Getting Corporate Fannies In The Seats

Never too early. In fact, now may be the ideal time to bring it up since the football season is just two months away.

There could well be more empty seats than normal this fall, or until University of Louisville football returns to its winning ways. But that doesn’t excuse the basis for frequent complaints from University of Louisville fans about great corporate seats sitting empty at football games.

Companies make big donations, then pay thousands more dollars for their prime season tickets. But too many tickets never get punched at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.

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When they shell out the money, the companies say they are buying them for employees. So why do they go to waste? The reasons are as varied as the companies. The observer suspects, however, the real problem is that nobody bothers to distribute them. Either that or the tickets are entrusted to a University of Kentucky fan who can’t be bothered to pass on University of Louisville tickets.

The observer has a suggestion for Tom Jurich. Why not put the names of companies, their logos or brand names on their seats? That way the companies would get more of the public recognition they all want so much.

Even more importantly, fans would finally see which companies are following through on their commitments as “good corporate citizens involved in the community” –  or those that are merely paying lip service. Fans would recognize the companies for their support, or, in the case of the empty seats, ask them why the tickets aren’t used.

Companies pay big money for the tickets, and most don’t tolerate waste. A little exposure might motivate the people responsible for distributing the tickets, getting them off their butts, putting the tickets where they belong, in the hands of employees.