Will fewer seats = more $ ?

PROVO — On the surface, it seems like a strange equation: The BYU athletic department is creating premium seating packages at LaVell Edwards Stadium, yet dropping the 65,000-seat capacity by 1,000 and still expecting to increase this fall's football revenues by $1 million — or the equivalent profits of an extra home game.

Deseret News graphic LaVell Edwards Stadium Requires Adobe Acrobat.

The result is not only an effort to help boost athletics funding toward national norms but to help keep the Cougars from feeling blue about being in the red.

"We can't keep doing it with smoke and mirrors," said BYU athletic director Val Hale. "If our fans want a big-time program, they're going to have to be big-time fans."

Or, as BYU athletic brass hope, big-time spenders and corporate bigwigs.

Come March, BYU will remove 2,700 seats worth of bleachers in Edwards Stadium's east stands, replacing them with 1,700 wide chairlike seats and offering two "East Stadium Club Seating" options.

"Legacy Club" costs $1,000 a seat plus a required annual Cougar Club donation at the Golden Cougar level or above, with perks including location between the 35- and 50-yard lines, reserved parking and express post-game traffic routes, game program, access to a VIP hospitality area and invitation to a preseason barbecue.

The "Cougar Club" area, between the 35- and 25-yard lines, includes everything but the hospitality and barbecue benefits and comes at a lesser cost — $500 each with at least a Silver Cougar annual donation level.

Seat location for both will be based on the donor's Cougar Club level and history of athletics donations.

In the west stands, season tickets for chair seats will jump to $350, up from last year's $210 per seat. However, Cougar Club members at the Bronze level — $200 a year — or above receive a $100 discount per seat for their orders.

Sideline bench packages will increase $12 to $156 a seat, and the student's all-sports pass will go up $10 to $85 each. Also, the parking lots immediately adjacent to the stadium will be reserved for Cougar Club members at a minimum level of Bronze Cougar. Adding that free parking remains available nearby, BYU officials saying they are merely rewarding fans who make athletic contributions.