Melbourne City trying to charge Melbourne Victory fans $55 to sit in the away end at AAMI Park is ridiculous, but sadly for the A-League it’s not like it hasn’t happened before.
There are a few issues to unpack around this news ahead of Saturday night’s Melbourne derby.
The first is that it’s patently absurd and demonstrably counterproductive to expect the A-League’s most passionate supporters to pay that kind of money to get into any game.
For the sake of the argument, an adult general admission ticket for the Big Bash version of the Melbourne derby at the MCG will set cricket fans back $22 with no booking fee.
And while plenty of Victory fans grumbled on social media about the exorbitant cost of tickets – and the fact they were $20 more expensive than the commensurate City tickets – it was only Fox Sports commentator Brenton Speed tweeting about it that brought the issue to wider attention.
But there are a couple of factors that deserve acknowledgement before we all fly in off the deep end.
The first is that Melbourne Victory fans are not the only ones to suffer this treatment.
Melbourne City fans were quick to suggest that they too cop an increase in ticket prices whenever they’re the away fans at Marvel Stadium.
And I don’t recall any Victory fans tweeting in solidarity when Sydney FC supporters were charged $55 to be wedged into the away bay at Bankwest Stadium earlier this season.
What we need is not only an overarching body looking out for the interests of fans regardless of club allegiances – which is a role Football Supporters Australia aims to fulfil – but also a simple acknowledgement from fans of all A-League clubs that their circumstances are not unique.
(Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
And while it’s easy to sit here and point the finger at Melbourne City for high derby prices – and it’s worth pointing out they’re now offering cheaper tickets – any A-League chief executive will tell you the clubs don’t set the cost of tickets, or at least not exclusively.
That’s where all the carping and moaning from Victory and City fans about Western United’s proposed stadium at Tarneit becomes an act of self-sabotage.
Because the biggest reason we have such high ticket prices at A-League games is due to the stadiums themselves.
Not only are A-League clubs mere tenants in venues they pay to rent from the government, there’s also no eye-wateringly generous broadcast deal to help subsidise the cost of tickets.
And one of the reasons the NSW Government would have no concerns about the high cost of Sydney derby tickets at Bankwest Stadium, to use one example, is because it’s one of the easiest ways to pay back the cost of the stadium’s construction.
That’s why Western United should be applauded for their vision to build their own stadium, and why Sydney FC fans should be concerned by the latest government-sanctioned plans to rebuild the Sydney Football Stadium.
None of this would matter so much if only the A-League had some effective leadership.
Yet when you’re not paying for your ticket, these sort of problems seem to dwindle in importance.
But they are important – especially if we’re to believe the reports that the A-League won’t become fully independent until the current broadcast deal runs out in 2023.
Because the competition can’t just keep muddling along making the same mistakes and consigning every problem to the too-hard basket while attendances dwindle and only the diehards watch on TV.
Too-high ticket prices are a multi-faceted problem that require a league-wide response.
The Melbourne derby should be a showcase of everything that’s good about the A-League, but sadly much of the build-up has focused on one of the competition’s biggest concerns.
RbbAnonymous
Roar Rookie
I simply don't go to away matches anymore. The cheap tickets are home memberships and I try to go to as many home games as possible.
Hans Van Hansen
Guest
Too many middlemen, fat cats. Cut them off.
MarkfromCroydon
Roar Pro
I paid $20 plus $5 booking fee for a single adult reserved seat. CHEAP
Zoran
Guest
AR I know you are just quoting what you found on google but you and I know those figures don't pass the pub test. I've seen games at Spotless with swathes on empty seats and the stadium at best a quarter full and yet the AFL quotes a figure of 13,000 Heck, I'm known as Mr AFL on here so I have no bias. Spotless figures are nonsense, but figures at all other stadiums look ok to me.
Samuel Leventis
Guest
MCG, would get 80k
c
Guest
while we have the issue of inadequate revenues and capital funding we will continue to have operational problems just like any other business just hope it does not get to the stage we need to call in the liquidators
deucer
Roar Rookie
Doesn't Spotless also host BBL? Both stadiums fill up half the capacity for all their hosts, which isn't terrible - SFS only fills up 1/3, which is worse. The other factor is that there is far greater support for WSW in western Sydney and I suspect that average will increase quite a bit this year in the new stadium. GWS crowds are about average for Sydney - I wonder how many are still free tickets - at the start up it would've been a large proportion, but perhaps since they are doing OK, it has lessened.
