Ms. Sandy Hall and Ms. Lisa Blacka talk to Mr. Derek McDaniel about the ticket sales. (Photo by Vinny Armpriester)

By Alex Graves, Reporter

Touchdown!  The crowd goes crazy in the stands (even if they are broken down).  Most of the spectators have to pay to get into the game.  They also go to the concession stand to get food and drinks.  You would think that the school’s athletics would be making a large amount of money, but then there is never enough money to buy things for the sports teams.  So where does the money from athletic events go?

                According to athletic director and head football coach Mr. Derek McDaniel, the ticket sales go into a general athletic fund, but are labeled according to the sport from which the ticket sales came.  If it was a football game then it would go into the fund labeled “Football.”

                Ticket sales make a profit, McDaniel said.  The worst ticket number for this football season was $4,500 said McDaniel.  That is still a lot of money that is being brought in by the team.

                The concessions have a separate fund.  The concession stand is worked by different clubs such as the Beta Club, Key Club, and other sports teams.  These groups are paid out of the concession fund McDaniel said.  The concession stand makes some money but not as much as people would expect.

                The money is divided between the athletic teams based on need.  Football is a very expensive sport.  McDaniel said that it takes around $700 to suit up one player to play a football game.  The cost to pay people to work the football games, including ticket takers, the police, announcer, etc is around $450.  There is also a cost for the paint for the field.

                “People are misled at the cost of running events and cost of teams.  The cost of the teams themselves is astonishing,” said McDaniel.

                The school also has to pay the VHSL a third of what they make.  Not all sports can stand alone because they don’t bring in enough money.  Football and basketball are the sports that bring in the most money.  Some sports like swimming and cross country don’t even charge admission.  So these sports don’t bring in money for the general athletic fund.

                There is also the idea of making kids pay to play.  This is when student athletes would have to pay a fee to play high school sports.  “I would rather go out and raise money than make a kid pay to play.  I can’t imagine charging a kid to play a game,” said McDaniel.

                Athletics are getting more expensive and the school will have to find a way to pay for it.  Hopefully, the school will find some way to pay for the bleachers or there will be no home football games which will greatly impact the school’s athletic money.