2015 Membership discussion thread

[Yippyio]

Question for the Victorian members.

I'm currently an AFL member with Brisbane Lions Club Support. However, as I will be residing 3 hours from Melbourne from next year, I can guarantee I will only be making the trip for Lions games. Therefore I'm considering cancelling the AFL membership and getting a Victorian membership directly from the club.

My question is about the Victorian Plus membership that entitles you to general admission entry to the AFL reserve for 5 Lions games. Does anyone know if you can reserve your seat with this membership or is purely what is available when you turn up on the day? Given I will be travelling on game days, I don't want to turn up at games and discover I can only get seats in the bleachers.

On initial reading, paying $295 (Sep member inc) a year to attend just 5 Lions games (Works out to to be almost $60 per game), I'm thinking I'm almost better off paying the extra money to keep my AFL membership, even though it's extra, I can reserve my seats.

Any thoughts/insights from the Victorian members regarding this?

 

[josephs_79]

Hey Yippyio

I am one. I reserve my seats for the MCG in the AFL reserve without any problems (Unless sold out or high selling game, coll rich etc have to get in early). Generally can sit where you want at most Brisbane games in the AFL members anyway as they are generally emptyish.

I don't bother at Etihad as the AFL Members are usually at ground level so we sit up in the third and have no bookings just go where we want so to speak.

With the $60 a game yes it is a bit steep especially when you add $7 i think it is too reserve a seat. Depending on how much extra it is for the AFL membership it maybe better to keep that? I dont know tbh. The vic membership though does give you a bit of flexibility in attending non Brisbane games at either plus free NAB Games so if you are visiting on non Brisbane game weekends you could use it as well?

I think the Vic membership basically gives you the same access as the AFL Silver membership but is cheaper.....

Just some thoughts and hope this helps!

 

[josephs_79]

Edited the above with a bit more Yippyio as well after your like.

 

[Yippyio]

Hey Yippyio,

I am one. I reserve my seats for the MCG in the AFL reserve without any problems (Unless sold out or high selling game, coll rich etc have to get in early). Generally can sit where you want at most Brisbane games in the AFL members anyway as they are generally emptyish.

I don't bother at Etihad as the AFL Members are usually at ground level so we sit up in the third and have no bookings just go where we want so to speak.

With the $60 a game yes it is a bit steep especially when you add $7 i think it is too reserve a seat. Depending on how much extra it is for the AFL membership it maybe better to keep that? I dont know tbh. The vic membership though does give you a bit of flexibility in attending non Brisbane games at either plus free NAB Games so if you are visiting on non Brisbane game weekends you could use it as well?

I think the Vic membership basically gives you the same access as the AFL Silver membership but is cheaper.....

Just some thoughts and hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated! Good to know that you do have the ability to reserve seats in the AFL reserve at Lions games.

In regards to Etihad I like to reserve them, purely because majority of the time at Lions games you get seats right behind the players on the bench (at almost every game there), which is a rare opportunity for the majority of football fans.

Full AFL Membership with Club Support is $575, however given I will be 3 hours from the City, I will get a country discount, so will be looking at $470. I guess it comes down to whether I will attend any other games, which is highly unlikely. However, if I find a mate who wants to attend Non-Lions games we can split the costs........don't tell the AFL that!

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

If you can afford it, I'd keep the AFL membership. Once you relinquish it, it's gone. I've had it since inception and never really looked upon it from the point of view of cost per game - that will never justify it. But it gives me a comfortable seat and few hassles and I can get the same for the cricket. I get the Sept member upgrade so I can vote at the AGM.

 

[Slax]

Victorian membership this year is a rip off, $60 per game plus reserved seat is pretty hard to justify especially when there is a Sunday twilight in there as well.

 

[Milux]

Hey guys just trying to sort out my dads and mums membership online. they are wanting the prime seats around gates 17-20 is there any way I can sort that out online or do I need to call them. cheers.

 

[Milux]

Please disregard my last post. My mum and dad have signed up with my two younger bros. Now 4,361 members. Now for me to convince the wife how essential this is to our survival.

 

[Last of the Roys]

Victorian membership this year is a rip off, $60 per game plus reserved seat is pretty hard to justify especially when there is a Sunday twilight in there as well.

That $60 figure isn't right.

