AFL Mebers and 2001 Grand Final

[Bulldogsroar]

Half the tickets will be sold by ballot in June , the balance will be first offered to AFL members with club support memberships of the competing clubs , any left after that will be offered to the remaining mmebers.

I think its a great idea that members of competing clubs get a priority.



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" I can resist anything.........except temptation."

 

[fighting fury]

AFL have to look after club's members first, because it's the members who help contribute to the majority of the club's financial status. Obviously clubs operate with sponsorship, dividends and marketing, but without the major link, every club would struggle, and as we have seen, merges happen.

So, yes, while it is a good thing for the AFL to give priority to members, it is expected. AFL are aware that any wrong doing against members would cause major upset and they can't afford that.

We have all seen what happens to clubs that get into financial trouble, we don't really want that to happen to often or again, or there will end up being none.

Interesting topic anyway!

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Welcome to the jungle

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Here, here, members should definitely get priority over mebers!!!

 

[walshy1993]

you all couldnt be more wrong

the reason many people became afl members was because it was a first in best dressed situation

meaning for any game all you had to do was walk up and go straight in (perhaps queue for big games)

gradually they have changes this, made us pay extra for reserved seats to "blockbusters", prelims and the grand final
this new option is a disgrace
this is not what many people because afl members for
when a club changes something it asks its members, in this case the afl should have done the same
its a disgrace
i know of atleast 5 people who are throwing in full memberships because of this new crap
im disgusted and will be putting it in writting to the afl

 

[Max Power]

Can't agree with you here Walshy.

AFL members who are club support members of the 2 competing teams should have priority!

Happened this year that Essendon & Melbourne AFL club support members missed out on GF tix. While AFL members who didn't even support Melb/Ess got tickets. That's not right imho.

Still waiting for my AFL members renewal pack - I'm more concerned about what the seating situation at Colonial next year will be rather than GF tix sales.

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[walshy1993]

but max thats why people became afl members
they knew if their team made the grand final that there was a chance that they could miss out on tickets

if the afl had have left things with people just turn up grand final day with out a ticket, like it was originally there wouldnt be a problem

competing teams members just have to get up earlier
i used to love getting to grand final at 6am, soak up the atmosphere, have a bbq etc

but the afl are slowly taking the passion out of football, this is another example
the only reason they are preselling tickets is not so members of the competing clubs get a better chance but so left overs can be sold to corporates
its a disgrace and shouldnt have been changed

max add up the total amount of afl members at a grand final, then times that by the $28 a reserved ticket costs and tell me the real reason the afl are doing this?

 

[dees01]

Well its better than what I had to do at this years Grand Final. I had to join the line at 2AM to get a seat to the Grand Final. At least AFL Members now don't have to do that.

 

[Dan26]

Walshy,

I agree. I was "elevated' to full membership in 1997, and I attended the Grand Final by getting there early. First in best dressed. How it should be.

The AFL think that by making us line up, as they have done a week in advance, that it eliminates queues on Grand Final day.

It DOESN'T eliminate queues at all. Sure, it eliminates them on Grand Final day, but all it means is that we have to queue a week in advance instead. We still have to wait in line somewhere, so it doesn't eliminate queueing at all !

Many people didn't want to get up at 5AM on Grand Final day to get a seat. Well those people who were STUPID enough to vote for the change, now have to get up at 3AM a week in advance to queue. And to top it off they have to pay anothert 27 dollars for the privilige.

Now, in 2001, AFL members will get a seat by a ballot. If we miss out on that, we will get another chance once all club support holders of the competing teams have got their tickets. Now only 2/16ths of the AFL members will hold a club support package for the competing clubs, so 14/16th's of AFL members will be queueing like animlas trying to get what little tickets are left.

I always get to the foty early. Because some AFL members were too f*cking lazy, they wanted an all reserved seat Grand Final. I hope those people regret voting for it, because I hate it. I want to just turn up on the day.

 

[Dan26]

What I also want to know is, if the ballot is a random ballot, or is it first in best dresed, when you send back the form.

It should be first in best dressed. if you send back the ballot before anyone else, you should get a ticket. It should NOT be random.

 

[Mags]

The Afl Are Thucking Work! And They Wont Change it anyway coz there scummy bastards!

U wanna reserve a sit at the footy? Fair enougth then we will give u a reserved seat rigth up the ****ing back of the ponsford stand if u wanna turn up at half time and except a seat thats all u should get in my view!

Reserving a seat on Anzac Day freaking suxs all the good seats are gone by the rich bastards that dont turn up week in and week out! (Yes Pie Fans The GYRO'S) And they turn up at half time or something! Its Wrong! Society Suxs!

