Some NC schools don’t let fans pay cash for sports events. Here’s why that could change
Not everyone has a credit card.
North Carolina schools that stopped accepting cash for tickets to athletic events may be required to take George Washingtons again, if a bill that passed the House clears the Senate, too.
In a near-unanimous bipartisan vote, the North Carolina House passed a bill Wednesday that would require schools to also accept cash admission to games, not only electronic payments that have become popular recently.
During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, many school systems started cashless systems, which often include fees and an app tied to a credit card. Years later, some school systems kept the cashless system, to the frustration of some sports fans.
Including the bill sponsor.
Rep. Reece Pyrtle, a Rockingham County Republican, sponsored House Bill 2, which requires middle and high schools to offer a cash option while being able to keep an electronic payment option, too.
Pyrtle said on the House floor that he went to a high school game, and at the gate had to download an app and enter a credit card to buy his ticket and get in. He also heard that some students in his district were turned away from attending their school’s games because they only had cash.
U.S. law requires the primary account holder of a credit card to be at least 18 years old.
“I just think that just because you don’t have access to a smartphone, or you don’t have a credit card, you should be prohibited from attending an athletic event,” Pyrtle said.
The House passed the bill 111-1. The House sent the Senate a similar bill last legislative session, but it didn’t clear the Senate.
This year could be different, as the most powerful senator said he’s “generally supportive.”
“You’ve got a lot of parents who, for one reason or another, may not have a credit card, but their kid is is playing in high school sports,” Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters after Wednesday’s Senate session.
“I think if you look at a $1 bill, it says this is ‘legal tender for all debts, public and private.’ And I think you ought to be able to use it in that context,” he said.
Berger added that while he personally is in favor of it, he’ll have to talk about it with other Senate Republicans.
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