Columbus North ticket taker Cara Garris, left, takes cash from a fan, while another fan scans the QR code for a roster at Tuesday’s girls basketball home opener against Hamilton Southeastern at Columbus North High School.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Columbus North is joining a growing wave of high schools that are transitioning from paper tickets and cash transactions to digital ticketing for their home sporting events.
The Bull Dogs still had the cash option for Tuesday’s girls basketball home opener against Hamilton Southeastern, but will offer both cash and digital options beginning with the Nov. 22 girls basketball game against Franklin Central. Starting Jan. 10, all tickets will be digital.
“Many of the schools that our athletic teams visit have been using digital tickets for quite some time,” North athletics director Brian Lewis said. “We have spent time gathering information about that process from other schools, and are excited to begin this transition. Cash will still be able to be used at our concession stands, but by the end of the winter season, and moving forward beyond that, we plan to use cashless, digital ticketing for our athletic events.”
Lewis said fans will not be required to create an account or download an app to purchase the tickets and can make the transactions with a credit card or any smartphone or tablet. Tickets will be able to be purchased through the Columbus North Athletics website, through the EventLink app or website, or using a QR code at the ticket table at the event.
Lewis also said fans will still need to check in at the ticket gate with their smartphone for ticket verification, but they’ll be through with just one click. Fans who have Columbus North All-Sports passes will continue to show their passes at the ticket table for the remainder of the school year.
“We expect this to speed up the process of patrons entering the gates,” Lewis said. “It will decrease the human error involved with counting and making change and increase the accuracy of our bookkeeping data. It may take a bit of getting used to for some or our guests, but we think this is going to be a great move for us in the long-term. As people get used to buying tickets in advance before they arrive, they’ll see the benefit of moving quickly through the ticket gate and not having to remember to carry cash with them for tickets.”
Also, at last week’s girls basketball opener, the rosters were available digitally only. Fans needed to scan a QR code at the ticket table to see both teams’ rosters, as well as links to included links to up-to-date full-season schedules for all winter sports teams, a link to the North Athletics website, and coming soon will be concession stand information.
“We evaluated our annual printing costs for rosters as well as paper tickets and All-Sports passes and felt like we owed it to our student-athletes to find ways to decrease costs and increase money put back into our athletic programs,” Lewis said. “We are confident that these changes will help us do that.”
After receiving some positive feedback, as well as complaints from some fans who had trouble getting the digital rosters on their phones, following Tuesday’s game, Lewis said North will continue to keep a limited number of paper rosters available at the ticket gates for guests who may not have access to the digital content on their phones.
“We are listening to the concerns of our guests and will continue to modify and adjust as we move along,” Lewis said. “These options are new to our department, as well, and we’re still learning the best ways to accommodate all of our guests while still maintaining the goal of becoming cashless in our ticketing system.
“We understand that this transition will be easier for some of our guests than others,” he added. “Our fans need to understand that we will do all we can to make accommodations for those fans who may not have smartphones. All Columbus North fans, as well as our guests from other schools, are important to us, and we want everyone to feel welcome at our events.”
Lewis plans to transition to digital All-Sports Passes beginning in the 2023-24 school year. In the meantime, both cash and digital options will be available for single-game tickets until Jan. 10.
Potential options may include the addition of credit card readers at the ticket gates or having fans print paper tickets at home and then scan them at the gate.
“We will use the next two months that we have to prepare for this change to make accommodations for those who may not have access to the technology needed for digital tickets,” Lewis said. “We don’t want anyone to feel unwelcome at our events due to technology issues. We value our guests and will do all we can to help remove barriers.”
Meanwhile, Columbus East athletics director Pete Huse is not planning a switch to digital tickets or rosters at Olympians events this year.
“At least through the winter, we will proceed with cash and regular printing the roster,” Huse said. “More and more of the schools that we go to are doing the digital tickets, but they’re still offering the cash option. New Albany is the only school that I know of that is only doing the QR code for the rosters. All of this is just a matter of time, I think, before they go to the digital tickets and the QR codes for the roster.”
