If you attended the LSU-Georgia Southern game on Aug. 31, you might have noticed a traffic jam while entering the stadium. Sure, the first home game always draws a large crowd and provides a few kinks to work through, but some students noticed that this year’s line at the student section was much worse than previous season openers.
As some students predicted, the new ticketing system, which allows students to download their football tickets onto their phone to be scanned instead of using their Tiger Cards, was not a quick process. This new system has frustrated many returning students, leaving them longing for the days of a single swipe entry.
Pre-nursing sophomore Jena Alfonso said she did not enjoy her game experience due to the long wait times to enter the stadium, along with the heat from the crowd. She attributes this experience to the new ticket system.
“I hate a terrible first game experience. I waited in line for 45 minutes and we didn’t even move,” Alfonso said. “I think that we should go back to the Tiger Card system, it was definitely faster.”
Engineering sophomore Brandt Boudreaux also expressed dislike of the mobile system and agreed that wait times for the game were much longer than last season.
“It was awful. We got there like 45 minutes before the game and didn’t get in until five minutes before kickoff,” Boudreaux said. “I think that with the tickets now being online, it’s like asking for there to be issues.”
Although freshmen did not get to experience the previous entrance methods as University students, many first-year students also do not favor the new system and wish for quicker ways to enter the stadium.
English freshman Chloe Pellegrin said there should be a second entrance gate for students to help the flow of traffic and reduce wait times.
“The line was super long and it was crowded and hot outside,” Pellegrin said. “I don’t know why they only have one student gate for all of us to go through.”
LSU Athletics assistant ticket manager Garrett Thibodeaux explained that all students are assigned to just one entrance gate because it is the closest to the student section. According to Thibodeaux, gate seven is the only gate with the technology required for the new mobile student tickets. Additional staff is also at this gate to troubleshoot any problems, he said.
While students do not have a location choice when entering the stadium, most fans have the option to enter through at least two gates. This leaves approximately 13,000 people assigned solely to gate seven, according to Thibodeaux. Because of this, he suggests arriving to the game as early as possible.
“The earlier you arrive, the shorter you’ll have to wait to get into the stadium,” Thibodeaux said in an email.
In an effort to decrease wait times for the LSU-Northwestern State game on Saturday, be sure to arrive as early as possible.