UNM raising some ticket prices for Lobo basketball games

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico had a lot to celebrate last season after the Lobo men’s basketball team had one of their best years in a decade. Now, fans will have to pay a little more to cheer on their favorite team at The Pit.

“So, in some of our premium seats, and by that, I mean those a little bit close to the floor and the chair backs, they’re going to see a very slight increase in their season ticket, somewhere in the range of $25 to $45 on full season ticket scale,” said Jalen Dominguez, UNM Lobo Club executive director.

Dominguez says fans shouldn’t panic, the increases will impact less than half of the seats in The Pit.

“It’s not lost on us how important it is for, you know, everyone to have a chance to experience local basketball,” Dominguez said. “So we want to be very intentional with not pricing people out.”

Dominguez said the timing of the increase makes sense since the Lobos won the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The last ticket price increase was 11 years ago.

“Having that building packed does so many things, obviously, from a community standpoint, just how amazing it is and how iconic that building is, and when it’s full, there’s not really any place like it,” Dominguez said. “Clearly, when it’s full, there’s revenue.”

Dominguez said that revenue goes back into the Athletics Department to support many things, like scholarships. The men’s basketball team brought in $3.5 million in ticket revenue last year. This coming season, they’re projecting $3.8 million.

While Lobo fans don’t necessarily want to pay more, they get it.

“I know they’re expanding too, so you know, you’d assume that like, with these bigger conferences and everything, they got more money coming in,” said Michael Bellmay, Lobo fan.

Season tickets go on sale later this summer. For a look at the upcoming schedule, click here.