Ticket prices to enter the 83rd Magic City Classic annual football game will not increase.

Perren King, VP of Collegiate Sports at Eventive Sports, the company that manages The Classic, said ticket prices will remain at $20 each.

“There will be no change in ticket prices,” King told AL.com.

This comes after the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board on Thursday announced there would be an increase in tailgating prices for this year’s Magic City Classic.

The cost of Saturday parking only increases from $20 to $50 for the day, cost of RV tailgating goes from $35 to $100 a day. The total price will increase from $140 to $400 for four days, Wednesday through Saturday.

According to City Councilman JT Moore, who sits on the park and rec board, the increase is due to keeping the game at Legion Field as long as possible. He cited in an op-ed that, “Legion Field has never once been able to directly profit” from the Magic City Classic and that 50 percent of the money will go towards the stadium.

“I understand that this may not come as welcomed news for some people, but it is a necessary decision we had to make,” Moore wrote in the op-ed. “Even still, this new ticket price is considerably less than other similar-sized tailgating events.”

Tresha Moore, a spokesperson for the park and rec board, told AL.com that the money will primarily go towards enhancing the tailgating experience, and the rest towards the stadium.

“We’re going to professionally get it stripped. We put the numbers down for individuals so they know where they’re going. [We put down] gravel. All of those things come into play. And those are costs that’s associated with that,” Moore said.

She also stated that the price increase is based on inflation and research from what other stadiums across Alabama charge for tailgating, and they are looking to be more competitive.

“We contacted the stadiums ourselves and did that research,” Moore told AL.com. “We reached out to Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Miles College, Auburn, Alabama.”

Alabama A&M University charges $400 for RVs and $300 for cars and trucks but at homecoming the prices increase by $100 for each vehicle type, according to the assistant athletic director of ticketing, Roderick Smothers.

For 2023, Miles College charged $125 for RV tailgating and $175 during homecoming. However, they do plan to increase their prices for the 2024 football season, according to Mya Jolly, the spokesperson for the school.

Tailgating is free at the University of Alabama, but people can purchase reserved tailgating from the school’s official tailgate services partner Gameday Done Right.

Free tailgating is also available at Auburn University, but they offer “premium tailgating experiences” through RevelXP for various prices. AL.com was unable to reach Alabama State University for their pricing.

Park and Recreation received more than $24 million as part of the 2023-2024 operating budget. It’s unclear how much of that goes directly to Legion Field. Moore wasn’t able to clarify the difference from what’s budgeted from the city of Birmingham for Legion Field renovations and what’s still financially needed for additional upkeep.

Moore said the price increase doesn’t just affect people participating in the Magic City Classic, but will be go into effect for all tailgaters for games at Legion Field starting April 5.

But a press release from the Birmingham Park and Recreation board said the price increase will happen in September/October.

The 83rd Magic City Classic is an annual football game hosted at Legion Field between the state’s largest HBCUs, Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University. The game will take place on October 26.