No More Ticket Stubs: Clemson goes mobile-only for all football tickets

Want to get into Death Valley? You will have to use your smartphone in the future.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Jun 25, 2020, 3:50 PM

Those commemorative ticket stubs are a thing of the past, at least when it comes to the ones actually used on game days. The good news is that ticketing will now be safer, and if you’ve attended either of the last two College Football Playoffs, you’re used to the process.

The Clemson Athletic Ticket Office is employing mobile-only ticketing beginning with the 2020 football season at Memorial Stadium. The school says that digital ticketing allows fans greater convenience and safety, and can reduce the impacts of counterfeit tickets.

Fans will no longer receive a printed ticket booklet or have the option to print at home, and those that paid will be refunded the printing fee. All fans will receive their tickets via mobile delivery. Details for how to access the tickets will come at a later date.

It's a process that has been in the works for a few years.

“It is a piece we have been looking at over the last couple of years,” said Owen Godfrey, the Assistant AD for Ticket Operations/Sales. “We slowly made a few changes to things we do and started charging more for printed tickets. All of our single games and packages that were not season tickets were all mobile tickets the last couple of years for football and basketball and starting with baseball and softball as well. We started to trend in that direction, a trend that started with the NFL a few seasons ago where they kind of ripped that band-aid and went to a mobile-only platform.”

Fake tickets also pushed the issue.

It's one that we wanted to push as soon as we started to see heavy issues a few years ago with the Auburn game and Texas A&M last year,” Godfrey said. “There were a lot of fake tickets and manipulated versions and it go to be a really cumbersome feeling when folks would pay hundreds of dollars on the streets and come up to us with tickets that looked pretty decent but weren't valid. The technology we have now is a way for us to control that.”

In addition to being safer for fans by reducing contact at the gate, mobile ticketing offers fans more control in how they can access, transfer or return tickets. The move allows Clemson’s Ticket Office to more nimbly adapt to potential changes to stadium operations or schedule in the upcoming season. In 2019, more than 20 percent of season tickets were delivered via mobile devices.

In other words, no having to use UPS to send tickets the week of the game, and no having to meet someone across town or across the state to buy tickets.

“One major change is that you can now text a transfer to your friends or relatives or neighbors,” Godfrey said. “Say your cousin lives in Charlotte, you can text that ticket over to him, you don’t have to UPS it out, and you can make last-minute decisions the night before on who goes to the game with you. You can also have multiple tickets on one phone.

“Every postseason game we’ve seen – whether it was the ACC Championship Game or the Fiesta Bowl or the National Championship Game – used mobile tickets. Say my dad doesn’t have a smartphone, we can move all of the tickets over to my phone and we all attend together and go in the same gate at the same time.”

The decision on parking passes hasn’t been made. Due to the pandemic, decisions haven’t been made on when tickets will be emailed, but Godfrey said the school can wait as late as August 28th (two weeks before the home opener) to send them out. Also, the decision to print out souvenir tickets is something that is being looked into, but a decision hasn’t been made.

Clemson continues to work with digital media partner WMT and ticketing partner Paciolan on the development of the mobile delivery service, to be rolled out closer to the season. Options for fans without mobile devices will be announced at a later date.

The deadline for IPTAY donors to complete their IPTAY 2020 pledge is June 30, 2020. For more information on this approaching deadline and/or to complete a donation, visit the IPTAY website.

FAQ’s (via Clemson/IPTAY)

What is mobile ticketing?

With mobile ticketing, you are able to enter the stadium without the need for a physical ticket. The gate associate will scan your bar code, and you’re in!

Can I print my tickets?

No, tickets cannot be printed via PDF. On game day, it works just like scanning your boarding pass at the airport – you’ll scan your phone at the entry.

What if lose connectivity/can’t access my account?

We encourage you to download your tickets to your smartphone before heading to the game and store them in the wallet on your smartphone. If your tickets are on the mobile web browser, avoid clearing out your browser history until after the event. Detailed information on a step-by-step process, as well as a detailed instructional video will be available at a later date.

What is the alternative option if my phone breaks/dies or is lost or stolen prior to gameday?

If you do not have a smartphone for any reason, you’ll need to visit the box office on game day. Please have a valid ID for the name of the account.

What if my guests and I arrive at the venue at different times?

You’ll need to transfer a ticket to each member of your party. This allows you and your guest(s) to arrive at the venue at your own convenience. Once the ticket transfer offer has been sent to your guest(s), they will receive an email instructing them to accept the tickets and add it to their digital wallet.

Can I have multiple tickets on a single phone?

Yes. You can view all of your tickets by swiping left or right on your smartphone. We highly encourage you to transfer a ticket to each member of your party to allow for the easiest entry and access throughout the venue.

How do I transfer my ticket(s)?

Information on how to transfer your tickets will be available at a later date.