Abstract: An access control system and method is provided for an activities center wherein activities are available for customers. The control system employs a plurality of access cards, a comptroller processor, at least one credit station and a plurality of access stations. Each access card is encoded for a respective customer, and the comptroller processes data, creates customer account files correlated to each customer's account file identifier, stores the customer account files, verifies customer account files to determine availability of credit and issues either approval or disapproval. The credit station reads an account file identifiers on an access cards and signals the processor to open the customer account file. An access station is associated with each activity and reads an access card to signal the comptroller processor to open the customer account file.