Whether your state association manages the ticketing or you're setting it up yourself, this guide covers everything you need to get scanning and selling ready for a playoff, championship, or tournament game.
First: determine who manages the Hometown account for this event
For playoff and tournament games, there are two common setups. Which one you're in determines your next steps.
Setup A: Your state or conference athletic association manages the Hometown account.
This is the most common setup for state playoffs. The association (e.g., MSHSAA, OSAA, UIL, OHSAA, PIAA) creates the events, sets ticket prices, and controls the Hometown account. As the host school, you need their credentials to scan tickets and sell at the gate.
How to tell: If you didn't create the event yourself and it's listed under a conference or association name (not your school name), the association is managing it.
What to do: Contact your state or conference athletic association office directly. They will provide you with the Client ID, a username, and a password for scanning and selling. Hometown cannot provide these credentials because the association manages them directly.
Setup B: You manage your own Hometown Box Office and are creating the playoff event yourself.
This applies when your school or conference has its own Hometown account and you're building the playoff event in your own Box Office.
What to do: Follow the setup steps in "Setting up a playoff event" below.
Not sure which setup applies? Check with the person who told you you're hosting. If they said "we'll send you the Hometown login" or "the conference handles ticketing," you're in Setup A. If you've been told to create the event yourself in your school's Box Office, you're in Setup B. If you're still unsure, contact your conference office.
Setting up a playoff event in your own Box Office (Setup B)
If you're managing the event yourself, follow these steps:
Log in to the Box Office. Go to [yourclientid].hometownticketing.com/admin. If you don't know your Client ID, see How do I log in to the Box Office and Gate App?
Create the event. Click +New Event. Enter the event name (e.g., "PIAA District 7 Boys Basketball Semifinal"), date, time, and venue. Select Ticketed Event.
Set up ticket levels. Common playoff ticket level setup: General Admission (standard price, available to all fans), Student (discounted or free, may require a passcode), and optionally a Team Allotment level if each team gets a block of tickets (see "Team-specific ticket allotments" below).
Set a capacity limit if your venue has a maximum. Go to Advanced Event Options > Capacity Manager.
Publish the event so tickets can go on sale and the event appears in the Gate App.
Set up gate worker accounts. Go to Settings > User Accounts > +Add User. Create App Only accounts for scanning, or Box Office accounts for scanning and selling. You need School Admin permissions to create accounts.
Test the Gate App. Log in to the Gate App with the volunteer credentials. Confirm you can see the event. If it doesn't appear, check that the Event Start Time is correct and the event is published.
Team-specific ticket allotments using passcodes
If your conference requires each team to receive a set number of tickets (e.g., 150 per team):
Create a separate ticket level for each team's allotment (e.g., "Team A Allotment," "Team B Allotment").
For each team's ticket level, go to Advanced Event Options > Event Codes > Passcodes tab > New.
Create a Single Code for each team (e.g., "TEAM-A-2026"). Set Quantity to the allotment (e.g., 150). Set Max Per Cart to a reasonable limit (e.g., 10).
Distribute the codes to each team's representative.
Example: A university hosting a conference basketball tournament needed to allot 150 tickets per team. They created a separate ticket level for each team, added a unique passcode for each with a quantity of 150, and distributed codes to team contacts. Fans entered the code on the event page to access their team's allotted tickets.
For multi-event codes (one code that works across all tournament games), use the Multi-Event code feature. See Event Codes: Basics.
Multi-day tournaments: pass setup
If you're selling tournament passes that cover all days:
Create the pass event (Event Type: Season Passes) with the pass price and dates.
Create a separate event for each day of the tournament.
On each daily event, set the same Team/Activity as the pass, and toggle Pass Eligible ON under Advanced Event Options.
In the Gate App, scan passes under the individual day's event, not the pass event.
All three of the following must be true for tournament passes to scan. If any one is wrong, passes will show Invalid or Wrong Event at the gate.
Quick checklist: Verify all three before game day.
Pass eligibility dates cover all tournament days
Team/Activity matches on both the pass and each daily event
Pass Eligible is toggled ON on each daily event
Check 1: Pass eligibility dates must cover all tournament days.
Log in to the Box Office.
Click into your Season Pass / Tournament Pass event.
Scroll down to Ticket Levels & Pricing.
Click Edit beside your pass.
