On Tuesday, members of the Student Government Association met with members of the Athletic Association to discuss changes to the student ticketing policy. While several changes were discussed between the parties, the only major change decided on is that students will now need to pick up football tickets at the Russ Chandler Stadium box office instead of the box office outside Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“We have had this idea for a while, but we wanted to run this idea by [campus police]. We think that [Russ Chandler Stadium] is a safer place for students who take the route of camping out,” said Athletic Director Dan Radakovich.
With students now camping out for tickets the night, and in some cases many nights, before the tickets can be picked up, the safety of students became an issue. There were fears that people walking by on North Ave. would commit crimes against students. Traffic was another concern as commuters cut through Tech via Techwood in the mornings.
“Last year, there was a situation where students camped out over a week early for a football game…so for the initial rush on Monday morning, and for people who want to camp out, we thought it would be better to have students pick up their tickets at the baseball stadium window. There is more space in the area and less traffic. It will also be safer since it is closer to the center of campus,” said Nick Wellkamp, undergraduate student body president.
Tickets can be picked up at the Russ Chandler Stadium box office from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. Any tickets still available after the morning time period can be picked up at the Bobby Dodd Stadium box office starting at 1 p.m. Tickets for members of SWARM did not change. SWARM members can still pick up their tickets the day before the game at the box office located next to Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Other changes are being considered, such as switching football ticketing over to an electronic system, and converting the current basketball system to the one the Athletic Association is now using for regular admissions tickets for the football games.
“We are going to be having an open dialogue with the student body about the future of ticketing within the next month and the remainder of the semester…but for this season [the change in location of ticket pickup] is the only change. We are, however, looking into having Buzzcards scanned at the gate to ensure people using the tickets are current students,” Wellkamp said.