GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- They are a time-honored keepsake and a reminder of tailgates, touchdowns and Packers wins.
"I feel like it's a lot more of a personal touch that's kind of being taken away," Packers fan James Askins said.
This season, a paper ticket won't get you into Lambeau Field. A stub that some keep for generations is going digital.
"People tend to hold onto their phones pretty tightly," Fan and Buffalo City resident Kelly Herold said. "For us, it's not a big deal."
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"This really is a continuation of the evolution that we've seen in going to games here at Lambeau Field," Packers Director of Public Affairs told NBC 26. "And this year, we are going mobile tickets only."
Starting in the fall, the Packers will no longer accept printed tickets at Lambeau, tickets that one fan says hold the memories of the day.
To help ensure safe, secure ticketing at @LambeauField & prevent the use of counterfeit tickets, the #Packers will accept only mobile tickets for home games this season 📰 https://t.co/OcGqy29d86
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) June 11, 2021
"You might be talking to your kids one day and be like 'oh yea, I remember we went and watched the Packers play and they beat the Vikings,'" Askins said. "You can hold that actual stub."
Instead, fans will have to use their cellphones to get in. In a statement, the Packers say mobile tickets prevent fraud. But Askins would rather take his chances.
"You're not gonna have that piece of memorabilia," the North Carolina resident said.
Other fans like Herold are happy to use their phones.
"If we go this year to a game, I'm sure we'll probably be screenshotting the ticket so we can print it out if we need to," Herold said.
And Herold knows someone with season tickets who doesn't have a smartphone to bring to the game. But he says they'll figure it out.
"They don't come to every game themselves," he said. "They have family members who come to a lot of them. Their kids are my age too and they're fine with it."
Season ticket holders will still receive symbolic souvenir stubs in the mail at the end of the season. But every fan will need to keep their phones charged in 2021.
"By and large, we feel they [fans] are ready to make that transition and [are] excited with all the benefits that that's going to offer," Popkey said.
The Packers also eliminated all cash payments at Lambeau Field in the past year.