Check the Pass Start Date and Pass End Date. Both dates must cover the full range of the tournament. If the tournament runs Friday through Sunday, the start date must be on or before Friday and the end date must be on or after Sunday.
Example: A conference was hosting a multi-day swimming and diving championship. Championship passes worked for Day 1 but not Day 2. The cause: the Pass End Date was set to Thursday (the day before the tournament started) instead of Sunday. Once the date was corrected to cover all tournament days, passes scanned successfully on Day 2.
Check 2: The team/activity must match on both the pass AND each daily event.
Both the tournament pass and every daily event must have the same team or activity selected.
On the pass side: Season Pass event > Ticket Levels & Pricing > Edit beside your pass > scroll to Team/Activity. Confirm the correct team or activity (e.g., "Boys Basketball" or "Swimming & Diving") is selected.
On each daily event: Individual day event > Event Options > Edit > scroll to Team/Activity. Confirm the same team or activity is selected. Do this for every day of the tournament.
Example: An athletic director set up a tournament with 3 daily events. The pass and Day 1 both had "Boys Basketball" selected, but Day 2 and Day 3 were created without selecting a team. Once the AD added "Boys Basketball" to Days 2 and 3, passes scanned at all three events.
Check 3: "Pass Eligible" must be toggled ON for each daily event.
Log in to the Box Office.
Click into the individual day event (not the pass event).
Scroll down to Advanced Event Options.
Confirm Pass Eligible is toggled ON.
Repeat for every daily event in the tournament. Each day must have this toggle enabled individually.
Important: In the Gate App, always scan passes under the individual day's event, not the Tournament Pass event. The pass event is only for selling passes. When scanning, select the specific day from the Gate App event list.
Looking up a pass holder by name: In the Gate App, go to the individual day's event > tap Guest List > search by last name. Pass holders who are eligible for that event will appear in the Guest List and can be manually checked in.
If passes still aren't scanning after checking all three, see Why isn't my ticket or pass scanning correctly? for additional troubleshooting.
Day-of checklist
Run through this checklist before the event starts:
Can you log in to the Gate App? Try it now, not 30 minutes before the game. If you can't log in, see How do I log in to the Box Office and Gate App?
Can you see the event in the Gate App? If not, check that the Event Start Time is correct (AM/PM), the event is Published, and your account has access to the right department.
Do your volunteers have login credentials? Share the Client ID, username, and password with all gate workers.
Is your card reader paired? If selling tickets at the gate, pair the card reader with the tablet before event time.
Are passes configured correctly? If selling tournament passes, verify all three checks above: eligibility dates, team/activity, and Pass Eligible toggle.
Print the Volunteer Check-In Resource for your gate workers. See Volunteer Check-In Resource.
FAQs
I'm hosting a playoff game and I don't have a Client ID. How do I get one?
If your state athletic association manages the Hometown account for playoffs (this is the most common setup), contact them directly for credentials. If you manage your own Hometown Box Office, your Client ID is the first part of your Box Office URL. See How do I log in to the Box Office and Gate App?
My state association manages the tickets but I need to sell at the gate. Can I?
This depends on the credentials your association provides. If they give you a username with Box Office permissions, you can sell via POS in the Gate App. If the username is App Only, you can only scan. Contact your association to request the appropriate access level.
I just found out we're hosting tomorrow night. Can I set everything up in time?
Yes. If you have Box Office access, event creation takes about 15 minutes. Focus on: creating the event, setting ticket levels and prices, publishing, and setting up Gate App logins for your volunteers. Test the Gate App before game time.
The tournament pass isn't scanning at today's games.
The three most common causes: (1) Pass eligibility dates don't cover today, (2) the team isn't attached to both the pass and the event, (3) Pass Eligible isn't toggled ON for today's event. See the detailed checks in "Multi-day tournaments: pass setup" above, or visit Why isn't my ticket or pass scanning correctly? for step-by-step troubleshooting.
How do I look up a pass holder at the gate if their pass won't scan?
In the Gate App, go to the specific day's event > tap Guest List > search by last name. Eligible pass holders will appear in the Guest List and can be manually checked in.
Can I sell concessions through the Gate App?
Yes, if your school has a product catalog set up. Go to your event > Box Office Tools > Products to attach a product catalog. Your gate workers will need Box Office permission level or higher to access POS selling.