Virginia Tech's 2012 Lane Stadium Reseating Plan

Back in March, Virginia Tech announced it was going to reseat the season ticket holders at Lane Stadium prior to the 2012 football season. Today I got the packet from Hokie Club that outlines how they're going to do it and I wanted to get your opinion on it. If you're in Hokie Club, you've probably already gotten this information or are about to.

Details after the jump ...

First and foremost is the new ladder that will establish the pecking order for season tickets:

1. Pioneers (continuous season ticket purchaser since 1966) will maintain current seat location or they may go to Step #3 in selecting their seats. You will need to indicate if you wish to select at Step #3 when ordering your tickets).

2. Benefactors, Century Champions, Golden Champions, Diamond & Platinum Hokies

3. 45-42 years continuous season ticket purchaser; donor and non-donor (since 1967-1970)

4. Golden Hokies

5. 41-37 years continuous season ticket purchasers; donor and non-donor (1971-75)

6. Silver Hokies

7. 36-32 years continuous season ticket purchasers; donor and non-donor (1976-1980)

8. Faculty & Staff

9. Bronze Hokies

10. 31-27 years continuous season ticket purchasers; donor and non-donor (1981-1985)

11. Orange & Maroon Hokies

12. 26-19 years continuous season ticket purchasers; donor and non-donor (1986-1993)

13. Hokie Club with less than 19 years continuous season ticket purchasers (since 1994)

14. Non-onor with less than 19 years continuous season ticket purchasers (since 1994)

15. Tickets in excess of priority limits and according to rank order on the Ladder

Personally I was kind of stunned when I saw how they constructed this. Usually when an athletics department sets out to reseat its ticket holders the long-time fans who don't have deep pockets lose out. However, I think this was a very fair way to go about it. There's definitely a balance between rewarding the people who have supported the program the longest and the people who have supported the program with the most money.

The benchmarks of 1966 and 1994 were used because 1966 was the first full season in Lane Stadium and 1994 was the first regular season after the current bowl streak began.

Some other notes:

• Season ticket applications for the 2012 season will be due March 2, 2012 to accommodate the reseating process.
• The 2012 order form will allow season ticket purchasers to inform the ticket office if they want to sit or park with others, but those people will not be required to send in their applications together. The groups then need to schedule a seating appointment based on the lowest-ranking member of the group.
• The way the seating process works is you'll have an appointed time to select your seats based on your rank on the ladder above. You'll go online and personally select your seats using what looks to be some pretty nifty ticketing software. This appointments will take place April-June 2012.
• All club seats will also be reseated according to rank.
• There are many, many more details and frequently asked questions in the reseating booklet. Ask for one from Hokie Club if you need one.

Naturally there are going to be some people who are upset with the plan based solely on the fact that they're going to lose their current seat location to someone else just because they give more money to the program. While I can be sympathetic to that to an extent, in order for the Hokies to compete with the nation's elite they need to get people with deep pockets donating to the program and keep those people happy with their seats as well.

What do you guys think? Is the new Hokie Club/ticket office plan fair?