The Victorian Plus membership costs $255 adult for 5 Lions Melbourne matches and 6 non-Lions MCG matches (which to me equals 11 games at just over $23 a game - if you don't want to go to the non-Lions games then don't buy this membership)

The traditional Victorian membership costs $155 for an adult for 5 Lions Melbourne games ($31 per game, obviously not including any of the extras you get like access to 5 Gabba games via general admission [which you also get in Vic plus])

Bottom line, the Vic memberships are about the same price they have always been. The reason they aren't great value for money - as has always been the case since the merger - is the fact the Lions have to pay the home Melbourne club the full general admission price when a Vic Lions member uses their membership to gain entry to a Lions match in Melbourne.

So there is no room for the Lions to make Vic memberships cheaper unfortunately (not unless the AFL changes its policy on away memberships).

 

[Full Wingspan]

That $60 figure isn't right.

The Victorian Plus membership costs $255 adult for 5 Lions Melbourne matches and 6 non-Lions MCG matches (which to me equals 11 games at just over $23 a game - if you don't want to go to the non-Lions games then don't buy this membership)

The traditional Victorian membership costs $155 for an adult for 5 Lions Melbourne games ($31 per game, obviously not including any of the extras you get like access to 5 Gabba games via general admission [which you also get in Vic plus])

Bottom line, the Vic memberships are about the same price they have always been. The reason they aren't great value for money - as has always been the case since the merger - is the fact the Lions have to pay the home Melbourne club the full general admission price when a Vic Lions member uses their membership to gain entry to a Lions match in Melbourne.

So there is no room for the Lions to make Vic memberships cheaper unfortunately (not unless the AFL changes its policy on away memberships).

Good post.

Even cheaper for a student like me (about $115 this year, up from about $105) and despite having to upgrade our seats when we play at Etihad, I've decided to add a cheersquad membership on top ($28) to get our preferred seats behind the goals anyway!

 

[Slax]

That $60 figure isn't right.

The Victorian Plus membership costs $255 adult for 5 Lions Melbourne matches and 6 non-Lions MCG matches (which to me equals 11 games at just over $23 a game - if you don't want to go to the non-Lions games then don't buy this membership)

The traditional Victorian membership costs $155 for an adult for 5 Lions Melbourne games ($31 per game, obviously not including any of the extras you get like access to 5 Gabba games via general admission [which you also get in Vic plus])

Bottom line, the Vic memberships are about the same price they have always been. The reason they aren't great value for money - as has always been the case since the merger - is the fact the Lions have to pay the home Melbourne club the full general admission price when a Vic Lions member uses their membership to gain entry to a Lions match in Melbourne.

So there is no room for the Lions to make Vic memberships cheaper unfortunately (not unless the AFL changes its policy on away memberships).

The fixture this year doesn't help, we have a Sunday twilight which is just plan unattractive for families and the club has for years treated Victoria members like second class citizens

 

[Lionheart182]

The fixture this year doesn't help, we have a Sunday twilight which is just plan unattractive for families and the club has for years treated Victoria members like second class citizens

If you look into the issues around the Vic membership which LOTR has begun to point out you will see there is no real alternatives. I have the Vic plus membership and I don't mind it, I go to 5 or 6 non-lions games with my mates plus the Lions games in Melbourne each year with no hassle. So around 10 games for ~$250, to me that is reasonable.

 

[josephs_79]

That $60 figure isn't right.

The Victorian Plus membership costs $255 adult for 5 Lions Melbourne matches and 6 non-Lions MCG matches (which to me equals 11 games at just over $23 a game - if you don't want to go to the non-Lions games then don't buy this membership)

The traditional Victorian membership costs $155 for an adult for 5 Lions Melbourne games ($31 per game, obviously not including any of the extras you get like access to 5 Gabba games via general admission [which you also get in Vic plus])

Bottom line, the Vic memberships are about the same price they have always been. The reason they aren't great value for money - as has always been the case since the merger - is the fact the Lions have to pay the home Melbourne club the full general admission price when a Vic Lions member uses their membership to gain entry to a Lions match in Melbourne.

So there is no room for the Lions to make Vic memberships cheaper unfortunately (not unless the AFL changes its policy on away memberships).

LOTR Yes you are correct if you go to all 11 games......

The figure was given at $60 per game because Yippyio was saying he is now 3 hours away from Melb and will only be attending Brisbane games it works out to be the figure he said above. Same goes with me, I only go to the Brisbane games so I pay the same amount per game.

I guess it is misleading if you don't know the Vic Memberships and that you get the other bonuses as well so apologies to Slax if it was misrepresented!

