The weekend tradition of overeager football fans and fraternity pledges will come to an end this Fall Semester. The Athletic Association (AA) and the Student Government Association (SGA) have designed a new system that attempts to address many of the problems with the current method of obtaining tickets for home football games.
For years, students have had issues with the distribution of the tickets, non-Tech students using student tickets and confusion over the seating arrangement. In addition, the AA had grown increasingly concerned with the safety of the students who camp outside to get the first football tickets. Last semester the AA moved the ticket office to the baseball stadium, closer to the center of campus.
The new system will do away with the current voucher system and move all operations online. The online presence will managed by Paciolan, a subsidiary of Ticketmaster. The AA currently uses Paciolan to manage season ticket holders.
“[A] good reason to use Paciolan is because all the other ticket holders use it. If there is any problem with Paciolan, you know the [AA] with have to fix it,†said Aaron Fowler, graduate student body president.
Another change to football ticketing will be the option to purchase student season tickets for $36. Season ticket holders will be guaranteed a seat at every game. A little less that 2,900 of the 9,000 available student seats will be reserved for season ticket holders. All season ticket seats will be situated in the north end zone, directly around the band. Block seating will be retained, with blocks being required to sign up for season tickets.
The remaining tickets will be assigned on a single game basis. The current method for assigning tickets has not been finalized, but will be decided on before the end of the Summer Semester. Seating outside of the season ticket area will be first-come, first-serve.
To enter the stadium, students will no longer need paper tickets. Instead, the AA will purchase 10 new turnstiles. Students with tickets to the game will only have to tap their RFID Buzzcards to get into the game.
The total cost of new ticketing system will be approximately $150,000. The SGA has allocated $35,000 to cover part of the cost, and the AA will absorb the rest of the expense.
The current guest ticketing system will be retained. If any tickets remain after the initial availability period, students may purchase tickets for another person. Students will then have to merely tap their card twice to allow the other person to enter the stadium. Additionally, if seats remain unclaimed on the day of a game, students without tickets will be able to take those seats about 15 minutes after kickoff.