Three former Texas A&M University students have filed a lawsuit against the 12th Man Foundation, seeking to protect their ticketing and seating rights in the school's $485 million expansion of its stadium.
Reports say plaintiffs Sammy York, Gregory Hayes and Henry Holubec accuse the foundation, which is overseeing reseating efforts at the stadium, of reneging on endowment agreements in an effort to get more money out of longtime donors. The lawsuit also seeks to represent holders of about 450 donor agreements that account for about 1,700 stadium seats at Kyle Field.
Current endowment agreements allow donors to receive long-term rights to prime football tickets and parking rights near the stadium.
Mark Riordan, vice president of marketing and communications for the foundation, said the group will not comment pending litigation.
Issues have surrounded the endowment agreements for a decade, but it all came to a head in 2013 when Texas A&M announced that it would renovate to make Kyle Field the largest in the Southeastern Conference.
To help fund the renovations, seat holders are expected to help cover the bill through seat licenses. That expectation triggered a massive reseating process that required donors to pay even more money to keep their seats.
Riordan did say that the foundation has tried to work with endowment donors. According to the foundation's website, donors are to receive a $2,000 seating allowance starting this year to pick a spot in the stadium without owing additional financial support.
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"The seat holders have been given the ability to select seats before anybody else and in an area that is not going to cost them any more money," Riordan said.
