As more schools convert to paperless ticketing, some are finding the transition smoother than others. Iowa State University athletic director Jamie Pollard apologized for ticketing system delays experienced Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.
As reported by ABC affiliate KCRG in Grand Rapids, photos on social media showed long lines at the gates to the stadium before the Cyclones' season-opener against Northern Iowa, with fans complaining of waiting more than an hour to get into the stadium and missing the 1 p.m. kickoff. The ISU athletic department blamed a new ticket scanning system it introduced this year for the long delays.
Ahead of the season, Iowa State introduced a new system to scan tickets. In an email to ticket-holders, it said it would issue all game tickets digitally to fans. The email also stated screenshots of barcodes would not be valid.
As reported by KCRG's Adam Carros, Pollard apologized to fans and asked for patience in working to improve the system for next week’s game — against in-state rival Iowa. Crowds are expected to be much larger for the annual CyHawk game, which is typically sold out.
Pollard released the following statement Sunday, as posted on the Cyclone's website:
Dear Cyclone Fans:
Thank you for cheering on the Cyclones to a season-opening win over UNI yesterday! Your support of our student-athletes, coaches and staff is greatly appreciated, and helps create a tremendous home field advantage.
Our goal is to provide you with an outstanding game-day experience every time that you enter Jack Trice Stadium. Unfortunately, we did not live up to that standard yesterday.
After successfully piloting 20 turnstile scanners at Gate 2 a year ago, the decision was made to expand their use this season to Gates 1 and 3. Unfortunately, the combination of many fans arriving closer to kickoff, our staff’s inability to help fans understand the technology, and the excessive heat, came together to create a perfect storm of poor customer service.
Please accept my apology for the inconveniences we caused for many of you yesterday. We do appreciate your understanding and patience as we work through improvements for this week’s game.
Go Cyclones!
Jamie Pollard