Garry Jr
Guest
Gosh I'm glad to see some discussion of AFL on the football tab. How refreshing. How witty. How definitely not completely stupid. Great work to all involved, especially punter, who handled the whole thing like a seasoned professional. A special mention also to chris, who did his best.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Braintrust, you using facts against AR, that's not fair. Here is a another few fun facts for the poor guy. GWS, 2nd best AFL team in the world Avg attendance 12K. in the biggest competition attendance wise in Australia with lots of interstate travelers. Parramatta 5th best Rugby League team in the world, since moving to Bankwest 18K avg attendance. WWS, 7th in the 3rd tier competition, nowhere near their best, since moving to Bankwest 17K avg attendance.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
every team that plays at Bankwest will pay to hire the stadium. At Giants stadium however there is no payment to the govt gets nothing back for spending its money,same at Carrara, Same at Adelaide and same at Perth. 1.5 billion govt money at Perth, 0 from the AFL , the govt does not get a cent back.
Waz
Guest
That report is already out of date. Excluding land costs a 20,000 Stadium can be built for a fraction of that ($75m) and boutique developments like Dolphin Oval are proving it can be done.
GibbonRib
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I hope it works out for them. If the stadium owners and team have a good relationship and are sensible they can hopefully make it work long term. If the stadium owners decide they want to increase the rent, or not maintain the ground, or sell it to developers, then it could be a problem down the road. Seems like a sensible option for now though, so hard to predict what the A League will look like in 25 years
AR
Guest
“Bankwest host rugby league, soccer, rugby union plus concerts and special events.” Giants Stadium host football, cricket, soccer, the Royal Easter Show, plus concerts and special events. What’s your point? Chris told me to google GWS crowds, so I googled. And what google told me, is that over the past 5 years, the Giants have averaged 12k crowds and WSW have averaged 13.2k.
Nemesis
Guest
That's why you do it similar to what WUN is doing. You get a Property Developer who is committed to the project. Whilst you are right that it's not easy for the tenant to find another stadium. It works both ways. The Stadium owner needs the tenant or they've got a massive piece of infrastructure earning $0. 25 year lease is reasonably common for many infrastructure projects. State Govts have negotiated BOOT project finance for freeways that follow a 25 year cycle.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Watching the cricket test from Perth on their new cricket ground, the commentators said that the Federal Government had just given $60 mill to WA for redevelopment of the WACA. That's the old cricket ground. They quoted a few female sports that will use it, good on them but let's face it, only two sports need an oval. Whereas, with donated land you could get two small niche stadiums, or one decent one for those $$.
Waz
Roar Rookie
ha ha. Yes, it’s a great little area. Notts fans taunt of last resort is yours not even in Nottingham :laughing: I believe the Forest response is something like “you’re not even in the league”
Punter
Roar Rookie
Bankwest host rugby league, soccer, rugby union plus concerts and special events. The foundation teams are National Rugby League club Parramatta Eels and A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers. Other tenants include NRL team Wests Tigers and Super Rugby team New South Wales Waratahs. Some clubs, such as Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs, are relocating games while the knock down rebuild for the Sydney Football Stadium and the redevelopment of Stadium Australia goes ahead.
Tara
Guest
You can divide GWS crowds by two to get the real figure.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
The issue isn't that Victory fans are being asked to pay $35 for entry, it's that until yesterday they were being charged $55.
BRFC Fan Jordan
Guest
Even derby matches? I do take your point that a packed AAMI might be a better view for fans, but the possibility of getting seriously noteworthy crowds at Marvel (or ANZ for that matter) is pretty compelling. But then I guess it goes back to the argument of catering to event chaser derby fans vs. those that turn up week in week out, and I can respect the logic of catering to rusted fans first and foremost. What about a Melb derby GF? Marvel or AAMI?