Some Univ. of Louisville women's basketball season-ticket holders are "angry and confused over a new ticketing policy" for the '17-18 season, a system they say "forces some of them to either move their seats, pay more or rely on a mobile app," according to Danielle Lerner of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. UL in July announced that "multiple sections of previously reserved seats in the KFC Yum! Center will be converted into sections for tickets sold and presented exclusively on mobile devices." The move was "made to let fans sit closer to the court and to make the bowl appear fuller for televised games." At $65 per season ticket, the new mobile CardsPass option "guarantees fans the 'best available seat' in one of six designated CardsPass sections." But fans "must be within three miles of the Yum Center to receive seat assignments through a mobile app and are not guaranteed the same seat throughout the season." In past seasons, the CardsPass sections were "reserved for season ticket holders and family packs." UL Assistant Ticket Manager Erika Fitzgerald said that the "goal of the new system is to fill the arena from the bottom up." But fans are upset that the app's geolocation feature "would make giving away seats to friends more complicated." Longtime UL season-ticket holder Jack Spies said that the CardsPass system has the "potential to alienate fans who aren't tech-savvy." But Fitzgerald said that CardsPass "isn't necessarily meant to appeal to current season ticket holders; it is meant to attract new customers who are hesitant to make the larger financial commitment required for reserved seats" (COURIER-JOURNAL.com, 8/2).
