With just 700 tickets released per class, St. Thomas students have taken to social media to buy and sell their Tommie-Johnnie tickets for high prices.
Tickets went on sale for seniors at 12 p.m. Sept. 24, and each class’s tickets were released the days following.
Tickets cost $10 each through the university. St. Thomas also released more tickets specifically for seniors on Friday, Oct. 4.
According to a statement from the athletics department, 37,000 people attended the Tommie-Johnnie game at Target Field. The capacity for Allianz Field is 19,400.
“We saved an allotment of tickets for our students, priced them affordably at $10 each, and wanted to make sure members of each class had access to them. While the supply was short of the demand, as expected, we’ve worked to be sure as many students as possible can enjoy the game,” the athletics department said in an email.
Members of the Facebook groups “UST Buy and Sell” as well as several other class affiliated pages have posted asking to buy and sell tickets. Resale tickets are also available on SeatGeek, the outlet that Allianz Field uses.
Senior Sydney Groteboer has bought two tickets from a student selling on Facebook, one for $60 and the other for $70.
“Part of it makes me super irritated, because I know so many people who couldn’t get their tickets that actually wanted to go to the game, and so many people are buying them just to resell,” Groteboer said. “There are students who want to go to the game that now can’t because some people bought a ticket just to sell it for $100,” she said.
Matthew Schroeder, who is also a senior, is in the process of selling his ticket in “UST Buy and Sell”. He could not attend Tommie-Johnnie because he will be studying for the LSAT.
“The highest price people will commit to has been around $80,” Schroeder said.
The high price of resale tickets is “supply and demand,” according to St. Thomas sports information director Gene McGivern.
“We knew this was going to be a challenge, and we knew it was going to be frustrating, because we just don’t have enough tickets,” McGivern said.
There will be a tent and a viewing party outside of Allianz Field during the game for those who don’t have tickets into the stadium to the game.
The athletics department stressed that students can still be part of the game day experience and “take in the flavor.”
Students can also follow the game and festivities on their phones through social media, live video and live stats, the statement said.
Abby Sliva can be reached at sliv7912@stthomas.edu.