FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2002
Board of Directors adopts ticket price increase; names new building after Hughes
GAINESVILLE – After two months of soliciting input via the FHSAA web site, the Board of Directors of the Florida High School Activities Association today approved a recommendation to increase admission prices by $1 for FHSAA State Series contests in most sports, effective with the upcoming 2002-03 school year.
The Board also unanimously voted to name the new FHSAA headquarters building for Commissioner Robert W. Hughes, and its conference center for long-time FHSAA employee Dorothy Brunson.
The costs of operating an interscholastic athletic program continue to increase for member schools, many of which are directly attributed to escalating costs for travel, security, facility rental, utilities and officials fees in conjunction with schools’ participation in the state series. Based on 2000-01 attendance figures, the increase will generate an estimated $592,213 in additional revenue, of which $453,214 will be shared by member schools.
“This move addresses a concern our member schools have had for some time now,” Hughes said. “Athletic departments have been taking major hits financially in the last couple of years. We hope this will help answer some of their budgetary needs.”
The increase will apply to the sports of baseball, girls and boys basketball, football, girls and boys soccer, softball, girls volleyball and wrestling. Ticket prices will not increase in the sports of cross country, swimming & diving, track & field or weightlifting.
State series ticket prices, with one exception, last were raised during the 1993-94 school year. The ticket price to the FHSAA Florida Football Finals state championship games was raised during the 1996-97 school year. Many schools, meanwhile, have raised regular season ticket prices to levels that meet or exceed those charged for state series contests.
In conjunction with the admission price increase, the Board approved a price increase for FHSAA State Series passes from $25 to $35. This increase, however, will not take effect until the 2003-04 school year.
The new FHSAA building will be dedicated in honor of Hughes, officially designating the facility as “The Robert W. Hughes Building.” The new conference center will be deemed “The Dorothy W. Brunson Conference Center” in honor of Brunson, FHSAA Director of Member Services, for her tenure of service and dedication to the Association.
In other business, the Board of Directors:
• Approved a recommendation to allow contest officials to submit ejection reports via fax, followed by mailing a hardcopy to the FHSAA Office.
• Appointed Charles Raburn, principal of Plant City High School, to fill a vacant delegate seat on the 2002 FHSAA Representative Assembly, which meets April 8-9 in Gainesville.
• Discussed the 29 proposals to amend FHSAA Bylaws at the 2002 FHSAA Representative Assembly on April 8-9, 2002 at the Association’s new headquarters building.
The Board of Directors’ Operations Committee began to look at three proposal submitted by the Commissioner to reduce contest limitations. The Commissioner’s proposals would reduce the number of permissible contests anywhere from 15 to 33 percent.
The Florida High School Activities Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of 660 middle, junior and senior high schools.
The FHSAA Board of Directors is the executive authority of the Association, establishing guidelines, regulations, policies and procedures within the framework of the Association’s bylaws. The Board of Directors also has the sole authority over all terms and conditions of participation and competition in the FHSAA state championship series. The Board of Directors meets five times annually. Its next meeting is June 14, 2002 at the Wyndham Westshore Hotel in Tampa.
Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org
