(TRENTON) – Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland) released the following statement Monday on the Department of Education rejecting the New Jersey Scholastic Interstate Athletic Association’s requests for increased ticket prices.
Burzichelli is the author of a law restricting the NJSIAA’s ability to raise ticket prices. The NJSIAA wanted to charge $10 for championship football games at MetLife Stadium and Rutgers University, but will only be allowed to charge $9, just like last year. It wanted to charge $8 for games at The College of New Jersey and Kean University, but will instead be allowed to charge $5.50, compared to $6 last year:
“This is a great win for New Jerseyans.
“I applaud acting Commissioner Cerf for this common sense decision that puts New Jersey families and taxpayers first. As I’ve said, the NJSIAA should have known this was not the time to be increasing ticket prices, and this decision hopefully makes that point clear.
“The NJSIAA needs to accept this decision and not waste time and further reDests seeking to overturn it. It must finally turn its focus away from finding ways to hike prices on families to instead finding ways to control costs, keep high school athletics affordable for everyone and do what’s best for our student athletes and their families.
“I’ve previously said it’s time to consolidate the NJSIAA into another operation for a fresh change of culture and the real savings schools districts and families need. This, though, is yet another golden opportunity for the NJSIAA to finally do what’s right and change its ways. Its past history, of course, shows it will do otherwise, so continued scrutiny will be warranted.”