Memphis is expected to lose nearly $750,000 in ticket revenue this football season because of ongoing renovations to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, athletic director Ed Scott told a Board of Trustees committee on Wednesday.

The Tigers kicked off their season with a 40-0 win over North Alabama, but they did so at a stadium that was at about half capacity. That's because the athletic department moved forward this summer on a $220 million renovation project that will take about two years to complete. The renovation started with demolition of the west side of the stadium, which left a hole that fans got to see for the first time.

It also leaves the stadium with about 25,000 fewer seats. Memphis announced an attendance of 25,849 for the opener.

According to data Scott presented to the committee, the department is projecting a loss of 3,518 season tickets, which equates to $764,620 in loss revenue. There is also a loss of 144 parking spots, leading to $43,200.

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Scott also said he's hoping to see an increase in single-game tickets. The department projected $900,000 in revenue from ticket sales, according to the data, but had made only $43,141 when the presentation was put together in August. The department had sold 10,181 season tickets, according to the presentation.

"The problem with single-game tickets is it's hard to forecast. If you look at the North Alabama game, we had just about 26,000 folks, just under 26,000. Some of that is due to our opponent, and some of that is due to how we're playing. My expectation is we'll see an influx of single-game tickets as we move forward, especially as the product that we put on the field is really, really good right now."

Scott said he's hoping to see an uptick soon, starting with the Tigers' game on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPNU) against Troy (0-1).

Updates on fundraising for stadium projects

Memphis currently has two major stadium renovation projects: The $220 million Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium project, and a $7 million project to rename the soccer stadium as Liza Wellford Fletcher Stadium.

The football stadium is being financed by $120 million in state money allocated by the city, $50 million from FedEx founder Fred Smith and his family and $50 million raised by the university. The department is now "over $25 million" between verbal and signed gifts, which is in line with how Scott and former interim athletic director Jeff Crane have talked about the fundraising push in the past.

The soccer project has seen a significant jump in fundraising since the announcement about the stadium in late August. The department has raised about $4.7 million toward that $7 million goal, Scott said.

Ed Scott on House v. NCAA

Scott also spent time going over the pending House Settlement with the trustees. He started with a clear message about the stakes of the settlement, which will open the door for revenue sharing and is expected to transform college athletics.

"This is the most existential threat that college athletics has ever faced," he said.

Scott has said multiple times, including in an interview with The Commercial Appeal in late August, that he hopes the American Athletic Conference will institute a revenue sharing floor. He echoed that on Wednesday, comparing a revenue cap to a poker game and again saying he wants to take Memphis to a Power Four conference.

"I am not in favor of a cap in our conference, in the American Conference," he said. "If you look at us, Tulane and South Florida, we have the largest budgets. What I am in favor of is a floor. I think that everyone's going to have to ante something up to be able to get in the game. I look at it similar to poker. You have to have enough to get in the game, but the person who starts at the table with the largest stack doesn't always win the game.

"And so I think the real question for us is going to be: What is the right size and scope for the University of Memphis, given our sport portfolio and our goal to get in a Power Four conference. And so that's the approach that I'm taking with our coaches."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: AD: Stadium renovations expected to cause $750k ticket revenue loss