STEPHEN BUCKNER, Reveille Radio News Reporter:
According to LSUsports.net, last year’s matchup between the then number one ranked Florida Gators and the number four Bayou Bengals drew the largest crowd ever in Tiger Stadium’s 85-year history.
But how many people will be on campus for this weekend’s game? Sergeant Blake Tabor of the LSUPD expects a multitude of fans to be tailgating.
SGT. BLAKE TABOR (LSUPD): We’ve seen sometimes for these big SEC games upwards to close to 200,000 [people].
BUCKNER: Although 93,139 fans were inside the raucous stadium for last year’s matchup with the Gators, officials estimated there were at least 50,000 more people outside of the stadium. Tabor says people show up just to have a good time.
SGT. TABOR: You have those people who really enjoy the allure of this type of game and they come here and they just want to tailgate and hang out.
BUCKNER: Tomorrow’s game against the defending national champion and number five ranked Alabama Crimson Tide has got some students trying to auction off their tickets to the highest bidder on sites such as Facebook. But the LSU Ticket Office is cracking down on these individuals and officers will be looking out for scalping this weekend.
SGT. TABOR: If it a student that is doing this type of activity they are going to be dealt with the swiftness of the law. They are going to be arrested. They’ll go through the Dean of Students process just like any other person that would do this.
BUCKNER: Tabor says to be smart when attempting to buy tickets from someone on campus.
SGT. TABOR: What they should look for is if they come to campus and they see a person standing on the corner with 12 tickets to the LSU/Alabama game, common sense should play a part in that and say ok well how would this person be able to get his hands on 12 legitimate tickets. That should be alarming to some people.
BUCKNER: Tabor has seen people willing to pay up to $1,300 for two tickets. With SEC West division rival Alabama and former Tiger head coach Nick Saban returning for the second time on the opposing sideline in Tiger Stadium, fans are sure to pay a great deal to procure tickets.
The two SEC west powerhouses kick off at 2:30 before a nationwide audience.
This has been Stephen Buckner, Reveille Radio News.