Sports Media Report
There are more than seven million fans that fill stadiums to watch the more than 14,000 high school football teams across the U.S. each week. With today’s announcement, those engaged and passionate fans are finally able to purchase tickets for those games directly from their school’s website, no longer having to worry about waiting in line or carrying enough cash.
While fans of college and professional sports teams have seen their experience become increasingly digitized over the past few years, high school teams have lagged behind their communities’ use of and expectations around technology. At the same time, high school sports – especially football – are drawing record level crowds—for example, the 2018 Texas High School 6A-DII title game drew a larger crowd than 71 percent of all NCAA college football bowl games.
“People are no longer satisfied with clunky and outdated experiences,” said Rick Ehrman, CEO of VNN Sports. “High school sports is the next frontier for seamless, digital experiences – and it
starts with ticketing. This new integration and functionality enable VNN Sports’ partner schools to deliver professional grade experiences to their loyal communities with just a few clicks of a
mouse.”
How it works
Starting today, all VNN Sports partner schools are able to add digital ticketing for football and basketball games to their website through a partnership with Columbus based HomeTown
Ticketing. A fan can buy tickets via the box office on a full events calendar or through a “buy tickets” link on the team’s schedule. When she arrives at the event, the purchased tickets are scanned directly from her phone.
Schools receive payment within 10 days of the event, minus a convenience fee. The integration is launching with football and basketball; the rest of a school’s sports will be added throughout the year.
Ehrman continued: “At VNN Sports, we strive to be the platform high schools across the country use to deliver best in class experiences to their communities. By adding ticketing to our list of
integrations, high school athletic departments are one step closer to the professional level experiences today’s fans expect.”
