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Cash has been the accepted form of payment at high school sporting events for as long as the games have been played.

However, in what is becoming more and more a cashless society — using credit or debit cards and mobile apps to pay — there are lots of options to get into a high school football, basketball or other sporting events. The recent COVID-19 pandemic also created more opportunities to use other forms of payment besides cash.

Last week, the NC House voted on House Bill 2 — the Entry Fees for Interscholastic Sports Events. It would require public schools to accept cash as a form of payment at any event where admission is paid to enter. The House approved the bill 111-1. It goes to the NC Senate, where it’s expected to be discussed through the committee process before a full vote is held.

If passed, Gov. Josh Stein would either sign it or veto. There has been no indication whether he would veto the bill.

“I will say for inner city schools, Raleigh area, Charlotte, areas where you have a lot of cell service and easy accessibility to, whether it’s Wi-Fi, data usage, or cellular cell service, and can access apps, that’s not an issue. But here, a lot of people don’t even get service,” Northside coach and athletic director Jared Adam said.

“So you’re asking somebody to buy a ticket, go to a game that probably can’t even bring up on their phone through the app because you can’t screenshot it. You have to be able to access that. And some cellular services out here have complete no service dead zones.”

House Bill 2 was introduced by Rep. Reece Prytle Jr. of Rockingham County, according to HighSchoolOT.com. He told the website in 2023 he was concerned digital tickets would make it tougher for fans to attend games.

Digital tickets were used a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans had to buy tickets online and show them on their phone to get into games. It was considered an easier process than handling money, where the coronavirus could spread.

It became a big issue at some schools where older fans who didn’t have a smartphone or access to the internet couldn’t attend games. It even forced some schools in Eastern North Carolina to start taking money again because of the revolt created by those unhappy fans.

Adams gave an example of fans who tried to purchase a ticket to a Northside game only to find out later they purchased a ticket for a game at Northside High School in Jacksonville.

“And then on top of that, sometimes there’s a learning barrier between somebody downloading an app, purchasing a ticket, might be to a wrong event,” Adams said. “So now they spent $8 at the wrong Northside trying to come to our game. We’ve had that happen before.

“I’ve had somebody come here during volleyball season, buying a ticket to Northside, it was Northside Jacksonville. And so they were out $10 because it was a $2 surcharge, and then they had to turn around and pay $8 to get in here.

“And that’s why we don’t do anything digital because, first off, it’s a little easier to audit when it’s cash because it’s just checks and balances, you have tickets, you have cash, you count the number of tickets sold, you count the cash you have, boom, easy said and done.”

Having cash as an option at games is something none of the athletic directors at the public and private schools in Beaufort County wants to see go away completely. Terra Ceia Christian School, Pungo Christian Academy and Unity Christian Academy have used cash only as a way to get into sporting events for as long as they’ve been operational, spanning decades. Schools like Southside and Northside — which opened after 1989 and operate under the Beaufort County Schools system with Washington — use technology in many different ways but have stuck with cash because it works.

Washington High School is under a pilot program to use a mobile app called GoFan, which requires people to download and pay admission to sporting events. The school also accepts debit and credit cards.

“We’re kind of the tester school for the county,” Washington coach and athletic director Will Tyson said. “And if it works out well, we might, from what I’ve been told, we might implement it at other schools across the county for athletics. But we have been the tester school for right now.

“And right now, from an administrative standpoint, it’s absolutely wonderful to not have to have teachers have to worry about counting cash or to be short on cash or over on cash. We don’t have to get change. We don’t have to constantly be looking for change in places.

“It’s been wonderful for our staff to just have an iPad and sit there and handle what they need to handle from a state standpoint.”

As hard as it may be to believe, there have been reports of teachers or administrators being robbed of the cash from the gate either on the spot or when trying to drop it off at a bank’s night deposit box.

Beaufort County Athletic Director Keith Mitchell said, “We look forward to providing opportunities for our community to come support the student athletes inside Beaufort County.” There has not been a decision made whether the GoFan app Washington High School uses would be placed at other schools. If nothing else, it could serve as another option for fans who have moved past carrying cash around with them.

“Washington added on the use of the GoFan App as an additional ticket purchasing opportunity this eyar and had success, but to say every school is ready to provide this service would be premature at this time.”

Having options isn’t necessarily a bad thing but, for now, cash does remain king in Beaufort County and around other areas of Eastern North Carolina. How soon technology takes over or at least provides a permanent option is still to be determined, school officials say.

“I’m fine with a hybrid system, but I don’t think you need to completely cut cash out, especially in Eastern North Carolina and some of the rural areas,” Adam said. “Until the cellular services get better, because I have not found a cell service that is reliable yet. Like Verizon is good at our school, but now if you want to go see a game and you’re a UScellular and you’re going to try to purchase a ticket, you ain’t buying a ticket.

“And then if I’m not accepting cash, then you can’t get in and see the game. And I’m not gonna … if somebody comes to a game … I’m not gonna refuse them from seeing a game because they wouldn’t give me $8 cash.”

Tyson said while cash is many people’s first option, switching over to a system like the GoFan App has been widely accepted by fans and staff.

“We receive the payment from the system instantly,” Tyson said. “And we don’t have to count cash. I don’t have to count tickets.

“I don’t have to buy tickets. Because currently, right now, we’re having to buy rolls of tickets. And those things are $80, $90 a pop. And by the time you spend all that money on tickets and then you pay for officials, you start losing money quickly.

“With this system, yes, it does charge the dollar fee. But the convenience of it for the school, it extremely outweighs it.”