JOHN PAUL Jones Arena's gameday procedures have been criticized for being absolutely awful. From students being required to have their tickets on them at all times to long, chaotic lines outside of the arena, many students think that they could do a better job managing the 15,000 occupants that attend each men's basketball game. They cannot.
Students' first concern is the time it takes to scan tickets at the entrance. It is imperative to realize, however, that only four ushers can fit on the staircase to effectively scan tickets without blocking traffic. Additionally, they have 275 anxious students rushing past them every five minutes, many requiring baggage checks. While it may take a while to get into the arena, the fact is that everyone is being let in at a safe, decent pace. Just because it may take 15 seconds to get your ticket scanned does not mean that you are missing better seats because everyone else faces the same circumstances. Slowly scanning tickets is the best way to make sure that people are not herding through the halls of John Paul Jones at full speed, potentially endangering themselves and others.
Some students are concerned about the fact that ushers ask to see a student ticket at the entrances to each of the three student sections. While students argue that they have to remember to bring their tickets with them if they go to the restrooms or concessions stands and that it is an inconvenience to bring the ticket around with them, I suggest that they consider the true inconvenience of having drunk middle-aged men with general admission tickets sitting in the student section. Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Promotions Todd Goodale said, "Hold onto your ticket at all times when in the Arena. It is your pass into the gate and into the student section." He is right; the best way to maintain the integrity of the student section is to guarantee that only students are permitted entry into those sections. The procedure of ticket-checking ensures the best atmosphere at the game and protects the amazing student seating section from the general public.
Others are annoyed that ushers must check your ticket twice if you attempt to sit on the sideline. However, the architecture of the building -- with the club level above the student section -- requires that students' tickets are checked twice to gain entry to side-line seating. The people in the same seats across the court from students paid $50,000 to sit there, so we can at least show a piece of paper to an usher a few times. The "inconveniences" of checking student tickets a few times during a basketball game are far better than the situations we experience at football games when elderly men and women (or even opposing fans) gain access to the student section.
Students have shared concerns about ushers stopping access to the sideline seats even though there are still seats remaining. Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities and Operations Jason Bauman told me that with every game there is a slightly different flow of students, and he decides each game as to when to send students to the baseline (end zone) seats rather than to the sideline. Students may still cross over into the sideline section if seats are available, but the goal is to send the large groups of people in a direction which will afford them the best opportunity for getting a seat.
Another fact that students must understand is that John Paul Jones Arena is a brand new building that, as of now, has no formula for managing game-day crowds. Checking student tickets, for instance, was implemented after the Arizona game, and with each game Bauman reassesses the positions of staff members in order to improve game-day operations for the next game. This flexibility demonstrates the Athletic Department's goal to provide the best game-day experience to students, as they are not set in their methods but rather open to constructive ideas that will improve the way students move through JPJ.
So next time you are at John Paul Jones, remember that many professionals have put a lot of thought and effort into planning how game-day procedures operate. While there have been a few slip-ups in the past with redundant ticket checking points and ushers contradicting one another, these are isolated incidents and are almost unavoidable in a new arena that is laying the groundwork for how to manage fans for the future.
Greg Crapanzano's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be contacted at gcrapanzano@cavalierdaily.com.
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