That brings me to reserving seats at colonial, its thucking wrong to have to reserve a seat and u have a membership and pay extra to have that level 1 seat. If u dont pay extra where do they stick u? THATS RIGHT UP THE BACK OF LEVEL 4! And I turn up as soon as those gates at 2-3 hours before they open!

Where do i get stuck rigth up the back of the stadium where all i wanna be is rigth up the front behind the goals! Yes It Suxs!

But there is nothing we can do about it can we!

Mags

 

[Pessimistic]

Ballots ? Sounds like the AFL hav eused the same consultants that socog used.

And Corporates - Have you noticed that they are the ones who aren't in their seat, standing up for the National Anthem ? Probably having a lst minute jimmy riddle.

But every year someone writes to the sun complaining about the 'louts' that don't respect the anthem - Well I can now say they are the corporate sector.

 

[walshy1993]

dan and with a ballot what happens for families who sit together
if its not an essendon grand final then we usually have 4 or 5 families together
with a ballot we are all seperated
there is also nothing to say that even 2 people in the same family will get tickets together or tickets at all

 

[Bulldogsroar]

Still waiting for my AFL members renewal pack - I'm more concerned about what the seating situation at Colonial next year will be rather than GF tix sales.

[/B][/QUOTE]


For Bulldog games the AFL area on Level 1 is to be reduced to 3000 seats . Half the area set aside for AFL members last season is being sold to doggy members.

 

[Dan26]

Walshy,

And the deal we AFL members get at Colonial is f*cked too. Last year we only got 6,000 seats and they were all on level 1. Now, most people don't mind level 1, but some (like me) prefer to have an elevated view. Level 1 is my WORST preference. But, did we get a choice to sit on level 2 or 4 ? NO ! The only way we cold sit on level 2 was to pay extra for "premium" seating, or to sit on level 4, means we are sitting with the general public.

Why can't we get at leat 8,000 seats, instead, with a few thousand on each level, in a first in best dressed scenario. I mean we pay 350 dollars a year ! Every single Essendon match last year was an all-ticketed affair.

 

[Dan26]

Walshy,

The reason I was concerned, regarding whether the ballot was random, or not, was due to my experience as a restricted member in 1994-95.

Three-quarters of the way through those seasons, restricted members could apply for a limited number of GF tickets. I sent back my form as soon as possible (within an hour of receiving it) and was able to go to both Grand Finals.

In 1996, they changed it to a "random" ballot, and I missed out. In 1997, I became a full member.

The reason they changed it to "random" in 1996, was because some restricted members were complaining about missing out. Well, bad luck ! Only about 5% of the returned forms would get a GF ticket, so it was a 1 in 20 chance. I MADE THE EFFORT to send my form back early and I got a ticket both years.

Because 95% missed out, these people form a vocal group, and they demanded a "random" ballot, so they could have an equal chance. They seem to think this will increase their chances. WRONG. It didn't increase their chances at all. This limited number of restricted member GF tickets was still only going to have a 5% succes rate regardless. Given this, why not give it to the members who give their forms back first? Why should it be random ??? All it meant was the people who didn't make the effort to return their form as soon as possible had the same chances as everyon else. But people like me, who made the effort to return their form early in 1996 had no better chance of getting a ticket, because the ballot was random. I missed out on a ticket in 1996.

I hope this ballot, isn't "random". Whoever returns their form the quickest should get priority.

 

[dees01]

I don't like the ballot system. The MCC already use this and I missed out so I had to get to the ground at 2AM to see the Grand Final. I have no idea what the best soloution is.

 

[Frodo]

Surely if your team gets to the GF you should have a seat before any AFL member!
To think of missing the chance of watching your side play so someone supporting some other club not in the final can sit there due to his AFL membership sux big time.

 

[Dan26]

Frodo,

That's crap. There is room for BOTH AFL members AND cliub members (many of who are AFL members anyway) There are 100,000 seats so thee is room for both.

By the way, sorry for havng a go at you, on an earlier topic. Even though I was right, I still shouldn't have abused you.

But anyway, back to the topic ; There is room for BOTH AFL members and club members. I pay 350 dollars a year as an AFL member -far more than a normal club member pays. Going to the GF is one of the privilidges of being an AFL member.

 

[sainter]

Dan,

You are wrong that there is room for both AFL members and club members. If there was room, thousands of people would not miss out on tickets every year.

But I agree that AFL members purchase their tickets and have a right to attend the GF along with a club member from one of the competing teams.

I paid the waiting list fee for an AFL membership and was sent the forms out last year (and today). If the wait from a restricted member to full member was not 15 years, then I would have joined.

However, I am glad I didn't now. Buying an AFL membership is not the right thing for myself. With my St Kilda Social Club membership, I get entry to all St Kilda games, a reserved seat and priority access to Grand Final tickets if we make it. That is all I need. Plus all of my $320 goes to St Kilda and not just the cost of a football membership to your team and the rest to the AFL like you are doing.

