NCAA Men's College World Series 2008 - College World Series Will Now Scan Reserved and GA Tickets

College World Series Will Now Scan Reserved and GA Tickets

Ticket Buyers Advised to Avoid Scalpers

(OMAHA, Neb., June 5, 2008) – Beginning this year, both reserved seat and general admission tickets are printed with bar codes, which will be scanned as fans enter the stadium, according to Herb E. Hames, ticket chairman of College World Series of Omaha Inc. This is the same technology used by the Qwest Center for concerts and other sporting events, such as this year’s NCAA® men’s first round basketball tournament games.

"As soon as tickets are scanned, they are automatically cancelled and cannot be reused, Hames noted. “Since there’s no way to tell a scanned ticket from one that’s unscanned, scalpers may attempt to resell used tickets to unsuspecting buyers. We advise persons needing tickets to avoid scalpers, who may be selling cancelled tickets that have already been scanned.”

In 2007, Omaha police made 12 ticket-scalping arrests during the series. In 2006, Omaha police issued 14 tickets for ticket scalping. “At this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, there were reports of scanned tickets being sold on the street to unsuspecting fans,” according to Omaha Police Department Lieutenant Tim Carmody. “By the time the person who bought the scanned tickets found out they were cancelled, the seller was long gone.”

Ultimately, the best way to ensure the tickets you’re buying are valid is to purchase them from reliable vendors. “We’re making every effort to ensure that fans have an enjoyable time and part of that effort involves preventing them from being scammed by ticket scalpers,” Hames advised. “If you buy tickets from someone on the street, there’s no guarantee that it’s a valid ticket.”

“We strongly encourage fans to always check at the Rosenblatt Stadium box office for tickets that may be turned back from the team allotments,” Hames said. “A limited number of reserved seat tickets are available each day at the Rosenblatt Stadium box office throughout the Series. Reserved seat tickets become available as unused team tickets are released for sale each game day.

“Even fans who buy general admission tickets from scalpers could face the same situation,” Hames added. “Typically, scalpers will buy a book of general admission tickets and then sell them individually after tearing them out of the book. There is no way to know whether these individual tickets have already been scanned.”

College World Series of Omaha Inc. is a non-profit organization and the local organizing committee for the annual NCAA Division I Men’s College World Series. This year’s event gets underway with Opening Ceremonies on June 13 and concludes June 24 or 25 with the Championship game.

About the NCAA
The NCAA® is a membership-led non-profit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. NCAA® and Men's College World Series® are registered trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.