After selling its initial allocation of 800 seats in less than one day, the Colonial Army will receive an additional allocation of 200 seats in the Smith Center for basketball games.
The organization, which is devoted solely to the basketball program, will offer “Colonial Army Gold Club Memberships.” These memberships will be coupled with a season-ticket package with seats in the elevated end zone for $49.
“(Gold memberships) is a wonderful opportunity for individuals because (gold members) have the option of sitting in the student section with the Colonial Army members, or if they don’t feel like waiting in line or don’t have the time to do it, they can walk in right at game time, show their ticket and sit in their designated seat,” Colonial Army Co-President Frank Dale said. Dale writes for The Hatchet but does not cover basketball.
The 200 people purchasing these memberships will be able to sit in their assigned seat or the student section. Nicole Macchione, coordinator of the spirit program, said that if students with end-zone seating wish to sit in the 1,200-seat student section, they must forfeit their tickets to Smith Center facility staff. The forfeited tickets will be used to allow non-member students to gain admission to the Smith Center.
After the 200 are sold, Colonial Army memberships will not be available for the remainder of the season.
Macchione said the student section fills up in approximately eight minutes, and with the rising prominence of the men’s basketball team, students may be lining up for admission earlier than in recent years.
Dale said that it was important to the University that students would be able to gain access to games for free with a GWorld, as promised during Colonial Inauguration. Tony Vecchione, assistant athletics director for facilities, was not available for comment.
The additional allocation, which will give the fee-based organization more than 80 percent of the student seating, may still hurt a pedestrian basketball fan’s ability to attend a game.
Freshman Brian Palo is skeptical of the implications of the new policy.
“I’m interested in going to many games but not all, so paying to get in to the Colonial Army doesn’t interest me,” Palo said. “At the same time, now that the Army has taken up so many seats, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get in at all.”
Dale dismissed the claim saying, “The line of non-Colonial Army members is typically very short, and there should be plenty of room for them.”
Coach Hobbs appearance
On Oct. 26, the Colonial Army will be distributing their 2005-2006 membership bands and T-shirts at the Smith Center. Men’s basketball head coach Karl Hobbs will be in attendance to speak to the members about proper behavior and etiquette in addition to talking about the upcoming season.
