Resource 2024 Membership thread - it begins - with a kiss

[Tiberius]

I haven't read any emails from the club or anything but I'm in the social club seating on level 1 near the cheersquad. Can anyone tell me if I'm also getting screwed over next year?

 

[KickItAnywhere34]

I really want to give the club the benefit of the doubt here, but I'm not sure where a potential communication breakdown could have occured that leaves the club looking good.

The facts/timeline as it stands now;

1. Premiership club members receive emails stating their reserved seats are being moved 'due to Marvel Stadium redevelopment'
2. In follow-up phone calls with multiple members (including myself, Twinkletoes, KickItAnywhere34, etc) we're all told that the level 2 wing bays are no longer available because they are being reallocated as 'AFL premium reserve', and that specifically this impacts all Marvel Stadium clubs
3. Essendon members see this, contact their club, and are told that those bays are not impacted for Essendon members
4. Carlton's 2024 membership seating map also has those bays as still available
5. A trusted reporter begins looking into this, and contacts the AFL. The AFL tells this reporter that the AFL has not changed the seating arrangements in those bays/not reserved any of those bays, and that this is a "club issue"
6. Several members have contacted the club based on this information seeking clarification, and we are awaiting the club response

That sound right?

100% correct and I have asked both the CEO and the membership account manager to respond to this. Have they lied or not?

 

[Chadwiko]

I haven't read any emails from the club or anything but I'm in the social club seating on level 1 near the cheersquad. Can anyone tell me if I'm also getting screwed over next year?

No reason to believe your membership is impacted at all, thus far.

 

[Del191229]

The media and the journalist who is following the story is the one who confirmed with the AFL/Marvel that they have no plans for the seats taken off us. He is a reputable journalist and I’d trust his info. If this is true then North are clearly using these seats for other purposes and doing it by stealth. The club needs to come clean one way or the other - but for now they’ve clearly mislead us. I’m more than happy for the media to run this as the seats I and many others have been offered are quite frankly putrid.

Who is the journo

 

[shintemaster]

I heard the club has canned the VFL team to divert the resources to the W team too.

Shouldn't folks wait until the facts are established before rushing off to talk to media?

(I don't have one of these seats, I have NFI)

The club literally sent an email to the OP saying "You're out, bad luck". They had the opportunity to establish the facts at that point but decided a bulk email explaining how they're moving people from the best seats in the house to worse ones was the right way to handle this.

They ****ed up.

 

[Chadwiko]

Who is the journo

They've asked not to be named.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

They've asked not to be named.

So it’s Lord Voldemort then.

 

[KickItAnywhere34]

Who is the journo

As Chadwiko has said - we are not divulging his name. He does work for one of the big Melbourne papers and once the story runs you will know. All I’ll say is he is reputable.

 

[Chadwiko]

As Chadwiko has said - we are not divulging his name. He does work for one of the big Melbourne papers and once the story runs you will know. All I’ll say is he is reputable.

*IF the story runs. No guarantee that happens if it turns out this is just a NMFC club issue.

Their original interest in the story was about the AFL taking Marvel Stadium bays away from clubs. If that has indeed happened, the story will likely run.

If it turns out NMFC is wrong/has lied, it is unlikely to be a story they pursue.

 

[Del191229]

I really want to give the club the benefit of the doubt here, but I'm not sure where a potential communication breakdown could have occured that leaves the club looking good.

The facts/timeline as it stands now;

1. Premiership club members receive emails stating their reserved seats are being moved 'due to Marvel Stadium redevelopment'
2. In follow-up phone calls with multiple members (including myself, Twinkletoes, KickItAnywhere34, etc) we're all told that the level 2 wing bays are no longer available because they are being reallocated as 'AFL premium reserve', and that specifically this impacts all Marvel Stadium clubs
3. Essendon members see this, contact their club, and are told that those bays are not impacted for Essendon members
4. Carlton's 2024 membership seating map also has those bays as still available
5. A trusted reporter begins looking into this, and contacts the AFL. The AFL tells this reporter that the AFL has not changed the seating arrangements in those bays/not reserved any of those bays, and that this is a "club issue"
6. Several members have contacted the club based on this information seeking clarification, and we are awaiting the club response

That sound right?