As much of a football supporter that I am, I could not be bothered attending 30 games of AFL a year. I may attend some games with friends but I am only really interested in saints games.

Back to AFL memberships, I realise full members like yourself have served your time as restricted members and deserve the benefits that you are entitled to but I can't help but feeling that it is the club support members of the competing grand finalists, either restricted or full, that deserve a larger share of the tickets.

The allocation to an ordinary football club members is atrocious. How many tickets to the GF were actually available to ordinary Essendon Football Club members this year? And I mean not taking into account AFL members and your more expensive club membership types - silver or whatever you have. The whole ticketing process needs to be revamped.

I watched the GF at Colonial Stadium with a few friends. These were all Essendon members that had missed out on tickets. I am not sure if I could have been so forgiving if I had missed out!

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Fortius Quo Fidelius

 

[AlfAndrews]

Originally posted by walshy1993:
... when a club changes something it asks its members ...

Are you sure about that? That might happen at Essendon, I don't know. But it sure as hell doesn't happen at Collingwood.



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**floreat pica**

 

[Dan26]

Sainter,

Thee IS room for both AFL and club members IF the AFL reviews it's ticket policy. Currently, 22,000 AFL members got to the GF. About 5,000 of theses are "club support" members of the teams involved. In addition, 20,000 club members can buy tickets.

The argument is that the 20,000 isn't enough. Stupidy, the AFL still sell series tickets. tThere are about 17,000 series tickets; they go to the clubs and are dispersed to whoever the clubs want to sell them to. These series tickets obviously include a GF ticket. A series ticket is a relic of years past, when a final 4 was in vogue and there were only 4 finals, one each week, all at the MCG. Nowadays we have 9 finals at all different venues; a series ticket is no longer approprite. Yet, stupidy, the AFL continues to sell them. If these 17,000 series tickets were abolished and they were sold to members of the competing, clubs, this would mean 37,000 members of both clubs combined would be able to get a GF ticket. This would probably be more than enough, since there are always a lot of members that choose not to go.

There is room for even morre AFL members if you think about it. You could even have a many as 25,000 AFL members, 35,000 club members (who aren't AFL members), 22,000 MCC members, 6,000 tickets for the AFL to sell to sponsors and stuff, and the remaining 11,000 to go to the clubs (say 800 each approx)

That's how I'd do it.

All full AFL members should be able to go. I go to 30 matches a year, including HEAPS of non-Essendon matches. Accordingly, I DESERVE to go to the Grand Final. Not many people go to as many matches as I do, and devote the time and loyalty into the AFL as me. I deserve a GF ticket (in my opinion); even If Essendon is not playing. There is room for both AFL members and club members.

 

[Frodo]

If every supporter of the two GF teams who wants a ticket gets one then I am happy with an AFL member getting any of the remainder.

 

[StrengthThroughLoyalty]

After 11 years of being an afl member this year I am chucking it in. When i first joined we could go to every match we wanted to, had our own areas at waverley and the g, could go to the gf no problem, which a group of about a dozen of us did, no extra charges for any game, simply it WAS the best ticket for any football supporter.
Last year the saints moved to colonial (the new home of the afl). afl members got absolutely no benefits, despite paying our hard earned before the season starts, we were treated exactly the same as the barracker who goes once a year pays there $13 for the night and gets to sit on level 4. Our group that goes to the grand final every year missed out on tickets to the gf because we lined up for our tickets instead of phoning, apparently the phone lines opened an hour before the stores on sunday did.
This year it is social club membership for me, with no regrets.
As for the ballot for gf tickets, who wants to go the football on their own, it's a day to be enjoyed with family or mates. If club support members want to go on their own they are welcome to it.

 

[sandie]

STL
Are you a member or supporter of either of the clubs that played in the GF. If not which is what I suspect, I am so pissed off that the members of these teams can't get a ticket to the game because of AFL members who don't care who is playing, some of these AFL people rip off the real supporters of these clubs by charging ridiculous prices for tickets.

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mantis

 

[walshy1993]

afl members are not taking grand final tickets off competing club members
40,000 afl and mcc members still leaves 45,000 tickets left
take away that a small percentage of afl and mcc members are supporters of competing clubs there is plenty to go around
its the corporate give aways that mean members miss out
i listen to triple m all the time and this year they were squeeling about members missing out, they got peoples views (most negative) and sympathised with the members
yet they were giving away 2 tickets each hour for a week
thats a lot of tickets and im sure there are plenty of other give aways, why dont these go to the members
what the afl has done is a disgrace, dan could there be a breach of contract here, no doubt the afl would have written in that conditions are subject to change, which they have done each year

the afl hasnt done this to look after members, they have done this to look after themselves, their pocket and their reputation