E-Ticketing for high school sports rose to prominence during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as districts utilized the digital system to better limit attendance numbers and to ensure that each athlete, coach, etc., was allotted their two tickets apiece and no more.
Attendance numbers are now relaxed, but that hasn’t stopped some local districts from continuing to utilize these services for their athletic events.
Schools like St. Clairsville, Linsly, Barnesville, and John Marshall, along with the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference and the Ohio High School Athletic Association utilize e-ticketing services like Hometown Ticketing to handle all, or nearly all, admission transactions for their respective schools and organizations.
For those who thought that e-ticketing would go away as COVID restrictions were lifted, they’ve come to find out that, for some schools, these procedures are likely here to stay. The number of said schools is only likely to grow.
“For someone that says online ticketing does not have a place in current sports, in my opinion, it’s similar to saying that mobile banking has no place in society, that Amazon has no place, credit cards are useless,” said Luke Nelson, Athletics Director at St. Clairsville. “These are similar when it comes to digital transactions.”
Nelson is a huge proponent of the system and for multiple reasons. One of those is it protects district employees.
Finding volunteers to work the gate and take cash for tickets is no easy task, no matter the enrollment numbers at the school. Often, there will be only one person working the gate, taking cash, handing out tickets, and checking in media members.
“It helps protect the employees in the district because there are no cash transactions,” Nelson said. “It’s safer. A lot of schools will run a gate with only one worker.”
Another boost to this system comes in terms of reporting and accountability, and not just financially.
If there is a COVID issue, where contact tracing needs to be considered, or a criminal issue where a member of the local police department needs a list of who was in attendance at a game, Nelson, or any athletic administrator can produce said report quickly—in mere seconds level of quickly.
“Since it’s electronic ticketing, you have a list of guests and if there’s a quarantine situation, or a police situation, I can have an entire list printed and ready in about 12 seconds,” Nelson said. “It also makes the ability to issue a refund quick and professional.”
Because of how credit cards work, the refund usually takes a few business days to be fully returned. But the transaction reversal can be undertaken almost immediately in the event of a cancellation.
For department or organization treasurers needing to perform season or end-of-the-year audits, it saves a lot of legwork and headaches.
Not 100 Percent Cash
E-ticketing is the preferred method of transaction at St. Clairsville. But the athletic department is not without reason. There are cash-based options, from season passes for students, adults, and seniors alike, available for purchase at the school, to emergency situations where digital purchase isn’t available.
Nelson tries to be reasonable. But for the most part, he stresses that the public needs to get on board with the times as this is the ticketing way of the future. For many, it’s the way of the present.
“There are two groups of people. One, let’s call those traditionalists, they are creatures of habit and are used to paying with cash. They don’t want to do anything else,” Nelson said. “At St. Clairsville, we offer passes, and we’ll also accept cash if we need to.
“Maybe somebody doesn’t know or doesn’t have a computer. They may not have a credit card or debit card, but the chances of that are pretty slim. But we try to accommodate everybody.”
Nelson said a lot of the bigger schools in the metro areas in Ohio are digital only, no matter the circumstances. The same is true for the OHSAA.
But times do change, and parents are going to have to adjust to the fact that a new ticketing system is the way to see their children participate in sports.
Positives
There are positive aspects to this system. At a traditional box-office style ticket purchase, or at the school itself, tickets are only available certain hours of the day.
When Nelson first started his AD position, his office offered tickets during the day for fans and parents alike to stop by and purchase tickets in person. Those hours, for example, ran from say 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.
For someone working Monday through Friday during first-shift hours, which was incredibly inconvenient for someone wish to purchase tickets ahead. Going digital? That box office is open 24-7 and available anywhere you can pick up a Wi-Fi or cell signal.
There are numerous devices and platforms where Hometown ticketing can be accessed, with or without the app, to purchase those tickets.
Nelson admitted that is also shaves a lot of work of his weekly plate.
After each sporting event, the pay-in needs to be calculated, taking the money in from the game, and factoring in the start-up money and money for supplies. These reports took time to generate in the past. Now? Not so much.
“I was spending around 15 hours per week just doing pay-ins,” Nelson said. “Granted St. Clairsville offers 24 sports between the middle and high schools, plus cheerleading, so that number isn’t as high as a smaller school.
“But now, I spend around 45 minutes setting up the entire week and that’s it.”
Talk to any athletics director and you’ll quickly learn how busy their work lives are. Anything that shave two full days of tedious work off the menu is a welcome addition.
Tickets are found by searching for a school’s name or a particular area code. If there’s a change, say a cancelation or postponement, the tickets are immediately pulled from the system.
If tickets are already purchased, Nelson can quickly send out a mass alert to all purchasers about the schedule change, allowing for future honoring of tickets, or a refund.
This isn’t a COVID thing. This is a convenience thing, both for the ticket purchaser, and the school system selling said tickets. Not every school is on board yet, but it’s coming.
