SUSD now requires digital tickets for all athletic events | The Locally Times
The Scottsdale Unified School District Athletics Blog, published February 15, 2026, states all game tickets are digital this year.
The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) has implemented a new policy requiring all tickets for athletic events to be digital. Students seeking to acquire an activity pass must use their student ID number as an access code. The blog post also provides updates on the district's athletic programs, noting the winter season's final two weeks and the start of spring season tryouts on February 9. This information establishes the timeframe for the new digital ticketing requirement. ## Policy Details and Unanswered Questions The SUSD Athletics Blog outlines the mechanism for purchasing digital tickets but does not detail the rationale behind the transition to an exclusively digital system. Public documents do not specify whether the decision aims to reduce operational costs, enhance security, or improve efficiency for the district. The records also do not indicate if the policy change was discussed or approved during a public SUSD Governing Board meeting, leaving the decision-making process for this shift unaddressed in publicly available materials. Further, the SUSD Athletics Blog does not provide information regarding potential additional fees associated with purchasing tickets through the GoFan platform. The financial relationship between SUSD and GoFan, including any revenue-sharing agreements or platform fees passed on to ticket purchasers, remains undisclosed in the public documents. The district's budget documents, also updated February 15, 2026, list budget summaries for fiscal years 2018-2019 through 2024-2025 but do not contain specific line items or explanations related to the new ticketing system's financial implications. ## Community Access and Potential Barriers The SUSD Athletics Blog does not outline accommodations for community members who may face challenges with an exclusively digital ticketing system. Records do not specify provisions for individuals who lack consistent access to smartphones, the internet, or digital payment methods, such as credit or debit cards. This absence of information raises questions about equitable access for all residents, particularly seniors or those with limited income or digital literacy, who may find it difficult to attend school athletic events under the new requirements. Public documents do not address how the digital-only policy impacts overall revenue for SUSD athletics compared to previous years when traditional ticketing methods were in place. The effect on event-day operations or staffing requirements due to the absence of physical ticket sales is also not detailed. The district's public communications do not indicate a community consultation process or a public announcement that detailed the rationale for this change or its potential impacts on community participation. The SUSD Athletics Blog focuses on the mechanics of the new system, leaving broader implications for community engagement unaddressed in the available records.