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Dan Meyer

Cougar Chats presented by:

MartinStadium.org | Donate to the Martin Stadium Renovation Project | Premium Seating Interest Form

Chat with Washington State Assistant Director of Athletics, Annual Giving & Tickets Dan Meyer on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 2:00 p.m. PT.

Moderator: Good afternoon Cougar fans and thank you for visiting WSUCougars.com and today's online chat with WSU Assistant Director of Athletics for Annual Giving & Tickets Dan Meyer. Before we begin, you will notice links at the top of this page, which will direct you to Martinstadium.org, the official website of the stadium renovation, as well as links to donate to the project and premium seating information. Dan, thank you for joining us today.

Dan Meyer: Thank you for having me. It's an exciting time in the WSU Athletic Foundation. Since we've made the announcement of moving forward with Phase III of the renovation on Tuesday, interest in premium seating has been tremendous. I'm very encouraged that we can meet our 80 percent goal by Dec. 18, but clearly there is lots of work to be done this fall.

Moderator: Dan, can you elaborate on the Dec. 18 date?

Dan Meyer: The renovation is moving forward and we know it will completed by the 2012 season. However, we have applied some self-imposed pressure on ourselves to sell 80 percent of the premium seats by Dec. 18 of this year. If we do so, our financial models say that we can begin construction in the spring of 2010. This will move up the overall timeline allowing us to begin play in the newly renovated stadium by 2011. It is therefore imperative that Cougs make an early commitment to purchasing premium seating so that we can meet this Dec. 18 deadline. As a carrot, those who commit by Dec.18 will be rewarded with priority in seat allocation.

Moderator: Okay, let's get to some questions.

Frank, North Las Vegas: A famed Wall Street investor once said during the depression, "the time to buy snow shovels is in the summer, and straw hats in the winter". I agree that NOW, at these low points, IS the time to move forward with this project, not later........your take, and your staff, on these sentiments ??

Dan Meyer: Frank, excellent observation! Several factors have created a very favorable environment for this project to begin. Construction costs are at historical lows; sub-contractors are anxious to put work on their books for 2010; and there are possible bonding options through the federal government that are only available to us during the 2010 calendar year. We expect these factors to drive the overall cost of the project down substantially. At the same time, we have institutional support for the project and many advocates on our volunteer boards who are committed to helping make this effort a success. Regardless of our current record on the field, the long-term strength of the entire athletic department depends on the success of this renovation.

Earl (Pullman, WA): Dear Mr. Meyer, Congrats on your position as the Asst. Dir of Athletics/Annual Giving & Tickets. When the renovations for Phase III are complete, do you know when Phase IV will start?

Dan Meyer: Earl, thanks for the kind words. I am looking forward to the opportunity in the Athletic Foundation. As to your question about Phase IV, there is no current timeline for beginning that Phase of the renovation. We are right now focused on making Phase III a success. As Jim Sterk said in his chat yesterday, we are doing the renovation one phase at a time. One month into my new job, I don't think it would be wise to go against the boss. :)

Lisa (Seattle): If I am interested in premium seating but am not sure of the details, how are you going to educate the fans on options available to them?

Dan Meyer: Lisa, thanks for your question. We are planning several different ways to get the word out about premium seating at Martin Stadium. As of Tuesday, we relaunched martinstadium.org (link at the top of this page). There you will find details on the premium seating, and an online form where you can enter your contact information and specify what type of premium seating you are interested in. A representative from the Athletic Foundation will contact you within 24 hours from when that form is submitted. You can access the form by clicking HERE. In addition, the website features our brochure, which contains all the details on the renovation including a printable premium seating application form that can be mailed to us. We will be mailing this brochure to all season ticket holders and the top 5,000 TPS ranked donors to WSU Athletics by the middle of October. Finally, we are planning a handful of town halls across the state to make face-to-face presentation with potential buyers. All of these efforts are to supplement the efforts of our volunteer advocates who are leaning friends, family, co-workers, clients, and associates to sell seats on our behalf. We appreciate all of their help and if anyone would like to take on this role I encourage them to contact me at the Athletic Foundation at meyerd@wsu.edu.

Evan (Portland): I see that a deposit is $300 per club seat. But on your website, it says that a donation of $5,000 will be required to the Martin Stadium Renovation Project above and beyond the deposit and the cost of the seats. Is that accurate?

Dan Meyer: Evan, the key word in that part where it described a $5,000 donation was "guarantee." In other words, the application for Club seats with a $300 deposit is just that, an application. In a "good problems to have" scenario, we have such overwhelming demand for the Club seats that we are oversold, and then we have to use our seat allocation criteria to determine who gets to purchase these seats. In that case, those who have donated $5,000 to the renovation project are "guaranteed" a seat in the Club section. Without that guarantee, you are in a slightly precarious position, but I would say that is a problem we would LOVE to have.

John (Pullman): Once the premium seats are completed, will the price of tickets and donation level in section 6 stay the same or will it lower in price?

Dan Meyer: John, excellent question. Our market survey tells us approximately half of the premium seat ticket buyers will be new season ticket holders. Therefore, we do not anticipate the current donor seating areas will be depleted substantially. Our financial modeling has built in accommodation for some folks who will move out of the current seating bowl into the new premium seating areas. However, there are no plans at this time to make substantial changes to the ticket costs or donation requirements in any areas of the stadium. We would obviously reserve the right to reevaluate based on the actual sales process between now and the end of the year. However, early returns as far as who has shown interest in premium seating since our announcement are in line with our market survey.

Moderator: Okay, that's all the time we have. Dan, thank you for being with us today.

Dan Meyer: I appreciate all the questions. I've got to get back to my desk and continue responding to all of the inquiries I have received about Phase III. The response has been great thus far. Please contact me if you have any questions about the project or would like to sign up for premium seating. Go Cougs!

Moderator: Remember, to get all the information about WSU Athletics, go no further than wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Please check back to wsucougars.com for future online chats. Thank you to everyone for your questions.