INTERVIEW-Pitching seat rights to a sports team near you

* Seat rights are voluntary, seat licenses are not

* Can raise millions by selling a small number of seats

* Firm majority owned by Morgan Stanley investment arm

By Ben Klayman

CHICAGO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Lou Weisbach's young company is offering a way for sports team owners to raise debt-free capital by selling equity in the seats under their fans' backsides.

The man who brought you the first ads in baseball dugouts is back with another idea catching on with colleges and possibly a professional team near you: the right to buy tickets, also known as "equity seat rights."

Already this year, the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Kansas have adopted Stadium Capital Financing Group's idea to fund stadium renovations and other programs through the sale of seat rights.

"The environment is perfect right now on the pro side because there's so many teams in the NHL, in the NBA and other professional sports as well that are having financial difficulty," Weisbach said from his downtown Chicago office.

"There's no doubt because of what's happened economically in this country and in the world the appetite for debt-free capital ... has made people much more open minded," he added.