AFL ticket allocations are a Grand Final sized rip-off

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By johnhunt92, 18 Sep 2009 johnhunt92 is a Roar Pro

Tagged:: AFL, AFL grand final, ticket scalping

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If you are a St Kilda, Collingwood, Bulldogs, or Geelong fan, and your team wins, be prepared to camp out for a ticket. Yes, it’s that time of the year again when scalpers do their best business.

People are desperate to see their team win and will do anything to get tickets.

It astounds me that just 25,000 tickets are given to the teams competing. Yet, 1,000 tickets go to teams not even close to a Premiership.

Where is the justice?

I understand that the AFL needs tickets for its corporate sponsors and broadcasters, as their money keeps the sport thriving.

However, I cannot tolerate the amount of tickets that go to teams not competing. Also, I can’t see why there needs to be 21,000 AFL members’ tickets.

To me, the AFL is trying to please everyone, and you can’t do that.

My solution is that each team in the Grand Final gets 30,000 tickets. Teams not competing get 600 (8400 all up); AFL members get 15,000; MCC Members 11,000; and Corporate sponsors, 6,000.

The rest go to a nominated charity of the two teams.

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The Crowd Says (15) | Page 1 of Comments

Kurt said | September 18th 2009 @ 2:07am | Report comment

Hmmm, nice idea. i wonder how the MCC will react to being told half of their reserve is to be taken away for the biggest event of the year? Possibly something along the lines of ‘bugger off AFL and read your contract”. As for the AFL members tickets, again these people pay money for the opportunity to get into a GF and are true footy fans.

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Tom said | September 18th 2009 @ 8:53am | Report comment

I’ve been told that the members of the four teams in the preliminary finals can enter into a ballot this week to get a grand final ticket should they make it through.

For that privilege, they get charged a $5 non-refundable administration fee per person.

Now, if 25 000 members from each team enter that ballot, thats a cool $500k for Ticketmaster. For administration. The AFL would get their cut of that, I’m sure.

I don’t agree with all the hyperbole about fans having a right to watch the grand final, but sometimes I think footy fans just get downright exploited.

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Allen said | September 18th 2009 @ 10:00am | Report comment

This is the much bigger rort! The AFL / Ticketmaster have discovered that by holding registration for the ticket ballot before the preliminaries they can even make a extra $250K+ from the members of the teams who don’t even make the GF!

And forget camping out any more, this random ballot system has also taken away the opportunity for die hard members to ‘earn’ their ticket by lining up on Monday morning, which was a GF tradition for fans. For which ever teams make it there will be thousands of fans who have seldom missed their team play a game for years, only to miss their big day.

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Michael C said | September 18th 2009 @ 11:35am | Report comment

If only the various state governments had helped the VFL a tad all those years ago, we’d have a PT linked 150,000 capacity VFL park out at Waverley holding the AFL Grand Final…..

btw – the GF may be a bit of a rip off – but, rather that, whilst being on in the arvo for kids to watch on tele, – - rather that, than auskick being a rip off.

btw – most of the ticketing system was designed way back when clubs were lucky to have 10,000 members. Now, with clubs having up to 40K and 50K members, it’s only the ‘special category’ members (costs a bucket) who get a guarranteed ticket.

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- Warren Vargas said | September 22nd 2009 @ 10:50am | Report comment
  
  It was the government who killed off VFL Park, all the politicians are MCC Members and have an invested interest in the MCG, the MCG is the politicians ground, VFL Park was the peoples ground. It was supposed to be a 166,000 capacity stadium. Governments wouldn’t build a rail line, tram line..etc because it would be against their fellow MCC Members wishes. Now that the ground is no longer a playing venue and has been knocked down, they have upgraded the freeway too….funny that.
  
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James said | September 18th 2009 @ 12:10pm | Report comment

AFL members (of which I am one) are the true footy purists. We dont just whatch our teams play…we enjoy watching a good match. We pay $300 + for the privelage to attend 40 home and away games. Our stadia are magnificent, and unless you are an Adelaide Crows fan or a West Coast Eagles fan, there are no waiting lists. Should it matter that for one day, we have a massive sellout? Contrast this with NFL teams, and the Big 4 in the EPL…you must be a season ticket holder just to attend a regular fixture. We are spoiled in this country. Let the clubs have an allocation of GF tickets to sell…its a massive money spinner for them! As for the MCC…i think they should have to reserve their seats….if not, then have any empty sections up the top of the MCC stand for others to purchase.

