Softball Season Tickets Sold Out
1/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? The University of Alabama softball program has met and exceeded one of its goals for the 2008 season prior to stepping on the diamond for its first game. On Monday, the UA ticket office made it official when it sold the 1,595th and final season ticket package for the upcoming season, giving the Tide an unprecedented season-long sellout at the Alabama Softball Facility.
Heading into the school year, head coach Patrick Murphy hoped to break the 1,250 mark after setting an all-time record of 1,200 season tickets sold in 2007. As usual, his program and its loyal fans surpassed those expectations by reaching that milestone earlier this fall, nearly three months before the season was scheduled to start.
“We have the best fans in college softball,” Murphy said. “All of us involved with Alabama softball thank every season ticket holder. I know each student-athlete appreciates the home crowd support. We are very anxious for opening day and seeing the stands full.”
Although attendance records for softball throughout the nation are not complete, with many programs giving free admission to all fans, Alabama is certainly one of, if not the first, to achieve the feat of selling each seat prior to the season. Arizona reported season ticket sales of over 1,700, but its stadium holds nearly a thousand more than the UA facility.
Despite the official sellout number reached by the program, it is important for fans to realize that individual and group tickets will still be available on a game-by-game basis. General admission seats will be made available throughout the season, with seating available on the first base hillside on a first-come, first-serve basis. Unused seats will be available until a season ticket holder arrives to claim their seat.
The official sellout mark is yet another milestone reached by the Tide’s softball fan base, which has grown steadily throughout Murphy’s tenure. Alabama has been among the national leaders in attendance throughout most of the decade and established a number of individual game and season attendance marks during the 2007 campaign.
“To go from 100 fans at Sokol Park in 1997 to selling over 1,500 season tickets this spring is amazing,” Murphy said. “Every year, the support has gotten better and better. So many people told us in the beginning that Tuscaloosa was a fast-pitch city. When our stadium was finished in 2001, that fan base began to show up at the games and now we’ve sold the stadium out, so it’s been an amazing thing to watch.”
The 2008 season officially gets underway on Friday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m., when the Tide takes on instate rival South Alabama in its first game of the Hampton Inn Bama Bash. Alabama faces Purdue in the nightcap at 5. The tournament gets underway at 11 a.m. on Friday when the Boilermakers face Jacksonville State. The Tide plays JSU and Purdue on Saturday, Feb. 9, beginning at 3 p.m.
Alabama opens its season ranked fourth in the USA Today/NFCA preseason poll released last week. The ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll is set to be released on Tuesday afternoon.
