Bobcat Cash unlikely for theater

by Rachel Wilson
For The Post

Although Bobcat Cash seemed like a viable option for students to buy movie tickets at the Athena Theater, 20 S. Court St., Ohio University officials decided the cost of installing the system would be more than their budget could handle.

OU officials said this fall Bobcat Cash would be in use at the theater by the end of Winter Quarter. But officials postponed the idea indefinitely because of the cost.

“I’d love to see Bobcat Cash at the Athena,” said Mike Sostarich, OU vice president for student affairs. “But under current circumstances it won’t happen.”

OU officials’ research concluded setting up a Bobcat Cash system for OU student and faculty members’ use at the theater would cost several thousand dollars. 

“We would have to run a direct phone line to the building, which would cost anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000,” Sostarich said.  “We would need more than one card reader, and the cheapest one costs approximately $900.”

Also, a small cost is levied per transaction for the card-scanning technology that adds up over time, Sostarich said.

Across OU’s campus, Bobcat Cash is connected by use of a hard-wire cable, said Randy Shelton, director of OU Housing and Food Services. The system is not like a credit or debit card, where transactions go through telephone lines. Therefore, if a new line for Bobcat Cash needs to be installed, it has to be connected to the hard-wire by a phone line.

“We are constantly evaluating Bobcat Cash,” Shelton said.  “We are trying to get an Uptown system installed.”

Shelton said OU officials might have to put an independent debit card system into place because of the hard-wired Bobcat Cash system’s cost.

OU freshman Sarah Morris said she would have used the Bobcat Cash system at the Athena.

“I think it would have been a very good idea,” Morris said. “Because it would have been more convenient for students going to the movies.”

No Uptown businesses accept Bobcat Cash now, although at least eight Athens restaurants have gotten on board with Uptown Bucks, a debit system that also allows students to put money on a card for meals. Two Oxford, Ohio, entrepreneurs brought the private business to Athens in April.