Are you ready for some football? Bring your credit card and some patience

Attending a high school football game at ONE Spokane Stadium? Arrive at least an hour early and don’t pay with cash, the stadium operator said.

At last Friday’s double-header high school games, football fans found themselves waiting in line for up to 45 minutes to get through security and into ONE Spokane Stadium stands, while others made it through without a hitch.

Paul Christiansen, Director of Sports at the Public Facilities District, in charge of operating the stadium, said these waits are growing pains as construction wraps up and sports fans learn how to navigate the box office and enter and exit the stands. The double-decker schedule, with Rogers High School playing Clarkston just before Lewis and Clark High School’s homecoming game against Southridge, created some roadblocks as Rogers fans exited in the same stadium area Lewis and Clark supporters entered.

“The double-header thing is a difficult thing to accommodate,” Christiansen said.

The best way to ensure smooth and quick attendance, Christiansen said, is to buy your ticket online prior to kickoff and arrive early.

“Spokane can’t show up to a game 15 minutes before game time and expect to get right into the building,” Christiansen said. “There’s going to be a 45-minute wait if you show up right at game time.”

Many attendees used cash to purchase tickets at the box office the day of the event, unique compared to the district’s other venues, which include adjacent and cashless sports complexes the Podium and Spokane Arena.

It may behoove attendees to forgo the green altogether. Concessions at the stadium are also cashless, adding to the box office wait as fans joined the line to purchase vouchers to buy game-day snacks.

“A pretty good line at the ticket window translates to a long line at security,” Christiansen said.

Rather than purchasing a ticket the day of with cash outside the stadium, Christiansen urged attendees to plan ahead, as tickets can be bought online through TicketsWest. Last minute event-goers can also skip box office lines with QR codes now posted around the venue that lead fans to their tickets directly.

Ordering a ticket online was a successful strategy for Lewis and Clark parents Kevin Eddy and Anthony Giangreco, who have kids in the marching band and varsity football team, respectively.

Anticipating a swell of attendees at the homecoming game and an event at the arena, Eddy arrived at 6:45 p.m. for the game that started at 7:30 p.m.. Eddy said he was surprised at the attendance, which Christiansen estimated at around 2,800 in the stands .

Eddy was able to glide through security in under five minutes, if that, he said.

“I think I just beat the rush; we got there with 8 to 10 minutes left in that first game,” he said.

“If anything, we had to dodge people leaving the game.”

The flow of sports fans in and out of the stadium was another contributor to the lag. The eight doors at the stadium’s plaza are all that’s used for entry and exit until construction finishes in a few months, Christiansen estimated. In future games, Christiansen said these doors will be split down the middle for more seamless entry and exit.

Giangreco arrived as the Rogers game was winding down. He waited in security lines for around 15 minutes, “less than optimal,” he admitted, but understandable given the newness of the stadium. Giangreco echoed Christiansen’s recommendation.

“I highly advise either purchasing a family pass or just buying tickets online prior to the game,” he said. “That actually went smoothly.”