 

[Tairy Greene]

The fixture this year doesn't help, we have a Sunday twilight which is just plan unattractive for families and the club has for years treated Victoria members like second class citizens

lmao

 

[Tairy Greene]

LOTR Yes you are correct if you go to all 11 games......

The figure was given at $60 per game because Yippyio was saying he is now 3 hours away from Melb and will only be attending Brisbane games it works out to be the figure he said above. Same goes with me, I only go to the Brisbane games so I pay the same amount per game.

I guess it is misleading if you don't know the Vic Memberships and that you get the other bonuses as well so apologies to Slax if it was misrepresented!

No, Yippyio was talking about AFL membership, which is a complete different price. Then Slax stated Vic membership prices and pulled a $60 figure from his arse. Yeesh. So what $60 figure are we talking about here?

 

[Slax]

lmao

Post match functions were only reintroduced last year, previously you had a family day the following morning at 8am, a lot of time at venues inconvienent to many. Family day 2 years ago was post a preseason practice match at Princes Park, players were made available for fans to sign autographs for 10 minutes before being bused off. Other ones have been no better, come across as rushed events put together by a couple of people in 15 minutes.

We should have a Victorian membership base similar to Sydney's which is about 10,000 instead we have a fraction of that number. Why? because the club has put absolutely no effort into the Victorian market despite the ability to generate a lot of money for the club. In 2013 we played in a Maroons heritage jumper, the club had 500 made up thinking that is all they would sell, they sold out in a matter of days, but never bothered to get any more made up despite the fact the would've been able to sell another 500 easily.

Go back a decade from then, post match functions after every game, proper family day, even got the Fitzroy side in the VAFA involved, and unsurprisingly our membership numbers in Victoria were around 8,000. People saw value for money in the membership which only offered a similar number of games, but the club showed they listened and wanted be active in the Victorian market and people liked that. Change the CEO, he takes same approach to Sydney and Victorian membership skyrockets, our membership plummets, whilst the fortunes of both clubs have been very different the change in the Victorian membership numbers has more to do with club attitude to its members and supporters than on field success.

In business if you treat you customers like crap offering only a basic service you can't act all surprised when they don't come back. Footy is business so we need to run it like one, we haven't been doing that for years.

 

[chopperduck]

So you are saying the club has been run badly the past few years??? Who would have known.

 

[Tairy Greene]

Post match functions were only reintroduced last year, previously you had a family day the following morning at 8am, a lot of time at venues inconvienent to many. Family day 2 years ago was post a preseason practice match at Princes Park, players were made available for fans to sign autographs for 10 minutes before being bused off. Other ones have been no better, come across as rushed events put together by a couple of people in 15 minutes.

We should have a Victorian membership base similar to Sydney's which is about 10,000 instead we have a fraction of that number. Why? because the club has put absolutely no effort into the Victorian market despite the ability to generate a lot of money for the club. In 2013 we played in a Maroons heritage jumper, the club had 500 made up thinking that is all they would sell, they sold out in a matter of days, but never bothered to get any more made up despite the fact the would've been able to sell another 500 easily.

Go back a decade from then, post match functions after every game, proper family day, even got the Fitzroy side in the VAFA involved, and unsurprisingly our membership numbers in Victoria were around 8,000. People saw value for money in the membership which only offered a similar number of games, but the club showed they listened and wanted be active in the Victorian market and people liked that. Change the CEO, he takes same approach to Sydney and Victorian membership skyrockets, our membership plummets, whilst the fortunes of both clubs have been very different the change in the Victorian membership numbers has more to do with club attitude to its members and supporters than on field success.

In business if you treat you customers like crap offering only a basic service you can't act all surprised when they don't come back. Footy is business so we need to run it like one, we haven't been doing that for years.

Oh Jesus, if you are going to rant about the 2012 'family day' at least acknowledge the fact that the scheduling was changed during that week and it ended up being a game in Melbourne on the ******* Grand Prix weekend, the weekend with the least availability & highest prices of accomodation for the entire year. The Brunswick St Oval was already booked out too so they couldn't do anything there either, pray tell though, what you would have done differently oh wise one on there ridiculously small time frame & understaffed group!? I ain't even bothering with the rest of your trash posting if you're just going to base it off of worst case scenarios & compare it to when the money was rolling in and the Lions were actually regularly winning in Melbourne.

 

[josephs_79]

No, Yippyio was talking about AFL membership, which is a complete different price. Then Slax stated Vic membership prices and pulled a $60 figure from his arse. Yeesh. So what $60 figure are we talking about here?

