Aug. 29, 2007

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LIGHTNING TICKETS

The Air Force Academy Athletic Association is at the forefront of a new ticketing technology that will bring Falcon Fans' enjoyment of events to new levels.

The Academy has become the first collegiate program to use a new technology of stored-value tickets joining the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball and the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. The stored value tickets will be referred to as "Lightning Tickets" and are geared to promote the ease of use and a cashless environment at Academy facilities. The Academy will debut the Lightning Tickets in the Family Value Packs containing a $5.00 retail value on each ticket at the October 6th UNLV game. The Family Value Packs will also be available for San Diego State on November 17th.

Lightning Tickets will also be an option for single game tickets beginning with the Wyoming game on October 20th. Fans purchasing the Lightning Ticket on an individual game basis will receive a $7 stored retail value for only an additional $5 added onto the regular ticket price.

Lightning Tickets will also be used on a season ticket basis for men's basketball in the Center Court Club and Courtside VIP seating areas. Lightning Tickets will also be an option for selected individual games for men's basketball and hockey.

Fans that purchase the tickets will have retail value loaded onto the bar-code on their ticket that can be scanned at the concessions stands or retail stores for the event. In addition to the concession and retail advantage, fans may use a digital ticket entrance into Falcon Stadium which allows for quicker entry.

"We feel like this technology puts us at the forefront of this movement and will allow us to better serve our fans," said Air Force Senior Associate Athletic Director Michael Saks. "We will eventually offer this to all single-game tickets that we sell for football and other sports."

The technology called STADIS was developed by International Micro Systems, Inc., from Aston, PA. The Academy, Philadelphia Phillies and the Baltimore Ravens' movement to this new technology was detailed in Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal in the July issue.