AFL ticket pricing equalisation?

[Obeanie1]

Thel AFL recently announced ticket pricing at Marvel and the MCG have remained frozen for another season.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/874878/price-freeze-on-general-admission-tickets-at-mcg-and-marvel-stadium&ved=2ahUKEwiC2PrAnaD9AhUH_3MBHaRcCX4QxfQBKAB6BAgFEAI&usg=AOvVaw2leweWGt3VEGeBQ0DnUgfI

Today the AFL Fan Association1 is asking why are prices at other venues not the same and are increasing.

Fair enough question.

So who sets the prices for admission to AFL games across the country?

Not all stadiums are the same size as the MCG however some are the same size or bigger than Marvel.

Some stadiums were built recently and cost hundreds of millions. Whereas the MCG is older but is still costs massive investment to maintain and upgrade. Those upgrade costs being funded by a Vic govt deal that retains the grand final in Melbourne and attract tourism dollars to provide the Vic govt a return on investment. Similar to cities bidding for major events.........except there was no open bidding process andthe deal was done behind closed doors.

Is the Vic govt helping fund ticket price freezes some other way maybe? If so good for them and Vic fans. Maybe other states should consider doing the same.

It would be interesting to understand how ticket prices are set and if state governments are involved at all.

It would also be interesting to understand how ticketing revenue is split between stadium owners and the AFL. Maybe the AFL receives the exact same amount per ticket no matter where but different stadium owners charge different rates due to different cost bases of stadiums old v newer.

With inflation ot of control and cost of living skyrocketing it a fair enough question for AFL fans to ask.

 

[74561347]

after a gin induced haze of an evening the last thing i want to think about on a sunday morning is the economics of afl ticketing

 

[Bunk Moreland]

A lot of it is to do with supply and demand.

It's an overly simplistic analysis given there's other factors at play such as membership, members reserves and reserved seating, etc etc... but this is just for season 2022 (home and away):

Stadium / Avg crowd / Capacity / %

Gabba / 25818 / 39200 / 66%
Perth Stadium / 38598 / 61000 / 63%
SCG / 29424 / 48000 / 61%
Adelaide Oval / 30561 / 53500 / 57%
Carrara / 12360 / 22500 / 55%
Docklands / 27313 / 53500 / 51%
MCG / 49894 / 100000 / 50%
Giants / 6103 / 24000 / 25%

Left out Geelong, it's in a permanent state of construction.

You'd also take out GWS and GC because the clubs are developing and largely just trying to get as many people as possible in.

The two Melbourne stadiums are at the bottom if terms of % full on average and thus have the most empty seats.

They actually do need to sell them more desperately in Melbourne because it has the most empty seats.

The fact remains that both of Melbourne's stadiums are too big. The G is there historically but there's 2-3 events per year that come near capacity. Docklands even less, on average 27k people go to a game there - yet it was built to a capacity of 53k because the G makes even that look relatively small.

Perth Stadium is on average 63% full. If it was 50% like the Melbourne stadiums I guarantee tickets would be cheaper. Simple supply and demand.

 

[Underarm]

Seats with 60,000 public tickets are cheaper than ones with 10,000 public tickets. Stop the press.

 

[Rob]

I have no idea why the AFL sets ticket prices for anything other than finals. They don't host games, clubs do. Let them set the prices.

 

[hawkman]

I have no idea why they aren't selling $10 tickets to GWS and GC home games. May actually help them get a crowd to begin with and then try and build from there

 

[Billy ray]

I have no idea why they aren't selling $10 tickets to GWS and GC home games. May actually help them get a crowd to begin with and then try and build from there

100%. Most of the empty red seats you see at Metricon Heritage Bank stadium are upwards of $45. Nowhere near enough GA Sections

 

[Demonic Ascent]

100%. Most of the empty red seats you see at Metricon Heritage Bank stadium are upwards of $45. Nowhere near enough GA Sections

That is ridiculous, get the people through the door then bump up the prices once they're hooked. Better off getting 20k in at $10 than 5k in at $40.

 

[Rob]

That is ridiculous, get the people through the door then bump up the prices once they're hooked. Better off getting 20k in at $10 than 5k in at $40.

You really think the Suns would have drawn 20k+ a game irrespective of the ticket price over the last few years? They might have drawn an extra couple of k, and as a bonus pissed off their members who paid much higher prices.

Maybe have the very occasional game with ultra cheap tickets, but as a general rule it's not going to work, either short term or long term. If you're prepared to pay $10 you're probably prepared to pay $30.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

You really think the Suns would have drawn 20k+ a game irrespective of the ticket price over the last few years? They might have drawn an extra couple of k, and as a bonus pissed off their members who paid much higher prices.

Maybe have the very occasional game with ultra cheap tickets, but as a general rule it's not going to work, either short term or long term. If you're prepared to pay $10 you're probably prepared to pay $30.

If you're taking a family it's much more feasible to go for around $50 compared to $150-200. Add food/drinks/merch on top and it ends up being an expensive exercise.

Maybe they wouldn't have attracted many more offering tickets for $10 but if they can't then they're not going to be viable.

 

[Rob]

If you're taking a family it's much more feasible to go for around $50 compared to $150-200. Add food/drinks/merch on top and it ends up being an expensive exercise.

Maybe they wouldn't have attracted many more offering tickets for $10 but if they can't then they're not going to be viable.

I don't disagree, but for them to be viable in a small stadium the reality is they need high prices. And they wouldn't want to devalue the product too much cos I expect that it will be a lot easier to fill the ground if they can start winning consistently.