Ohio State announces changes meant to ease entry issues for fans at Ohio Stadium

Credit: Marcus Hartman

Credit: Marcus Hartman

Ohio State plans to make changes to the way it welcomes and accommodates fans at Ohio Stadium this Saturday.

After the move to all digital tickets led to backed-up lines and delays getting into the stadium last weekend when the Buckeyes played host to Oregon, protocols and plans have been revised according to the athletics department.

The school blamed delays on getting into the game on a lack of staff, issues with the wireless internet and “the learning curve with the new ticket pedestal scanners.”

Changes for this Saturday, when the Buckeyes host Tulsa at 3:30 p.m., and the rest of the season include:

  • Adding 27 more pedestal ticket scanners to a handful of gates that experienced the heaviest traffic along with 27 additional staff members. There will now be 147 pedestal scanners at Ohio Stadium.
  • Distributing 80 additional hand-held ticket scanners to the gates for use as backup scanners.
  • Increasing the number of metal detectors at the South Stands gates, adding additional police officers and stadium security to this location and revising the layout for scanning and entry.
  • Hard-wiring the concession registers to better accommodate mobile ordering and to remain online, and increase the number of concessions workers.
  • Additional engineering support on site from the department’s WiFi partner to monitor and manage all of the connections that come through the access points in the stadium.

The school also plans “to educate and communicate the new protocols and changes this week through social media, media relations and other avenues,” and strongly suggests fans load tickets to their phone’s digital wallet before arriving at the stadium.

Those who do will not have to rely on the wifi at the stadium to download their tickets and avoid that potential hiccup in the system.

The gates will still open two hours before kickoff, but the university encourages fans to arrive early.

Those who do have trouble can find ticket office trouble shooting booths at gates 5, 11 and 14 as well as in the North Rotunda and behind the South Stands.

Those without a mobile phone may print tickets at the Schottenstein Center ticket office beginning Thursday before home games or visit the trouble shooting booths on game day.

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