How’s the team going to be? That’s the most-often asked question among the Seminole faithful, followed closely by “How are ticket sales going?”
While The Osceola is filled with quotes from Florida State coaches about the team that reported this past Wednesday, The Osceola went to the head of the stream – Senior Vice President of Development and Revenue Generation Mark Cameron – for clear answers to ticket sales questions, with SMU, Clemson, Florida, NC State and Virginia coming to Doak.
“Ticket buyers nationally, including our fans, purchase tickets differently today and we’ve adapted accordingly,” Cameron said. “Demand remains particularly strong for the new and premium experiences at Doak, and advance sales of single-game tickets are ahead of last year. We’ve adapted our ticketing strategy and intentionally created products that provide that flexibility giving fans more ways and price points to experience seven home games this fall.”
There’s credible evidence that ticket revenues will hold up in 2026. Currently, season ticket sales are slightly down (10 percent), overwhelmingly concentrated in the lower-priced, higher-turnover bleacher seats, while the higher-margin premium / chairback / club seat inventory is roughly flat to ahead.
Adapting to change
Both Seminole fans and the ticket office staff find themselves adapting to changes occasioned by the renovation of the west sideline of Doak Campbell Stadium as well as evolving ticket purchase preferences.
The renovation now offers Seminole fans 15 distinct seating experiences and price points to choose from, as well as far more purchase plans than years ago when the decision was binary: season ticket or single game.
Doak now has 13 percent of its total seating dedicated to premium seats, counting the west sideline club seats (2,300), Dunlap Champions Club (4,000) and skyboxes (2,000). The remaining 87 percent of the stadium is bleacher seating or westside chairback seats (8,000).
In addition to the type of seating, FSU has also responded to demand from customers who can’t attend all seven games by offering three-game packages and more single-game options, both of which often lead to future season ticket purchases.
“One of the main reasons for the increase in advanced single game sales (4,500) is tied to new options as over 2,000 tickets were either packages (three-game packs) or promotions of single-game options we didn’t offer last year,” Cameron said. “Buyers have enjoyed the flexibility with these new options for sure.”
For years, FSU has also marketed single-game tickets to the parents of FSU students through the Family Connection and have pre-sold 1,700 single-game tickets thus far this year.
The three-game ticket pack allows a ticketholder to choose from the Florida or Clemson game, along with two other games.
A creative season ticket offer, the popular Nole Pass, is the charcuterie board of seating experiences, as the buyer is guaranteed admission to all seven games but doesn’t know where his seats will be until a couple of days before the game. The seats could be on the east sideline in bleacher seats for some games and then in the west sideline chairback seats for others. It’s a great way to experience all areas of the stadium while making a lot of new Seminole friends.
These intentional segmentations offer fans more ways to attend games rather than FSU relying on a single traditional season ticket offer and often enable fans to make a full season commitment.
Test drive chairback seats
While presenting the new west sideline chairback seats last year, season ticket holders said they would like to experience the chairback seats before making a capital campaign commitment.
FSU listened and is now offering a section of chairback seats that do not require a capital campaign payment for the 2026 season. If the ticket buyer likes the experience and wants to renew them, they will then need to make the capital gift for the 2027 season, which can be paid over three years.
Adapting to the market
“Because there are is are so many options, our staff’s role has become more education oriented than ever before,” Cameron said. “We want to engage with our fans to show them their options, either in person at Doak or virtually, and to answer any questions they may have so they are able to choose the right seats for their family or friends. As a result, our staff is looking to engage anyone who is interested to show them the options here at Doak Campbell Stadium.”
Florida State has launched all ticket options. Interested buyers can view locations and price of each.
Open House at Doak
FSU will offer an Open House at Doak on Saturday, August 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
You can register for the Open House.
See the seats available. Ask questions. Select seats.
If you cannot make it to the Open House, you can set up a tour at a time that is convenient for you to better visualize the products and get the accurate, current information you need to make an informed decision.
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