricing. I know that’s pretty arcane, but I’m going to watch it closely.

Thank you.