Despite higher gas and food prices, Patty Kolodi of Delran, N.J., said she'd "sell the house first" before choosing not to tailgate at Penn State football games.
Thousands of tailgaters and hundreds of RVs will likely descend on the area surrounding Beaver Stadium Saturday as Penn State faces Coastal Carolina University in the first home football game of the season.
Ken Fulmer, Class of 1969, said he tries to make the 300-mile trip to tailgate at every home game. With the current price of diesel fuel more than $4 per gallon, Fulmer said it costs him nearly $125 to fill his motor home -- a 25 percent increase from last year.
"It's not going to discourage us," said Fulmer, who has had season tickets since 1982. "Obviously, if the gas prices got exorbitantly high we'd reconsider, but quite frankly, I don't see the rise in gas prices as any different from the rise in parking fees or the rise in tuition."
The continued demand for tailgating relates to the practice's "inelasticity," Penn State Erie associate economics professor James Kurre said.
"If price goes up on some things, people cut back quickly," Kurre said. "It sounds like people value tailgating enough to keep doing it, bite the bullet and continue spending."
Kolodi said she's one of those people.
"We adjust for [higher prices] as [tailgating] is our No. 1 priority," Kolodi said. "Though the costs are going up, we would sacrifice something else before missing a Penn State tailgate."
Because of the personal value people place on their tailgating experiences, they may disregard how they might normally respond to a price increase, Kurre said.
"If the price of Pepsi goes up, people will buy Coke -- there's a good substitute," Kurre said. "What's a good substitute for a tailgate party down there? It sounds like in people's minds, there's not much else."
Fulmer said he uses tailgating as a networking tool. He said he plans to meet with four local engineers on Saturday and reconnect with a former roommate for the first time in five years.
Ticket scalpers may also see less money in their wallet following this weekend's game. Penn State Police Lt. Bill Moerschbacher said campus police expect lower amounts of ticket scalping at tomorrow's game than they would see at high-profile matchups.
"I don't expect a lot this week, but we always keep an eye [on it] because even though this one might not be big, someone else might be selling for another game," he said. "We always do enforce the scalping rules."
Despite a predicted sellout crowd, Penn State Assistant Police Chief Clifford Lutz said university police do not plan to have a significantly increased police presence at Saturday's game.
"If we have a major television game or a night game, then we'll have extra law enforcement support," Lutz said. "If the largest stadium in the country can have a routine game, then this is a routine game."
