A Solution In Search of a Problem: Cincinnati Eliminates Paper Tickets for Games

Cincinnati Bearcats athletics announced yesterday that they are eliminating paper tickets for sporting events beginning this fall. All ticketing will be done through digital means from now on.

Certainly, a range of digital options were already available to Bearcats fans. Nevertheless, it has apparently become untenable for the athletic department to bother to print up tickets for an event that costs the average consumer more than $40 per pass.

I assume this is being done in the name of both efficiency and earth-friendliness, a juxtaposition which institutions both public and private have gleefully endorsed in recent years. I find the whole venture a little bit cynical and self-congratulatory but that’s not my main point here.

This strikes me as a certifiable example of a solution in search of a problem. It seems highly unlikely that printing up some physical tickets for the fans that prefer this means of attending the game is breaking the bank for the athletic department. Why not keep the option available in some form for fans who aren’t attune to the latest technology, fans who can afford a game ticket but not a smart phone, and fans who keep the ticket stub as a souvenir of their day at the game?

Hell, you can even charge a small fee for the privilege of having an actual physical ticket. For me, having a ticket from the game makes the event seem more like an event—something more tangible than some blips on a screen.

What do you guys think?

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