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By KEVIN HOFFMAN khoffman@leader.net
Sunday, February 06, 2000     Page: 4

HAZLETON – The Hazleton Area High School boys basketball team has seen
revenue from ticket sales plunge by more than $25,000 during the past seven
seasons, with almost $10,000 of that drop coming during 1998-1999.
   
District Athletic Director Chris Perry attributes much of the loss to the
team’s worsening record. The Cougars are coming off their first losing season
since the three district high schools combined eight years ago. But he also
points to today’s busy teenagers as a factor that might be contributing to the
decline in attendance.
    “I really think that high school students have a lot more things to do
than go to high school games and I think that’s unfortunate,” Perry said. “A
lot of them work. A lot of them have cars. And a lot of them just aren’t
interested.”
   
The lost revenue spurred Perry to ask the School Board for additional money
out of the general fund.
   
The most costly parts of the athletics program – equipment, transportation,
insurance, salaries for coaches and other expenses – are paid with money
budgeted by the district.
   
But before this academic year, the high school athletic program made enough
through ticket sales to pay for its own security, officials and other
game-related fees.
   
Sparse attendance has changed that. Perry said he expects he will have to
ask for money out of the general fund every year from now on, because ticket
sales aren’t enough to balance the expenses. He doesn’t know what he can do to
bring the fans back.
   
“I’m at a loss. There’s just too many things going on right now,” Perry
said. “I’m not complaining, because our attendance isn’t bad. But it’s
disheartening when you look at the total picture of everything.”
   
Officials at other area schools didn’t report attendance declines as severe
as Hazleton, but they agreed that high school sports can be a tough sell.
   
Thirty years ago, “you were either on a team or out watching the team,”
said Sandy Mackay, athletic director for Wyoming Valley West School District.
But today’s kids are as likely to be working a part-time job or spending time
on the Internet.
   
The proliferation of sports – from soccer and lacrosse to girls basketball
and field hockey – might be turning some potential spectators into players,
who often train year-round, Mackay said. It might also dilute attendance at
football and basketball games, the key revenue sports for most districts.
   
The news isn’t all bad for Hazleton.
   
Attendance at Hazleton Area football games during the past seven seasons
hasn’t suffered as much as attendance at basketball games, and in the 1998-99
season revenue from football games increased by more than $3,000 from the
previous year.
   
The PIAA said ticket sales for state football finals have steadily
increased from 14,960 in 1994 to 19,012 in 1998.
   
But William Servedio, an associate professor at the University of
Connecticut and an expert on sports and recreation management, said that, as a
general trend, attending high school sports games is no longer the focal point
of most town’s weekend social activities, as it was in the 1950s and 1960s.
   
PIAA rules allow school districts to charge admission for four sports:
football, boys and girls basketball and wrestling. School districts in the
Wyoming Valley Conference charge $3 for adults and $2 for students.
   
A passionate rivalry or winning team can create a sizable income for a
school district’s sports programs. The combined profits from two Dallas High
School football home playoff games last season totaled about $5,000.
   
On the other hand, ticket sales for Dallas girls basketball games typically
don’t cover the expenses of playing the game, said Athletic Director Jack
Wolensky. For one recent game, the school spent $338 on referees, scorekeepers
and other personnel, but took in $43 from tickets. Even the team’s grudge
match game against Lake-Lehman showed just a $93 profit.
   
School districts often depend on the traditionally big attendance revenue
from football and boys basketball to help fund the sports that are less
profitable, Mackay said.
Call Hoffman at 829-7139.