There hasn’t been any news about the re-seating extortion plan at the Pete and the lawsuit since late March. To be honest, though, I haven’t exactly been looking hard for any.
It would appear that a settlement is at hand.
The deal protects the majority of the class for 5 more years.
Members of the class-action suit, which was filed by the law firm Stember Feinstein Krakoff, will retain their seats at the Petersen Events Center for the next five years by maintaining a minimum donation level set by the university. The minimum donation to retain seats for next season is $250. That sum will increase to $300 for the 2006-07 season.
Season-ticket holders in the general seating area selected their seats before the 2002-03 season, the first at the Petersen Events Center. In 2003-04 and this past season, season-ticket holders in the general seating area were able to retain the same seats they had selected in 2002 whether they made any contributions to Team Pittsburgh, the fund-raising arm of the university that has since been renamed the Panther Club, in each of those years.
Only 18 percent of season-ticket holders last season had to give a donation to buy a seat. Those were ticket-holders who had seats in the club seats, loge seats or VIP seating.
John Stember, an attorney at the firm that filed the lawsuit and a Pitt season-ticket holder, said about 650 people will be protected by the settlement. Class members have a right to object to the settlement agreement and may do so in writing. Class members may choose not to accept the benefits of the settlement and can instead participate in the reseating plan previously announced by Pitt. The proposed settlement can be accessed at sfklaw.net.
AD Jeff Long was diplomatic.
“Although we firmly believe Pitt athletics already is living up to its past commitments, there was some misunderstanding about those commitments,” said athletic director Jeff Long in a statement. “We are taking an approach that recognizes prior and ongoing support and advances our efforts to raise the much-needed funds to compete at the NCAA’s highest level.
“Maintaining Pitt’s strong fan base is important when making any decision,” Long said. “Our goal is to generate additional funds to provide student-athletes with the best opportunity for academic and athletic success, while also rewarding fans who have maintained or increased their contributions to support our growth.”
In addition, Pitt will pay attorney fees and court costs. About $35,000 for the class.
The agreement is still preliminary, but is expected to be approved next month.
UPDATE: Pitt now has a press release on the preliminary settlement.
