OSAA is going digital with playoff tickets

“Pre-sold digital tickets will take precedence over any potential walk up at the day of the event,” OSAA Assistant Executive Director Kyle Stanfield wrote in a new release. “It’s important that host facilities are prepared to take these tickets at the event.”

Though the digital tickets are preferred, fans can pay at the door if the game is hosted at a high school. Once playoffs reach neutral sites (semifinals and finals), e-tickets will be the way to go.

In small communities where internet is limited or fans prefer to pay at the gate, Stanfield said the OSAA will work with those communities to offer both.

“Each school and location may have different restrictions and we want to honor those restrictions,” Stanfield said. “We will be communicating consistently throughout October and November.”

Having the option to pay at the gate will be good for some fans, according to Heppner Athletic Director and football coach Greg Grant, who also sees the appeal of digital tickets.

“If we do host a playoff game, it makes sense to buy the tickets online,” Grant said. “We may have to have people available to help those who don’t have the technology or the savvy to purchase them online.”

According to the OSAA, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed every community and every level of life over the past 18 months. The consumer has shifted to using apps and digital services now more than ever.

By not having large ticketed events the last 18 months, the OSAA considers this the perfect time to reset and start a new way of thinking on how to enter contests.

The move to digital tickets also will reduce the number of people needed for an event. Venues no longer will need multiple ticket sellers, just a couple of ticket scanners. Finding people to work games has been difficult for some schools. This move helps reduce the number of people in the ticket booths while providing frictionless access to patrons.

The ease of technology turns most any smartphone into a ticket scanner, provided the venue has a cell signal. An app is used to scan tickets. For a single high school event, the battery usage and amount of data used to run the app is minimal.

Schools will no longer be responsible for large sums of cash. Money for digital tickets goes directly to an OSAA account, with no cash or credit card slips left at the site.

Digital ticketing also will give a more accurate attendance for events.

The first few rounds of the playoffs will prepare fans for the state finals, where only digital tickets will be accepted.

“At OSAA State Championship events, there will be no cash transactions or point of sale system on site,” Stanfield said. “All people entering the event must have a digital ticket.”