Ticketmaster system crashes on first day
The request period for the new Ticketmaster student football season passes began Monday afternoon, and the program has already hit a few bumps.
Many students faced an error message when requesting their season tickets shortly after receiving the email, as there was an extremely high amount of requests — 2,000 in only 15 minutes, according to a Monday night press release from Student Ticketing Coordinator Adrienne White. There is no advantage to requesting a season pass early.
“Students that request a season ticket between April 16 and July 10 will be entered into a weighted lottery and selected based on points,” White said in the release.
Students will be able to request their season ticket passes in a lottery open until July 10. Those who receive season passes will be notified on July 16, according to a release.
Login information for the Gamecock Student Ticket Account Manager was sent to students last Tuesday with information about Saturday’s Garnet & Black spring game, which served as a test for the new ticketing system. This login information, once entered, brings students to a Ticketmaster Web page where they then click the option to ‘buy’ a season passes, though the passes themselves are free. While Ticketmaster is a website designed to sell tickets, it’s configured to allow USC students “unique access” to these free season passes, as stated on the University of South Carolina Student Account Manager.
Any loyalty points previously accrued by students will be taken into account in the season pass lottery.
Students will also be able to request student tickets for away games through the new ticketing system until July 2. They will have to pay for these tickets, a price which includes a $1 processing fee. If the demand for away game tickets exceeds the number of tickets available, they will also be distributed through the lottery system used for home games. Students who do not receive a ticket for an away game will get a full refund except for the non-refundable processing fee. Students will be notified if they receive a ticket to the away games they requested on July 2.