Arizona nearing sellout for home game against Washington
The University of Arizona ticket office announced earlier this week that only 4,000 tickets remained for Saturday’s home game when the Wildcats host the Washington Huskies.
But that announcement was corrected on social media and by Matt Ensor, Director of Communication Services for the University of Arizona Athletic Department, when contacted by Sports Illustrated Arizona, on Thursday for a clarification of ticket sales and Arizona Stadium capacity.
Early Thursday morning, Ensor confirmed there were actually over 6,000 tickets left, but ticket sales were robust through Thursday, and Arizona may have close to a capacity crowd and its largest-attended game this season.
As a rule, the Athletic Department doesn’t release attendance figures until the third quarter of each game.
Interestingly, on various websites Arizona Stadium capacity is listed anywhere from 56,000 to just over 57, 000. Last season, UA listed it as 55,675. This week's game notes put the capacity at 50,782.
Last year’s stadium renovations on the east side, in the lower section of the “Zona Zoo,” as well as the allowances made on the west side of the stadium to include more spacing per seat, has reduced the capacity.
Many Arizona fans remember the days when a sellout crowd would exceed 58,000, something that actually occurred when the Wildcats hosted then-No. 1 Washington in 1992. Who knew the historic stadium’s capacity would be reduced that much as a result of modern-day upgrades? A sellout is now almost 8,000 shy of the previous maximum.
And, in a few years, when the school hopes to complete a $150 million renovation of the west side, the capacity likely will be in the 48,000 range, athletic director Dave Heeke told us recently.