So this only affects us, and not Essendon or Carlton?

 

[Del191229]

They've asked not to be named.

Oooh look at you guys being all secret squirrel, how cloak and dagger.

 

[Del191229]

As Chadwiko has said - we are not divulging his name. He does work for one of the big Melbourne papers and once the story runs you will know. All I’ll say is he is reputable.

I'll be the judge of that.

 

[FlyHigh18]

“As a further result of the redevelopment works…”

 

[Chadwiko]

So this only affects us, and not Essendon or Carlton?

We don't have hard confirmation on that so far.

NMFC members (including myself so this is first hand info) were told on the phone that 'all Marvel Stadium' teams were losing these bays, and it was because they were now for 'AFL premium reserve'. You'll see earlier in this thread Twinkletoes reporting the exact same, and others have as well (KickItAnywhere34, I believe guys like blackshadow and others - scroll back through the first 10 pages here and you'll see).

So with that info, I created a thread on the main board saying "hey look at this, this sucks". That led Carlton and Essendon fans to follow it up with their clubs.

Essendon fans with reserved seats in those bays reported talking on the phone to their membership department and being told that they are keeping their same seats for 2024. That's not a 'hard confirmation', but it's interesting.

Carlton's membership website has been updated for 2024 (they're the only other Marvel club apart from us that has done this) and their seating map also shows they still have access to those bays, while our map shows it as completely unavailable.

 

[KickItAnywhere34]

*IF the story runs. No guarantee that happens if it turns out this is just a NMFC club issue.

Their original interest in the story was about the AFL taking Marvel Stadium bays away from clubs. If that has indeed happened, the story will likely run.

If it turns out NMFC is wrong/has lied, it is unlikely to be a story they pursue.

My bad - of course I should have used IF

 

[Del191229]

We don't have hard confirmation on that so far.

NMFC members (including myself so this is first hand info) were told on the phone that 'all Marvel Stadium' teams were losing these bays, and it was because they were now for 'AFL premium reserve'. You'll see earlier in this thread Twinkletoes reporting the exact same, and others have as well (KickItAnywhere34, I believe guys like blackshadow and others - scroll back through the first 10 pages here and you'll see).

So with that info, I created a thread on the main board saying "hey look at this, this sucks". That led Carlton and Essendon fans to follow it up with their clubs.

Essendon fans with reserved seats in those bays reported talking on the phone to their membership department and being told that they are keeping their same seats for 2024. That's not a 'hard confirmation', but it's interesting.

Carlton's membership website has been updated for 2024 (they're the only other Marvel club apart from us that has done this) and their seating map also shows they still have access to those bays, while our map shows it as completely unavailable.

Does Essendon have a spreadsheet where they keep these records lol

If folks want to brief journos and go to the media sooking about the club, they would want to have all the facts straight imo.

But it reads like the big sook is on, despite not knowing what's happening to other clubs ... lol at thauthes being Essendon BF posters ffs.

As I said, I'm not directly affected so haven't looked into it, but has all the hallmarks of a "The VFL side has been canned to pay for the W side" massive BF board freak out and overreaction.

 

[Chadwiko]

But it reads like the big sook is on, despite not knowing what's happening to other clubs ... lol at thauthes being Essendon BF posters ffs.

Crap take.

At a MINIMUM, what we know with certainty is that 'premium' NMFC members (premiership club/schimma club) have had their reserved seats moved to significantly worse spots in the stadium, and that the reasoning given by the club appears to be at best not entirely accurate.

 

[KickItAnywhere34]

We don't have hard confirmation on that so far.

NMFC members (including myself so this is first hand info) were told on the phone that 'all Marvel Stadium' teams were losing these bays, and it was because they were now for 'AFL premium reserve'. You'll see earlier in this thread Twinkletoes reporting the exact same, and others have as well (KickItAnywhere34, I believe guys like blackshadow and others - scroll back through the first 10 pages here and you'll see).

So with that info, I created a thread on the main board saying "hey look at this, this sucks". That led Carlton and Essendon fans to follow it up with their clubs.

