Many students have expressed concern that seats added to Hilton Coliseum through the proposed Hilton expansion would be exclusively for high-dollar donors during men’s basketball games.

However, university officials are working to designate some of the lower-level seats for students.

Recent plans made by Athletics Director Gene Smith, Vice President for External Affairs Murray Blackwelder and Government of the Student Body President-elect Matt Craft would add at least 186 lower-level seats in Hilton for students at men’s basketball games, contingent upon the approval of the expansion.

On April 27, Ames voters will decide whether a 2 percent hotel-motel tax increase should be imposed to help pay for 1,465 new seats and other expansions. If the tax increase is voted down, the expansion will not happen due to lack of funds.

Smith said adding student seats in the lower levels has always been a priority to the administration.

“We have always wanted to add more student seats down low,” he said. “I’ve been here since 1993, and we’ve added more students behind the east bleachers, and we’ll continue to always look at adding more student seats.”

Smith said the decision to add student seats to the expansion plans came in part from student input.

“In January, we received a number of comments from students,” he said. “Then Matt [Craft] and I had a conversation about it, and it went from there. If this expansion goes through, this gives us an opportunity to do it.”

Craft said he has wanted to see an improvement in student seating for awhile.

“[GSB Vice President-elect] Garrett Toay and I were talking, and we thought since student seating at basketball games is always a complaining point, this was a good chance for us to do something about it,” Craft said.

Blackwelder and Smith met with Craft earlier this semester to talk about the possibility of incorporating more student seats in the Hilton expansion.

“Representing GSB, I told them this is a major problem every year,” Craft said. “They were very receptive to the idea of adding seats.”

Despite the university’s willingness to add student seats, Smith said the process will not be easy. Current donors who already are season ticket holders might have to be moved from their seats.

“That is really going to be a challenge,” Smith said. “We’re still looking to do more for the students, but obviously, everyone wants to have seats downstairs. The current obligations to season seat holders have to be handled well.”

Jeff Schultz, National Cyclone Club membership director, said he was not sure how members of his organization would react to being moved.

“Basically, whatever Gene Smith says, we’ll probably go with,” he said. “When the situation arises, we’ll have to deal with it. It’s tough to really tell how people will react before it actually happens.”

Craft said bringing more students closer to the floor will enhance the atmosphere at basketball games.

“There’s no doubt — students are always more vocal and supportive,” he said. “We’re all disappointed when we have to watch a game from the balcony. The closer you get to the floor, the more fun it is being crazy and loud.”

The exact location of the new seats still is undecided, Smith said.

“All of the new seats are being dispersed throughout the arena, so we’re being really careful right now about moving people,” he said.

Craft said the location of the new seats probably would be announced before the election.

“I’ve seen some of the possible seating plans, and they should all really excite students,” he said.

Craft said he hoped the addition of student seats to the expansion plan would increase student support for voting “yes” in the April 27 election.

“We’d like to see all students go out to vote for this,” he said.

However, Smith said adding student seats was not an attempt to entice students to the polling booths.

“If it helps, sure, that’s fine, but I don’t look at it that way,” he said. “The expansion helps bring concerts here, and it creates flexibility. It doesn’t help [the Athletic Department] so much, so it’s already for students.”