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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, April 13, 2006

Tickets for UH sports to be sold online

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

An upgraded ticket system for University of Hawai'i athletic events will offer conveniences for fans and potential revenue for the UH athletic department.

Details of the upgraded system were announced yesterday.

Among the highlights:

  • Fans can purchase tickets online, and print those tickets from their office or home computer for a $1 fee. Bar codes will be printed on the tickets, and scanners will be used at the facility entrances.

    "Basically, they'll be going from their computers to their seats," UH associate athletic director John McNamara said. "It will cut down on ticket will-call lines and better accommodate last-minute ticket purchasers."

  • Season-ticket holders who cannot attend a particular game during the season can "transfer" those tickets to another person via e-mail.

    The recipient of the e-mail tickets can then print out the tickets, and will be charged $3 per transfer.

    Hawai'i athletic director Herman Frazier said the transfer system should cut down on unused tickets by season-ticket holders.

  • Season-ticket holders who cannot attend a particular game can also opt to return those tickets for sale on the online "Ticket Marketplace" system.

    If their tickets sell, 60 percent of the ticket value will be credited to their account.

    The "Ticket Marketplace" will go online in August, after season tickets are mailed for football and women's volleyball.

    Once online, fans can purchase tickets from the Marketplace for the face value of the ticket plus an additional 25 percent of the ticket's value (for example, a $50 ticket would be priced at $62.50).

    Frazier said the money created by the surcharges will be shared by UH, Aloha Stadium, and Paciolan, which is the company that installed the upgraded ticket system.

    As an example, if a season-ticket holder puts two $50 tickets in the online Marketplace and it sells, the season-ticket holder would receive $60 in credit, and UH, Aloha Stadium and Paciolan would share $65.

    "No question, it can bring in money for us," Frazier said. "But the most important thing about it is it eases the transfers of tickets between the fans, and it gets people into the stadiums quickly."

    The upgraded ticket system was installed at UH at a cost of $321,500, which will be covered by both UH and Aloha Stadium. The system is in place at Aloha Stadium, the Stan Sheriff Center and Les Murakami Stadium.

    In addition, Aloha Stadium upgraded its ticket system for $307,000.

    Michael Williamson of Paciolan said the new system is quicker because there is no need for turnstiles or ripped ticket stubs at the entrances of the venues. He said it also decreases the chances of ticket fraud.

    The scanners count each ticket via the barcode, whether it be on an actual ticket or a paper printout.

    Through the scanners and barcodes, UH officials can also track which tickets are unused for each specific event.

    "A lot of times we field calls about the large blocks of tickets that are held by corporations and different people who sometimes don't come to the contests," Frazier said. "Now they will be able to put those tickets back into the system."

    Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.