District staff proposes shift to online athletic ticketing; board flags fee, concession impacts

A district staff member told the East Allegheny School District board the administration is moving toward all-online ticketing for athletic events and sought the board’s direction on whether to eliminate cash at the door or keep a cash option alongside debit/credit acceptance. “We would like to, we're going moving to all online ticketing,” the staff member said, noting phased implementation across sports.

Board members raised concerns about card-transaction fees and potential effects on concessions. One member said offering debit and credit at the door would mean paying fees, asking, “what fees are we paying on?” Dr. Long urged a cautious approach: “If we do the credit debit, have that there too, but keep cash for this year,” he said.

Staff explained the vendor arrangement and pricing strategy: they reported the district currently recoups a large share of service fees from the vendor this year and proposed raising the cash-at-door price relative to online sales to incentivize online purchases while maintaining access for those who prefer cash. “Right now, we... actually get 75% of all that service fee this year back,” a staff member said.

Board members also pressed whether reduced cash on hand would diminish concession sales; staff acknowledged the concern and said concession impacts would be considered separately. No formal motion was made. Staff indicated they would proceed with a phased approach to online ticketing, keeping cash sales available this year while developing pricing and operational details to return to the board.