AFL Members shafted

[Demon 86]

They do nothing of the sort. The MCG is owned by the government and the MCC manages the ground on behalf of the state.

Figure of speech- end of the day the MCC are who matters when it comes to the MCG and AFL member take a backseat.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

MCC owns the MCG

False. The MCG is owned by the Victorian Government.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

Figure of speech.

A pretty stupid one.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

It is a total disgrace what it costs out of Vic to go to a grand final.

When you win, i can absorb the costs.

I am happy to have spent that money, but i'd be livid if we lost

 

[Twenty 11 Pies]

Afl membership is chickenfeed for what you get out of it. It is my insurance policy to get me a grand final ticket - 99.9% guaranteed - you only need to line up from 6am for 3 or so hours and you'll get a seat. I wouldn't miss that one day in September for anything!

 

[Demon 86]

A pretty stupid one.

Sorry to offend you. You can whinge semantics all you want but at the end of the day the MCC runs the MCG.

 

[The Sultan]

IRC AFL/AFL members partially funded the cost of the great southern stand back in the early 90's.

 

[Starburns_]

in 1997 the AFL supposedly (i say that cos its BS) surveyed members who asked for the GF to be ticketed as the majority didnt like queueing at 6am. certainly everyone there at 6am that day disagreed wholeheartedly.

so in 1998 was the 1st AFL members ticketed GF. you had to queue up at ticketek for hours on end to ensure you got a ticket to a shitty part of the ground, as opposed to getting your arse into gear and being there at 6am on the day. obviously too many precious types out there wanted the best seats and only have to rock up at 2pm. and of course more money for the likes of ticketek.

i gave up my membership after that - it simply wasnt worth it, compared to the original advantages. the advantages were slowly but deliberately being wittled away to help the corporates get their way. i dont regret my decision as i hear so many complain of the shit they go thru these days.
i saw some great footy in those 7 years tho.

They should have done it similarly to the way the MCC do it, by only allocating a percentage of reserved tickets, then people can choose which method they'd rather use, instead of relying on a "survey".

 

[azza29]

As an AFL member I'd prefer to have the option of paying $140 for a grand final ticket, than getting it for free and having $140 added to the membership fee even if I don't want to go to the GF.

At $360 a year a silver membership is a bargain. 40 games, two weeks of finals and all preseason games. No complaints here.

 

[magpielicious]

And on a side point, why isn't the 600K being spent on that FAT **** Meatloaf used instead to reduce the cost of GF tickets ? GF entertainment is pathetic as is so why waste all that money ?

 

[azza29]

And on a side point, why isn't the 600K being spent on that FAT **** Meatloaf used instead to reduce the cost of GF tickets ? GF entertainment is pathetic as is so why waste all that money ?

A definite waste of money, especially given most people under 40 don't know who Meatloaf is. They don't even know he's a has-been.

 

[Starburns_]

And on a side point, why isn't the 600K being spent on that FAT **** Meatloaf used instead to reduce the cost of GF tickets ? GF entertainment is pathetic as is so why waste all that money ?

As crap as the entertainment choice is (when isn't it really?), that's about $10 a ticket cheaper for each person, hardly the difference between coughing up or saying "forget it".

 

[blaze036]

And on a side point, why isn't the 600K being spent on that FAT **** Meatloaf used instead to reduce the cost of GF tickets ? GF entertainment is pathetic as is so why waste all that money ?

Grand final tickets are cheap relative to every other big sport. Why isnt the 1.414 billion or whatever the players are getting spent on getting gf ticket costs down, why dont we not upgrade the mcg and get gf tickets down... its good exposure and entertainment stop complaining

 

[greennick]

AFL member tickets should only go to those that support a team in the GF, handed out in a lottery evenly split between the 2 participants. Any seats not taken up by AFL members should go to the genuine members of that competing club.

It is ridiculous that about half of the stadium is only available to people who live in Melbourne (MCC and AFL members). For a supposed national sport, the AFL does a lot to take the piss out of the rest of the country.

 

[BlueTouchPaper]

Then you wait 13 years for full membership. Nice rort

Yet you get to go to 50 plus games, as opposed to 14 or so.

 

[PresidentJeffrey]

They don't take any tickets away from competing clubs members. The AFL members area is there all season. It's there every game ant the MCG. It doesn't get bigger for the Grand Final. With the club support member of the competing clubs getting a chance to get there tickets early it actually gives more tickets to competing club members as those members are not in an ballot.

Get stuck into the AFL for giving all the Grand Final Tickets to non competing clubs (1000 each club that are scalped. We will give you some bacon and eggs and a ticket to the GF for $2000) or to all these sponsors that don't go all season.

Actually the AFL members section does get bigger for the finals. They move the fence by about 2 bays. But there/s less space for AFL members.

I think it totals about 24,000 people.

However on Grand Final Day the AFL Members section contains a number of different groups:
Medallion Club 5,000 approx
AFL Executive and guests ???
Premiership Club 500 approx
Brownlow Medallists (2 ea) 100 approx
AFL Sponsors 1,000 approx
AFL Members 17,000 approx

The Outer totals around 53,000
The Outer contains a few groups too
Clubs (1,000 x 17) 17,000
Competing Clubs for internal distribution (1,000 x 2) 2,000
Club members (12,000 x 2) 24,000
AFL Sponsors 1,000?
Corporate Suites 1,000?
Dining Rooms 1,000?
AFL Event Office 7,000?

 

[PresidentJeffrey]

One of the problems with AFL Grand Final Ticket Distribution is that there is a complete lack of transparency, but there shouldn't be so whose fault is it...

Is it the AFLs? the MCCs? the Government? the Media?

