UCLA students may have more reason to cheer this offseason,
following one of the worst basketball seasons in school
history.
The UCLA Athletic Department is considering selling more
arena-level tickets to the student fan base for next season.
“It’s up in the air, but nothing is official,”
Associate Athletic Director Rick Purdy said. “Right now
it’s more exploratory.”
Currently students control two sections in the arena level, as
well as the the blue and yellow concourse sections above the lower
level.
Because of this limited space, students have complained for
years that there has been a lack of a genuine home-court advantage
in Pauley Pavilion.
In contrast to UCLA, other Pac-10 schools like Cal, Stanford and
Oregon have made student seating a priority. Students are given the
best seats in the house, and these teams have been characterized as
more dangerous at home because of their fans.
Bruin basketball players agree that a change is necessary to
create a more hostile environment for visiting teams.
“The first thing they need to do is bring the seats closer
to the floor and get rid of the dead area,” senior Ray Young
said before the season started. “Bottom line they need to
make student seating the top priority.”
For the past 20 years, the lower level has been prioritized for
family and friends of UCLA players, other student athletes, coaches
and alumni. Usually these people are seen seated quietly in
comparison to the students next to them.
If the change is approved by the athletic department, current
season ticket holders will be uprooted from their courtside
seats.
“We’ve called the people who sit there now,”
Purdy said. “We want to see where they would want to sit if
this was to go into effect.”