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Warren Vargas said | September 18th 2009 @ 12:31pm | Report comment

I believe the best way is to reward members who go to see their team play. You buy a membership card and when you swipe to get in, it records you have been to that game, the people who go the most get priority over those who go the least.
So if a team has 45,000 members and there is only say 15,000 tickets available to those members, the ones who attended the most games get priority counting down 15,000 spots. It then encourages members to go to more games.

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- Michael C said | September 18th 2009 @ 3:20pm | Report comment
  
  It’d make it nigh on impossible for country and interstate members to get in….there’d have to be some flex in the system.
  
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  - Warren Vargas said | September 22nd 2009 @ 10:17am | Report comment
    
    Maybe they could have a ballot for country and interstate members
    
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Justin said | September 18th 2009 @ 1:48pm | Report comment

Spot on Warren – fairs fair in that situation. I would also add that it should be 30k for each team in the GF.

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gazz said | September 18th 2009 @ 4:30pm | Report comment

bugger

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Ziggy Niszczot said | September 19th 2009 @ 1:40am | Report comment

There is a system in place whereby season ticket holders of every club pay $10 early in the season (I have paid in April in the past) to 100% guarentee a GF ticket, this is to cover administrative costs.

Surely a supporter of Geelong, Saints, Collingwood etc. would have purchased such insurance to ensure their ticket?

This system – which has been in place for at least 5 seasons (I paid mine for Sydney Swans in 2005) – is clearly a fair an effective way of making sure genuine supporters get access to tickets.

John Hunt, your proposed allocation is no fairer – holding 30,000 for each side would not be enough for either a Saints/Pies or Saints/Cats GF. On the other hand, the existing system perfectly caters for all the faithful members who gave the foresight to ensure their tickets at a minimal cost.

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- Ziggy Niszczot said | September 19th 2009 @ 1:45am | Report comment
  
  Warren, your system is also flawed – surely a member who has attended 8 home games and 10 away games deserves preference over a member who has attended 11 home games but not bothered to travel away.
  
  I completely agree, however, if tickets were allocated as you suggest, but took into account away attendance – unfortunately, tickets are booked (in general) through ticket outlets like ticketmaster with no acknowledgement of who you are etc. therefore impossible to trace.
  
  Best system = $10 insurance to guarentee ticket.
  
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  - Warren Vargas said | September 22nd 2009 @ 10:44am | Report comment
    
    What they need to have is different memberships available 22 Games, 18 Games, 15 Games, 11 Games, 5 Games and 3 Games obviously the more games the more advantage you should have. Currently as an AFL member I swipe my card and the AFL has my information as to how many games I have attended, this would work for everyone.
    Each club could have their members listed with how many games they have attended updated each week, with a cut off line showing which members are above the line and which members are below the line. It would increase the number of people going to matches. Members who purchase their membership first have priority, so if you bought your ticket on Feb 24 you would be in front of the person who got theirs on Feb 26 with the same number of games. Also members over time in consecutive years should get priority too. Country and Interstate members can go into a ballot.
    
    I have not heard about a $10 insurance to guarantee ticket, It might work for the Swans who have about 8,000 members in Melbourne, but it can’t work for all the Victorian clubs, you can’t guarantee all members will get a ticket for $10 because what if 30,000 decided to take it up, there isn’t enough tickets.
    
    Ballots are unfair because someone who hasn’t been to a game could get a ticket over someone who has been to every game.
    
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Mark said | September 19th 2009 @ 4:02pm | Report comment

It’s hard to explain to a 10 year old member that even though he has been to all of the games this year he can’t get to the big one at the end! There are way too many people attending the grand final who are not even interested in footy!!
Why not allow the members of the two competing teams to nominate if they wish to attend and then allocate the rest accordingly. That way every member who faithfully supports their club and wants to go to the GF gets to go instead of having to go in a ballot. My son and I have been in the ballot for the last 2 years and missed out each time. We may miss out thsi year too if our “lucky” number does not come up!!

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