Ticket Sales Down

According to a story in the Freep by Mark Snyder, ticket sales are expected to be lower this year because of the economy...and a 3-9 record in 2008 didn't help much either. Michigan's season-ticket renewal applications went out last week -- by e-mail and snail mail. And with a renewal deadline of May 8, the athletic department should have a decent view of its numbers by the middle of the month. The early barometer comes from student renewals, which are a bit down from recent years. Their deadline passed last week. There might be a boost with new student applications in the summer, but that interest level is still difficult to gauge. Associate athletic director for ticketing Marty Bodnar said he's expecting the economy to take a toll on renewals, which are "down a little bit, not a lot." He said the typical 2-3% nonrenewal rate could settle more in the 5-6% range this year. Finding people to fill those seats won't be a problem, though, given the br...