Change is coming to the way that NC State students will be requesting tickets, and in this instance, change is a good thing.
The lottery system that the Athletics Department used in the past years will still be in effect, but with slight enhancements. To request tickets to football and men’s basketball games, students will sign into their student accounts on the school’s athletics website, gopack.com. A week prior to each football or men’s basketball contest, students will be able to enter the weighted lottery, which takes into account a student’s year and attendance to past Wolfpack sporting events.
However, for the upcoming season, changes have been made to help students have as enjoyable game-day experience as possible.
The most notable improvement to the ticketing system is the introduction of “mobile ticket delivery.” Before, the only way that students could receive their tickets was via email. The students would then have to print their tickets before heading off to the game.
This season, however, students will now have the option to receive emails containing tickets optimized for mobile devices. With these new tickets, students can present the tickets on their smartphones when entering the sporting event.
With these new virtual tickets, students will no longer have to worry about misplacing or forgetting their tickets at home. Patrick Hart, a freshman in human biology, said he will most likely use the new mobile system in favor of the physical tickets.
“I’ve used mobile ticketing at concerts and other events before, and it’s way easier than dealing with paper tickets,” Hart said.
The options to print tickets will still be available, as well. No matter which option students select, seating assignments and Student ID policy will remain unchanged. Every student will still be required to present a valid student ID at the gate, and students will have a choice of seats on a first come, first serve basis.
Another large concern of the students was the difficulty that came with acquiring parking passes for these sporting events. During previous seasons, the only way to obtain a parking pass was by standing in line in front of Reynolds Coliseum for extended periods of time. Sometimes the long wait would interfere with class schedules, causing students to miss class or have to abandon their place in line.
To alleviate the inconvenience of waiting in line, three new pass distribution locations was added for the 2014-15 season. On the first day of distribution, in the tradition of requesting passes, students can receive their passes in front of Reynolds from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Later that day, students that missed the opportunity at Reynolds can stop by Harrelson Hall or Wolf Ridge Commons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m to get a pass. On the second day, parking passes will be available at Talley Student Union from noon to 1 p.m.
Specific dates for parking pass availability will be available on gopack.com. When purchasing a pass, students will need to present a valid student ID and game ticket. The passes are limited and will operate on a first come, first serve basis and each of the four locations will have an equal number of passes.
Tristan McGregor, a sophomore in engineering, said he is pleased with the addition of parking pass distribution locations, as he had bad experiences with long lines in the past.
“Now I won’t have to wait in a huge line for parking passes,” McGregor said. “Once I waited in line for over an hour and ended up having to lose my spot to go to class.”
The final change to the ticketing process deals specifically with men’s basketball ticketing. In the past, Phase 1 ticket holders could enter PNC Arena between 2.5 and two hours before tip-off and claim sideline seats. After that 30-minute window, all seats would be on a first come, first serve basis, regardless whether the ticketholder holds a Phase 1 or Phase 2 ticket.
The half-hour window has now been pushed back to begin two hours prior to tip-off and will stay open until 90 minutes prior. The change was designed to give students more time to get in line once they arrive at the arena.
