3207 Washington Ave - SLU ARENA PROJECT

SLU boosts cost of watching Bills

By Tom Timmermann

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

06/12/2007

FILE PHOTO: Computer generated rendering of the interior bowl of the new SLU Arena.
(Courtesy of St. Louis University)

PAY PER VIEW: Charge will help pay for the new arena.

CATCHING UP: Mizzou, other universities have similar fees.

When St. Louis University moves into Chaifetz Arena for the 2008-09 basketball season, fans wanting to sit in the best seats will have to pay an additional fee on top of the cost of tickets.

The annual charge, called an "arena fee" by the university, will range from $3,500 for those who want to sit at the table courtside to $150 for those sitting in the upper rows of center court or lower down nearer the end line. Almost every seat between the two end lines, about 2,900 in all, will come with the additional charge.

The arena fee is a change for SLU, which in the past has tacked premiums onto about only 150 of its best courtside seats. With a smaller building and increased demand, SLU plans to take advantage of that to raise money for the athletics department.

"This is a shift in paradigms," said Mark Wright, an associate athletics director at SLU. "We have not raised a lot of money for our athletic programs in the past. Having an arena of this size will stimulate more interest in giving to the Billikens and the university."

If all seats in the sections are sold, SLU should realize more than $1 million a year.

SLU is falling in line with other schools that have taken advantage of a scarce commodity such as basketball tickets and are leveraging them financially. Xavier, one of the basketball programs SLU aspires to emulate, makes buyers of its best seats pay $1,500 a year on top of the ticket price, down to $220 for lesser seats. Missouri has a similar policy.

Unlike those schools, SLU hasn't had much success on the court, failing to make the NCAA Tournament since 2000 and never having advanced past the second round.

The school, which recently sent out renewal forms to season-ticket holders along with information on the plan, also said that priority for who gets which

seats at Chaifetz Arena will be determined by a points system based in part on donations to the athletics department. That means that when it's time to pick seats, people who make donations now can jump ahead of longtime season-ticket holders who have not given money to the school.

"We have multitudes of our best tickets that are held in large blocks by individuals who are not donors to the university," Wright said. "In essence, you're driving a Cadillac and paying Fiat prices. There is value in the best seats in our house."

For the first season at Chaifetz, all tickets cost $25. (Next season at Scottrade Center, tickets will range from $8 to $23.) Wright said that the hiring of Rick Majerus as coach led to a "very subtle" increase in the pricing decisions because of what is expected to be an increased demand for tickets. The initial use for the arena fee will be to pay off the debt on the building, but the fee seems likely to live on after the arena is paid off as a means of generating money.

Though the cost of the arena remains $80.5 million, the amount of money still to be raised — initially set at $40 million — has gone up by $2 million because of improvements in the basketball program that followed Majerus' hiring, such as increased staffing. That leaves SLU about $9 million short of its goal.

SLU expects some resentment among its season-ticket holders. But Wright said, "A lot of folks understood that other schools for years have done this, and we're probably 10 years behind in instituting a required giving program."

Roy Mueller of Belleville, a SLU season-ticket holder since 1989, said he was mildly disappointed that the pricing structure would push many longtime fans to the Billiken Red section, with seats near the end lines or in the top rows at center court, but that the changes would bring some fairness to the ticketing process.

"The best thing about the plan is that for far too long people have been getting season tickets without being true boosters," Mueller said. "And those non-boosters hold most of the good seats at Scottrade, while those of us that give annually are stuck in less desirable locations."

ttimmermann@post-dispatch.com

ST. LOUIS -- Saint Louis University announced today that its new 10,600-seat multipurpose Arena will be named in honor of University alumnus Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz (SHAY-fetz), who has made a $12 million naming rights gift to the Arena. The Chaifetz Arena will open in March 2008 and will be home to Billiken men's and women's basketball and a host of other events.

University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., and alumnus Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz unveil plans for SLU's Chaifetz Arena.

Chaifetz, a 1975 graduate of Saint Louis University, is a licensed neuropsychologist and is founder, chairman and CEO of Chicago-based ComPsych Corporation, the world's largest provider of employee assistance programs. ComPsych is also the leading provider of fully integrated EAP, behavioral health, work-life, wellness, crisis intervention services and outsourced HR solutions under the GuidanceResources® brand. ComPsych provides services to more than 25 million individuals and 10,000 organizations throughout the United States and 92 countries. Chaifetz is one of the world's most frequently quoted experts on behavioral health, workplace issues and employer and employee trends.

"It is an honor for Saint Louis University to have Dr. Richard Chaifetz's name on our Arena, which will mean so much to the University and the entire St. Louis community," said University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J. "Not only is Dr. Chaifetz respected around the world for the success of ComPsych Corporation, but we take special pride because he is an extremely successful alumnus who cares deeply about his alma mater and future generations of SLU students."

Chaifetz graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology from Saint Louis University in 1975. He received his Psy.D. from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz

"I am proud to have the University name this Arena in my honor," Chaifetz said. "My education at Saint Louis University has had a tremendous impact upon my life, both personally and in business. As an avid sports fan, I have fond memories of the many sporting events I attended while an undergraduate at SLU. Having the Arena in my name is especially meaningful."

Chaifetz is a native of New York, and in 1971 he turned down an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to attend Saint Louis University on the advice of his high school dean and mentor. He credits former SLU President Paul Reinert, S.J., with helping him remain at SLU when financial issues threatened his ability to stay in school.

"Father Reinert told me he believed in me and allowed me to stay at SLU at a time in my life when I didn't have the financial resources to pay for my tuition," Chaifetz said. "I promised him not only would I pay my tuition, but that I would pay back the University in an even bigger way in the future. Now, this is an opportunity for me to give back to the University for all the support and guidance I received as an undergraduate here. It is my hope that the Chaifetz Arena will enhance the on-campus experience for every future Saint Louis University student, as well as the city of St. Louis."

Chaifetz has been named to the Who's Who list of Crain's Chicago Business for three consecutive years - 2004, 2005 and 2006. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives' Club of Chicago and Vistage International (formerly The Executive Committee Worldwide). Chaifetz also served on Illinois Governor George Ryan's Health Care and Substance Abuse Policy Committee. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of several corporations, as well as non-profit organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois, Miami University School of Business and board of trustees for Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History.

The Chaifetz Arena will be the new home for Billiken men's and women's basketball, volleyball and also will host concerts, family shows, sporting events, trade shows and other events. The Arena complex consists of a 10,600-seat Arena, athletics practice facility and offices and support facilities for all Division I sports and the athletic department. Ground was broken for the Arena on August 28, 2006, and construction is ongoing and scheduled to be completed in March 2008. St. Louis-based Clayco is the general contractor for the project. Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum has been selected to manage the Arena for the University. Approximately 400,000 people are expected to attend events at the Chaifetz Arena in its first year of operation.

"This is truly an exciting day for Saint Louis University, and I hope this generous gift from Dr. Chaifetz will encourage others to help us reach our fundraising goal for the Chaifetz Arena," said Vice President for Development and University Relations Thomas Keefe. "We are not using any tuition dollars to pay for this state-of-the-art facility and we need continuing support to help us complete fundraising for the project."

Construction of the Chaifetz Arena is being funded through fundraising, $8 million in tax increment financing and bonds, which will be paid back with revenues from the Chaifetz Arena.

Chaifetz is married and has two children.

An aerial rendering of the Chaifetz Arena.

Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,000 students on campuses in St. Louis and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Through teaching, research, health care and community service, Saint Louis University is the place where knowledge touches lives. Learn more about SLU at www.slu.edu.