Essendon fans with reserved seats in those bays reported talking on the phone to their membership department and being told that they are keeping their same seats for 2024. That's not a 'hard confirmation', but it's interesting.

Carlton's membership website has been updated for 2024 (they're the only other Marvel club apart from us that has done this) and their seating map also shows they still have access to those bays, while our map shows it as completely unavailable.

Yep that’s what we were told on Friday - it’s an AFL/Marvel decision and all clubs are affected. Funnily enough to back the point about Essendon I spoke to an Essendon mate over the weekend and he says his seats are in that area and as far as he knows nothing is changing. Take all this for what it’s worth but it’s looking more and more like North are doing something via stealth and in trying to deflect from the truth have now tied themselves up in knots because they can’t supply enough good seats as replacements and when challenged the responses have been ordinary.

 

[KickItAnywhere34]

Does Essendon have a spreadsheet where they keep these records lol

If folks want to brief journos and go to the media sooking about the club, they would want to have all the facts straight imo.

But it reads like the big sook is on, despite not knowing what's happening to other clubs ... lol at thauthes being Essendon BF posters ffs.

As I said, I'm not directly affected so haven't looked into it, but has all the hallmarks of a "The VFL side has been canned to pay for the W side" massive BF board freak out and overreaction.

It’s not an overreaction - I’ve been moved from nearly on the wing to down near the point post - is that fair. It’s also pretty clear that the bays taken off us were not taken for the reasons suggested on Friday. This stinks and the club needs to address this and then fix it.

 

[Del191229]

Crap take.

At a MINIMUM, what we know with certainty is that 'premium' NMFC members (premiership club/schimma club) have had their reserved seats moved to significantly worse spots in the stadium, and that the reasoning given by the club appears to be at best not entirely accurate.

If this is affecting all tenant clubs, then it is a good story, no doubt.

But accepting the word of online Essendon nuffs that it isn't impacting them lol.

As I said, I strongly suspect more facts will emerge clarfying the situation far better.

 

[FlyHigh18]

Yep that’s what we were told on Friday - it’s an AFL/Marvel decision and all clubs are affected. Funnily enough to back the point about Essendon I spoke to an Essendon mate over the weekend and he says his seats are in that area and as far as he knows nothing is changing. Take all this for what it’s worth but it’s looking more and more like North are doing something via stealth and in trying to deflect from the truth have now tied themselves up in knots because they can’t supply enough good seats as replacements and when challenged the responses have been ordinary.

before going off your off your nut, important to distinguish the 'official' club response from anything a sales rep / customer service kid struggling to keep his job might say.

 

[Chadwiko]

If this is affecting all tenant clubs, then it is a good story, no doubt.

But accepting the word of online Essendon nuffs that it isn't impacting them lol.

As I said, I strongly suspect more facts will emerge clarfying the situation far better.

I think you need to read the whole thread before you try and come in here and make authoritative statements.

 

[Del191229]

Yep that’s what we were told on Friday - it’s an AFL/Marvel decision and all clubs are affected. Funnily enough to back the point about Essendon I spoke to an Essendon mate over the weekend and he says his seats are in that area and as far as he knows nothing is changing. Take all this for what it’s worth but it’s looking more and more like North are doing something via stealth and in trying to deflect from the truth have now tied themselves up in knots because they can’t supply enough good seats as replacements and when challenged the responses have been ordinary.

Aka I know the VFL team is being canned to fund the W wise because my mate said so.

What happensn if and when it comes out that Essendon are impacted too.

 

[Del191229]

I think you need to read the whole thread before you try and come in here and make authoritative statements.

LOL, I've read it and interestingly, this thread isn't the only source of info on the matter.

Let's see what happens when more info emerges ...

 

[shintemaster]

Aka I know the VFL team is being canned to fund the W wise because my mate said so.

What happensn if and when it comes out that Essendon are impacted too.

It's not people saying it - the club has stated get out and this is the reason. They are fully in control of the narrative here - any flak is self inflicted.

If it comes out that the AFL have lied (best case scenario) it is still poor form to just push people out of seats they have had access to for 2 decades without even attempting to provide a good alternative or explanation. If the AFL has pushed the club under the bus - which seems unlikely at this point - it is still incumbent on the club to fight for the best result for their members.