Wristband woes

[Mama_Bull]

Portion of an Oracle article:

Wristband woes

Another factor that could be indirectly attributed to some of Friday’s arrests and ejections was the elimination of wristbands in the student section. To get into the 100 level seating area, students used to have to wear a wristband, which would make them easily identifiable to ushers guarding the area’s entry.

This move was intended to eliminate the 10-20 minutes students spent waiting for a wristband, as well as the trip to the Sun Dome to pick it up, said Megan Latchford, student marketing head, in an interview before the Kansas game.

This tradeoff has come with its downsides, however, as students printed multiple copies of their tickets and employed other tactics to sneak friends into the 100 level, causing the end zone to fill up before some students with 100 level seats could get there, Casey said.

Junior Brian Rosegger spent part of his evening in the Orient Road Jail after getting into a dispute with an usher and a police officer over where he should sit. Rosegger had a 100 level ticket, but since the 100 level was already full he was instructed to go to the 200 level, where the usher denied him because he had a 100 level ticket, he said.

“I went back to the usher and I said, ‘Either you guys aren’t doing your job or USF is giving out too many tickets and I don’t think it’s the latter,’†he said. “He didn’t take too kindly to that.â€

As the argument grew heated, Rosegger was arrested on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and obstructing or opposing an officer.

Should other students have similar seating problems, Casey recommends they use the stadium’s text messaging service, which can be reached at 813-277-6501, or call 813-350-6501 if they cannot receive text messages. Students must list their exact location so a stadium representative can meet with them and sort out the issue.

“How you handle the issue is a big factor in (whether you get arrested, ejected or left alone),†Casey said, adding that officers typically give guests a warning before taking action against them, unless the guests are fighting.

TSA and USF officials acknowledged that the system may need changing before the next home game against Pittsburgh in two weeks. TSA, the Tampa Police Department and USF Athletics will meet Friday and discuss what changes they can make to create a more enjoyable experience for those attending Bulls games.

“There is a consideration of bringing the wristbands back because some people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing and it’s making the game less enjoyable for others,†Casey said.

http://www.usforacle.com/more_people_arrested_at_bulls_game_than_at_bucs

[Mag Pie]

I say they make all the tickets look different.  The 100 will have a diff design, 200 will too, and 300 will be something else.  Continue to print the u# on the tickets and instruct the ushers to actually check the ticket and ID's to make sure they match.  Lots of work, but this ticket thing seems to get changed every week.

[Kyle]

My girlfriend told me the same thing about the 100 level tickets. They weren't checking, this combined with the fact that people can print as many of their ticket as they want makes it a big problem.

If they go back to wrist bands I think they need to be a little more accomidating with the times they distrubte them. Closing down at 5pm and having to wait 20-30 minutes in line is very limiting to students who have to work.

[Kyle]

I say they make all the tickets look different.  The 100 will have a diff design, 200 will too, and 300 will be something else.  Continue to print the u# on the tickets and instruct the ushers to actually check the ticket and ID's to make sure they match.  Lots of work, but this ticket thing seems to get changed every week.

That sounds good and well but when people are filing into and out of a section it would bottleneck badly. The only problem with the printed tickets is that they're easily duplicated. Sadly, I think it would be more efficient for them to go back to wristbands...at least for the 100 level. They will need to improve disbursement though.

[Compute-a-bull]

Uh, if you print multiple copies of your ticket it'll work for that given game, but when USF/RJS synchronizes the scans they can detect if your ticket got scanned twice and not issue another ticket to you. I expect that the people who did this last week will be banned from student tickets the rest of the year, I know people that did it last year and got their privileges revoked.

[HOTMello2005]

Simple!  Assigned seating....

[Mag Pie]

I say they make all the tickets look different.  The 100 will have a diff design, 200 will too, and 300 will be something else.  Continue to print the u# on the tickets and instruct the ushers to actually check the ticket and ID's to make sure they match.  Lots of work, but this ticket thing seems to get changed every week.

That sounds good and well but when people are filing into and out of a section it would bottleneck badly. The only problem with the printed tickets is that they're easily duplicated. Sadly, I think it would be more efficient for them to go back to wristbands...at least for the 100 level. They will need to improve disbursement though.

In that case there should be a disclaimer on the website about how if someone is caught with duplicate tickets their priviledges will be revoked.  It wouldn't be that hard to find the person that printed them as it would have the u# on the ticket which will lead it to the student.

[crambone]

Uh, if you print multiple copies of your ticket it'll work for that given game, but when USF/RJS synchronizes the scans they can detect if your ticket got scanned twice and not issue another ticket to you. I expect that the people who did this last week will be banned from student tickets the rest of the year, I know people that did it last year and got their privileges revoked.

It's not about the scan, as the tickets were already scanned.  The extra copies were shown at the top of the stairs of the 100 level and the other kids go in with the copies.

They need to go back to wristbands.

[Compute-a-bull]

It's not about the scan, as the tickets were already scanned.  The extra copies were shown at the top of the stairs of the 100 level and the other kids go in with the copies.

They need to go back to wristbands.

Oh ok, thanks for the clarification.

Then yeah, they need to work out a better system. It is irritating to have to go to a special ticket window either at the Sun Dome or Ray Jay though. How about doing the lotto further in advance? That way they can optionally mail it to us if we enter ourselves early enough. Besides, earlier promotes that the more dedicated fans get better seats and the ones that way until the last minute get the 300-level.

For instance, we enter the Pitt lotto now and if we are selected to get a 100-level ticket they have ample time to mail us a wristband/ticket if they decide the 100-level winners in the next week or so. It's not like (m)any of the students have an address outside of the state of FL so the mail won't take long to get to them.

[Rizman]

How about bonus the students extra priority points for sitting in sections 200.  Something to entice them to stay in that section.