The new voucher system for season ticket holders is inconvenient for some but will be necessary for attendance to home Pac-10 basketball games.
Vouchers now must be picked up beforehand to ensure a seat, said Doug Tammaro, ASU athletics media relations director. The new system is in place because there are more season ticket holders than there are seats, he said.
“Basically there are 7,000 season ticket holders,” Tammaro said. “If they all show up there won’t be enough seats.”
There are currently 1,500 student seats available, and they are in high demand, he said.
“The last time [the basketball team] was this good, this late in the season, was probably 1995,” Tammaro said.
Another reason the voucher system is being used is to get an idea of how many staff members should be hired for each game, instead of going off of last year’s ticket sales, he said.
“It’s something used to properly staff and manage the game,” Tammaro said.
Vouchers may be picked up during regular box-office hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays with a valid Sun Card, he said, and usually vouchers can be picked up about a week in advance.
If season ticket holders forget to pick up vouchers ahead of time, there still is a chance of getting into the game, Tammaro added.
All vouchers not picked up 90 minutes prior to game time will be available at the South Student Entrance of the Wells Fargo Arena, he said.
The voucher system was described in an e-mail sent to student season ticket holders, Tammaro said, and it is explained at the time of purchase that a seat is not guaranteed.
Student season ticket holder Catie Clemency, a nursing freshmen, said the new system is a hassle because she lives at Taylor Place in downtown Phoenix.
“I think it’s ridiculous that I have to go to Tempe to pick up tickets in advance,” she said.
All of Clemency’s classes are downtown, and coming to Tempe during the school week is tough, she said.
Another student ticket holder, nursing freshmen Kelsey Brownlow, said she also has trouble getting to Tempe to pick up ticket vouchers since she is a full-time student at the Downtown campus.
“Maybe [ASU] could give vouchers to each campus,” Brownlow said. This would alleviate the need to travel to Tempe during the school week.
Though getting to the box office may be difficult for some students, Tammaro said he believes the voucher system will be beneficial and is sure many students will be attending the games.
The amount of student seats is based on how many students usually attend games, though availability could increase if more students start to attend regularly, he said.
“We have the capability to put a lot of students in there [the Wells Fargo Arena], and we want to,” Tammaro said.
Reach the reporter at abigail.gilmore@asu.edu.
