Spring Break
The Daily OrangeOncenter increases ticket fees
By Ricky Casiano
Posted: 11/3/09, 2:21 AM EST Section: News
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The increase, a facility fee, was passed by the eight members of the Oncenter Board of Directors with a majority, said Sandra Baker, vice president of sales and marketing at the Oncenter.
The Oncenter will charge a $1 or $2 facility fee per ticket, depending on the event. Syracuse Crunch games and symphony Orchestra performances will be charged a $1 fee. Tickets for major entertainment concert events will be charged an additional $2.
All tickets sold before Sunday will not be affected. This includes the sold-out Phish concert on Nov. 22. Season ticket holders and trade shows are also exempt of the fee.
The money will go toward the $23 million the Oncenter needs to raise for renovations, Baker said. Renovations include plans for a new scoreboard, digital marquee, outside sidewalks, a basketball floor in the War Memorial Arena, and a new lobby and staging improvements in the Civic Center, according to an article published in The Post-Standard.
The price increase should benefit students because the changes it funds will attract more student-friendly events, Baker said.
"We don't see $1 or $2 making a dramatic decrease in tickets sold," she said. "We try to keep it as reasonable as possible, but we have to maintain the very aging buildings. The facility fee alleviates tax payers from the burden of paying for those needs."
The response from the groups and organizers who use the Oncenter was mostly supportive, Baker said.
Karen Gahl-Mills, executive director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, said she understood the need for the facility fee.
"While you don't want it to be more expensive for students, we understand the need to upkeep the facility," Gahl-Mills said.
The fee will be administered to each ticket purchased through Ticketmaster or the Oncenter box office. The following venues in the Oncenter complex will also see the fee: The 6,100-seat Onondaga County War Memorial Arena, the 2,100-seat Crouse-Hinds Concert Theater, the 463-seat Carrier Theater and the 150-seat BeVard Studio in the John H. Mulroy Civic Center, Baker said.
rncasian@syr.edu
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