Hmmm.... Lets see.

Sports Event Ticketing (Fair Access) Act 2002

PART 1—PRELIMINARY
1. Purpose
The main purpose of this Act is to maximise access by members of the public to tickets to certain sports events by—
1
Sports Event Ticketing (Fair Access) Act 2002 Act No. 47/2002
(a) allowing the Minister to declare certain sports events for the purposes of this Act; and
(b) requiring the sale and distribution of tickets to declared events to be in accordance with a scheme approved by the Minister, which may involve placing conditions on the sale or distribution of tickets to the event; and
(c) providing offences for certain breaches of an approved ticket scheme for a declared event or of conditions on the sale or distribution of tickets to the event.

This ACT was replaced by this one:
Major Sporting Events Act 2009 - SECT 154

Requirement to lodge a ticket scheme proposal for sports ticketing event 154. Requirement to lodge a ticket scheme proposal for sports ticketing event (1) Within 60 days after receiving notice that the Minister has made a sports ticketing event declaration, a sports event organiser must give the Minister a ticket scheme proposal. (2) The ticket scheme proposal must comply with the ticketing guidelines.

 

[PresidentJeffrey]

Ok...

So if you follow me, legislation was introduced to "maximise access by members of the public to tickets to certain sports events"

Now.

As the Sports Minister has to approve the ticket distribution...

He must have approved this:

2010 TOYOTA AFL GRAND FINAL TICKETS​

​

​

​

​

1. AFL GRAND FINAL TICKET ALLOCATION

The capacity of the MCG will be approximately 100,000 on Grand Final Day.

In answer to Guidelines (a), (b) and (c), the AFL proposes that tickets to the 2010 AFL Grand Final be allocated in approximately the following manner:

1. Competing Club Members 16000 – 26000

2. AFL Clubs (16 x 1000) 16000

3. MCC Reserve 16000 – 26000

4. AFL Members 13000 – 23000

5. AFL/Medallion Club Members 4500 – 5000

6. AFL Entitlements/Contractual Obligations 5000 – 15000

7. Competing Clubs 0 – 2500

Total 100,000 (approx)

 

[PresidentJeffrey]

The first person at fault is the Sports Minister.

He should not approve a distribution such as this with so little transparency.

The second group at fault is the Media.

I don't hear too many media types complaining about the distribution of tickets (but then they all get a free one).

They know how it works but they don't tell the public.

The third group at fault is the AFL.

They have taken advantage of the legislation to manipulate access, prices etc.
I would have no problem with what the AFL were doing if they were transparent.
Remember, they are trying to maximise revenue.

The fourth group at fault is Clubs like Collingwood.

Eddie whinged about his members not getting enough tickets but...

What did Collingwood do with the first 1,000 tickets they got?

What did Collingwood do with the second 1,000 tickets (as a competing club)?

Collingwood spent all of 2010 getting ordinary club members to pay $300 to upgrade their membership to a guaranteed Grand Final seat.

Every upgrade reduced the number of tickets left for the ordinary member.

No problem with clubs having guaranteed access memberships, but when people are paying upgrades in August it really is cheating the system.

 

[PresidentJeffrey]

If you're not happy with things: Don't have a go at MCC Members and AFL Members.

Why don't you contact the Sports Minister and ask him why he's approved a scheme that allows for a range of 16,000 - 26,000 for one group or double counts Medallion Club members as AFL members?

Why not ring the AFL Event Office and ask them how many tickets they have?

Why not ask a journalist why they don't report on why an ACT with "the main purpose of this Act is to maximise access by members of the public to tickets to certain sports events" has caused the price of tickets to triple since its introduction in 2002?

 

[ManWithNoName]

Few things are more annoying than MCC Members with a vastly overinflated sense of importance.

 

[AFaiL]

Then you wait 13 years for full membership. Nice rort

Try 5-7 years, fool.

 

[AFaiL]

I am "forced" to buy 2 Legends memberships to get that guarantee for myself and my wife. I'm not complaining because I can afford it but if AFL members didn't get tickets a lot more Collingwood (and St Kilda) members would have got tickets last year. You probably wouldn't need an AFL membership to get GF tickets if the AFL distributed the AFL membership allocation (and Median Club and some of the corporate allocations and the goddamned radio station prize tickets etc etc) to competing club members.

Huh? do you have any idea how many AFL members there are that are Collingwood club support and St Kilda? Most of the allocation went to the competing teams.

you aren't foreced t buy legends memberships. once the pies drop off in a few years, join the afl, and by the time they're up, you'll be a full member and pay a HEAP less for ur membership, and wayyyyyy less for finals seats. what did you pay for all the finals seats in 2010? i bet you what you paid for 1 GF ticket, was what i paid for 2 GF tickets and all finals leading up to it

 

[AFaiL]

Pay around $10 a game, virtually nothing for finals tickets and still has the gall to suggest that a 50% discount to club member prices for grand final tickets is getting shafted.

It's a disgrace that AFL members get greater rights to gf tickets than club members, let alone pay less for them.

HUH? AFL Members ARE club members. We just have a different, and better package. We have just as much a right of a seat than others. Join up, or suck it up

 

[azza29]

Grand final tickets are cheap relative to every other big sport.

Not sure about this. Cheapest GF ticket (standing room) is $150, but you can get a seat at the NRL GF for $65. Formula 1 GA is $100. Perhaps the Aust. Open is more expensive, but then you are looking at a venue with a significantly lower capacity.

The AFL have a popular product and they price accordingly. Nothing wrong with this, everyone knows that if you want to go to the GF you need to shell out big $$$.

IMO the prelims are much more entertaining than the final itself anyway...