Sorry Tairy Greene he didn't pull it out of his arse. He was talking about the price Yippyio stated in his original post quoted below

....On initial reading, paying $295 (Sep member inc) a year to attend just 5 Lions games (Works out to to be almost $60 per game), I'm thinking I'm almost better off paying the extra money to keep my AFL membership, even though it's extra, I can reserve my seats.

Any thoughts/insights from the Victorian members regarding this?

To which I responded and discussed his $60 price he talked about:

Yippyio asked about the approx $300 membership with 5 games in Vic for Brisbane that you are allowed access too because he lives 3 hours away and will only be attending these games. The AFL membership was mentioned because he was saying it would be better to keep his AFL membership if it was going to be, for him, $60 per Brisbane game that he would attend and not take advantage of the other benefits of the Vic Plus membership.

So to answer your question that is the $60 Yippyio, Slax and Myself were talking about and didn't pull it out of our ass and actually were discussing it.

Clear it up for you??

 

[Lionheart182]

Sorry Tairy Greene he didn't pull it out of his arse. He was talking about the price Yippyio stated in his original post quoted below



To which I responded and discussed his $60 price he talked about:

Yippyio asked about the approx $300 membership with 5 games in Vic for Brisbane that you are allowed access too because he lives 3 hours away and will only be attending these games. The AFL membership was mentioned because he was saying it would be better to keep his AFL membership if it was going to be, for him, $60 per Brisbane game that he would attend and not take advantage of the other benefits of the Vic Plus membership.

So to answer your question that is the $60 Yippyio, Slax and Myself were talking about and didn't pull it out of our ass and actually were discussing it.

Clear it up for you??

I didn't see Slax mention he was living three hours away though, it appeared to me he was using the $60 figure in a different manner. Or maybe I have missed a post somewhere.

 

[Slax]

Oh Jesus, if you are going to rant about the 2012 'family day' at least acknowledge the fact that the scheduling was changed during that week and it ended up being a game in Melbourne on the ******* Grand Prix weekend, the weekend with the least availability & highest prices of accomodation for the entire year. The Brunswick St Oval was already booked out too so they couldn't do anything there either, pray tell though, what you would have done differently oh wise one on there ridiculously small time frame & understaffed group!? I ain't even bothering with the rest of your trash posting if you're just going to base it off of worst case scenarios & compare it to when the money was rolling in and the Lions were actually regularly winning in Melbourne.

Come up with all the bullshit excuses you like but you still can't explain why the couldn't spend more than 10 minutes with fans, was absolutely pathetic effort by the club and glad that those who ran the administration at the time are gone because they brought the club to its knees.

 

[josephs_79]

He didn't Yippyio did.

I thought Slax was referencing what Yippyio and I were discussing at top of this page (2 posts before his)but it may have been in reference to the roll over on auto renewal (like mine) and where my posts were coming from and may have actually not been where Slax got his number from.

If he did from our discussion I stand by what I said.

If he didn't than I apologise as my posts are not in line with the rest of it.

 

[Last of the Roys]

Sorry Tairy Greene he didn't pull it out of his arse. He was talking about the price Yippyio stated in his original post quoted below



To which I responded and discussed his $60 price he talked about:

Yippyio asked about the approx $300 membership with 5 games in Vic for Brisbane that you are allowed access too because he lives 3 hours away and will only be attending these games. The AFL membership was mentioned because he was saying it would be better to keep his AFL membership if it was going to be, for him, $60 per Brisbane game that he would attend and not take advantage of the other benefits of the Vic Plus membership.

So to answer your question that is the $60 Yippyio, Slax and Myself were talking about and didn't pull it out of our ass and actually were discussing it.

Clear it up for you??

The $60 figure is still not accurate in the slightest. First of all it is $255 for an adult Vic Plus membership, not $295 (the extra is September Club add on to get guaranteed access to finals ticket)

Secondly, why would you buy a Victorian Plus membership instead of a Traditional Victorian membership if you are not intending to go to the non-Lions games. The only difference between the two memberships is the access to the non-Lions MCG games under Vic Plus - so you can't tell me that it is legitimate to only take into account the Lions games. No rational person would by a Victorian Plus membership unless they intended to attend some non-Lions MCG games.

So that is why the $60 figure is still nonsense.

 

[maroon and blue]

Just renewed my Vic membership and bought the grand kids a bunch of clobber. Prices are reasonable as always.

 

[Skoob]

I'm not Victorian.