Noles season ticket sales booming at end of January, but why?

Despite Florida State’s 7-6 season in 2017, there’s a lot of optimism around the Seminoles under new head coach Willie Taggart.

So much so, that fans will need to prepare their wallets for a spike in ticket prices. Fans who want to renew their tickets or purchase season tickets, will be up against their first deadline on Wednesday.

Prices will increase by as much as $50 per ticket starting Thursday — incentivizing fans to purchase their tickets sooner rather than later. It’s the first time Florida State has implemented tiered ticket pricing, and the tactic appears to be working.

The renewal rate for season ticket holders is around 45 percent, according to The Tallahassee Democrat. That’s higher than any other previous year at this point on the calendar, including the year after their National Championship winning season (2014) with quarterback James Winston a the helm.

How much of this is optimism around a new coach, and how much is a better slate of games for the Garnet and Gold fans at Doak Campbell Stadium?

It’s another big selling point that there is a more competitive and intriguing home schedule than 2017. Much has been made of the schedule starting at home with a key early game for the Seminoles on Labor Day, Sept. 3, with a tough task at against Virginia Tech.

FSU’s home schedule also features games against ACC rival Clemson (Oct. 27) and in-state nemesis Florida (Nov. 24) — both always draw large crowds.

Still, it’s interesting that Florida State is upping their prices to this extent after a lackluster season — a season that included needing to win the final three regular season games just to get to a bowl game.