Spartan fans who wish to purchase tickets for MSU sporting events no longer will have to leave the comfort of their homes to do so.

With a new Web site scheduled to be online Friday, fans will be able to purchase student season tickets and general public renewals for football, basketball and hockey in a matter of seconds.

MSU Athletic Ticket Office manager Chris Besanceney said the decision to go online just made sense.

“It’s great for everyone involved,” Besanceney said. “It allows fans to order from home and it’s great for the ticket office, because it allows us to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Besanceney said the Friday deadline should be met as long as everything goes according to plans. But he said it may take a little longer to get things updated and cleaned up.

Fans wanting to give the new site a look can do so by clicking on the tickets icon on left side of www.msuspartans.com. Besanceney said after that, the site is self-explanatory.

Besanceney also said each student is allowed to buy one set of season tickets. Married couples, graduate assistants and people with disabilities will have the opportunity to request more than one ticket.

But the convenience of ordering online comes with a price. The $3 fee charge that comes with the mail-in forms has been upped to $5 for online orders.

Order forms for student season tickets still will be sent to students’ home addresses.

No-preference freshman Justin Sailor said the $2 difference won’t stop him from ordering hockey tickets online.

“I think it’s a great advantage,” Sailor said. “I remember ordering tickets and going to Jenison (Field House) and there was a delay, so it’s nice not to have to go anywhere.”

Sailor said as long as the ticket office lets people know the online option is available it should be successful.

MSU isn’t the first university in Michigan to make the move to online ticket sales. Both the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University already offer online ticket sales.

“Everything’s moving to technology and e-commerce,” Besanceney said. “And there’s a lot of students online already.”

Convenience isn’t the only good news for Spartan football fans.

Ticket prices, which saw an increase for the first time in two years last season, will remain the same.

The eight-game packages will be sold for $132, or $16.50 per game. Forms will be mailed out this weekend, but fans can log on to buy tickets Friday.

Last year’s season-ticket package was $99, also $16.50 per game. In the 1999 and 2000 seasons, packages were available for $84, or $14 per game.

Ticket packages for the general public, faculty and staff and family plans also saw increases last year. But Besanceney said no groups will see increases this year.

Finance freshman Brad Ebenhoeh said he’s glad he won’t see an increase in football ticket prices next season. But he said he doesn’t believe the competition will be the same as last season.

“The games probably won’t be as good as last year,” Ebenhoeh said. “We won’t see Michigan or Penn State. I think Notre Dame will be the only good game.”

Last season’s increase was used to help finance the five-year restoration project at Spartan Stadium, which included implementing natural grass for the upcoming season.

Renovations at Jenison Field House and the new Ralph Young Field factored into the increase. John Lewandowski, an athletics department spokesman, said the outstanding expenses for these projects is $53 million.

General management junior Lennon Jones said he understood the price increase was going toward fixing up MSU athletic facilities. He said paying $16.50 per game isn’t that bad.

“The Big Ten is one the best football conferences,” Jones said. “And it’s better than paying $30.”

Jones, who has purchased season tickets each of his first three years, said he’s looking forward to opening the season with five-straight home games.

“I’ll be doing a lot of tailgating,” he said. “And plus, it’s nice to have those games early in the year when it’s still nice out.”

MSU opens the season Aug. 31 against Eastern Michigan, followed by Rice, California, Notre Dame and Northwestern.

Fans making the trip won’t have to worry about high ticket prices, but as of July 1, they will have to worry about higher parking prices.

MSU spokesman Terry Denbow said the increase is due to a need for more security and a need to fix up areas that are heavily used during sporting events.

All public parking lots on campus will increase between $2 or $3. The biggest increase will be for recreational vehicles and charter buses, which rose from $10 this season to $30 next season.

“Security is a major need, and some of the parking lots need repairs,” Denbow said. “There hasn’t been an increase in football in seven years, and basketball for 10 years.”

Denbow said securitywise, the incoming money will help pay for two additional police officers during events.

“Over the years, there’s been an increase in events on campus, and it’s something that needs to be done,” Denbow said.

Ryan Wallace can be reached at wallac89@msu.edu.