FAYETTEVILLE -- The trend toward ticket scanning from mobile devices at athletic events has taken a major leap in the past few years.
At the University of Arkansas, in the time of covid-19, the growing trend has now turned mandatory.
The UA athletic department announced Thursday that ticketing during the 2020-21 season would switch exclusively to all-mobile scanning. Mobile ticketing will apply to all season tickets, mini-plans and single-game tickets for every sport.
Similar ticket measures were announced at Alabama on Tuesday, and the system is growing globally.
The NFL made the switch to all digital ticketing for the 2018-19 season. Other sports and concert venues were heading in the same direction even before the coronavirus pandemic.
"Our industry has fundamentally always been plagued by issues that are at the core of ticketing, which are anonymity and fraud," Justin Burleigh, chief product officer for North America at Ticketmaster, told CBS Local Sports last winter.
Burleigh said mobile ticketing helps solve both of those problems.
A question and answer segment on the UA release announcing the ticket-scanning policy opened with the question: Why are we making this change?
The answer: Safety.
"Digital tickets allow for paperless entry and eliminates contact between fans and gate entry staff," the release said.
The UA also claimed the full implementation of mobile scanning would result in a savings of $180,000 the department can re-invest into the 465-plus student-athletes competing in 19 sports on campus.
"Based on the successful launch of a mobile ticketing option for single games and the implementation of self-scanning gate entry in recent seasons, we are expanding the use of mobile ticketing for Razorback events in each of our sports," Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. "Whether it is transferring tickets to family or friends, getting the latest update on gameday changes or self-scanning themselves into the event, our fans now can manage their tickets, at their convenience, by utilizing their smart phones.
"No longer do fans need to worry about forgetting tickets at home or in the car. With mobile ticketing, our fans literally have all of the gameday options they need right in the palm of their hand."
The UA release also cited flexibility and ease of use as factors in switching to all-mobile ticketing.
UA officials said digital tickets would allow for real-time changes to event dates or times when needed, will allow easy transference on devices to friends and family without having to ship or meet in person and help eliminate ticket fraud.
The print at home option previously in use for disbursement of tickets will no longer be available.
UA officials said ticket buyers will receive an email that will include a link to access digital tickets. Access to tickets will be made available closer to the start of the fall season. Parking passes will continue to be printed and mailed out to qualified ticket holders.
The UA release stated detailed, step-by-step information and tutorials will be provided in the coming weeks. For more information, contact the Razorback ticket center at (479) 575-5151.