MCC Members on Day One

[Johnson#26]

Greetings. Thought I might make this a separate thread. What's a good time for MCC Members to arrive for walk up seating on Boxing Day? Not keen on getting up and going all that early, but the early bird gets the worm with an Ashes Boxing Day Test. Any thoughts?

 

[Mr Ripper]

If those pictures on nein are live, just mosey on down right now and take yer pick!

 

[footycool]

**** the MCC are empty. Absolute Joke even though they pay good money for those seats

 

[legend166]

I thought the MCC Members were supposed to be the die hard cricket fans? That area emptied out faster than anywhere else. Pathetic.

I don't get it - who buys those seats? People don't go to the cricket and they don't go to the football.

Cut the allocation in half, imo.

 

[treefingers]

They probably all went to the bar.

 

[OzBomber]

Horrible turn out. Time to reduce it by 5-10,000. There were stacks of poms outside the ground wanting tickets and others that would've been home because it was apparently 'sold out'. They've all missed out on seeing their country play because the MCC expect a quarter of their members to fill a quarter of the ground. Besides grand final day and rare rare occasions, when do they do it? Never. Time for the AFL members to become available to the public as well. Give those members benefits but open it up for others as well.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Horrible turn out. Time to reduce it by 5-10,000. There were stacks of poms outside the ground wanting tickets and others that would've been home because it was apparently 'sold out'. They've all missed out on seeing their country play because the MCC expect a quarter of their members to fill a quarter of the ground. Besides grand final day and rare rare occasions, when do they do it? Never. Time for the AFL members to become available to the public as well. Give those members benefits but open it up for others as well.

AFL Members was basically full.

 

[STC]

Us AFL members filled our allocation but the cricket members can't. It's pathetic as usual. The MCC treat the common fans like lesser fans yet we're the ones who show up and stick around. If prices were lower, the public could purchase seats that are reserved for no-shows, general admission was available and the fun police took it down a notch, they would have broken that world record.

 

[beez]

Very disappointing turnout. I really hope something is done over the next few years to rectify the problem, but the reality is, it probably won't.

 

[hamG]

Some may have cardboard trays and plastic cups, but we are equipped with bars. We reserve the right to leave our seat and smash piss.

 

[OzBomber]

AFL Members was basically full.

Except for the last bay up top of the GSS. You are probably right though.

 

[Bombers_Forever]

Very disappointing turnout. I really hope something is done over the next few years to rectify the problem, but the reality is, it probably won't.

Agree on both counts.

 

[magic_johnson!]

Cut the allocation in half, imo.

Or they could cut the waiting list and give more people memberships

 

[8485]

MCC a different world on Boxing Day. Looks full at 10 am then seems to empty a bit..........but all smashing piss in the members bars and watching on TV until stumps. Still full though seats empty!

 

[STC]

MCC a different world on Boxing Day. Looks full at 10 am then seems to empty a bit..........but all smashing piss in the members bars and watching on TV until stumps. Still full though seats empty!

Wasn't full at all at 10am. The lighter green section was almost empty on level 4 all day. Then the central dark green section emptied out too.

 

[8485]

Wasn't full at all at 10am. The lighter green section was almost empty on level 4 all day. Then the central dark green section emptied out too.

Take your point but a huge amount of those seats were in the bar all day

 

[wild side]

Today was all bull***t and no substance. Both on the field and off it, as we were all built up with a world record crowd (didn't happen) yawn, the aussies have the momentum (didn't happen), and what a great day for Victoria (yawn). Give me a PITCH like the WACA had any day of the week, you can have your 80,000 odd to kingdom come, but watching poms getting skittled at the WACA was one of the greatest days. GABBA (sadly) most disappointing pitch of the series, Adelaide and now MCG are batters paradise ! Games are much more interesting when the bowlers have the upper hand.
Drop in pitches suck at international level !

 

[Johnson#26]

Horrible turn out. Time to reduce it by 5-10,000. There were stacks of poms outside the ground wanting tickets and others that would've been home because it was apparently 'sold out'. They've all missed out on seeing their country play because the MCC expect a quarter of their members to fill a quarter of the ground. Besides grand final day and rare rare occasions, when do they do it? Never. Time for the AFL members to become available to the public as well. Give those members benefits but open it up for others as well.

A few things:

- MCC Members pay a fairly highly amount of $$$s for the privilege of membership on a yearly basis. It's certainly a luxury, but it doesn't come at the click of your fingers. Like anyone else in general admission, if you pay for your ticket, it's still your choice as to whether or not you turn up.

- If you're going to open it up, cordon off the main MCC area (the dark green seats, FGS Bar, Long Room, etc), and open up the faded green seating area to the public after half time of a final, or after lunch on Boxing Day. Plenty of Members aren't able to make the first ball of a match for various reasons, so why penalise them two sessions of cricket?

- If people are that passionate and desperate to grab a seat, become an AFL Member (dunno about their privileges re. cricket), or put your name on the MCC waiting list asap. Either that, or you stay on the ball and buy your GA ticket when they're released.

I can see why it gets in the grill of non-MCC Members, but if you pay that much per annum, then you've earnt the right to choose whether or not to go. The size of the reserve is fair, too. It's 28k strong (inc. I presume standing room and rooms behind the glass). 100,000 - 28,000 = 72k. That's generally more than enough (AFL GFs aside; but that's an issue for the AFL to correct re. it's absurd ticketing allocations for competing clubs).


Anyway. I do understand your frustration - but one issue with the start of play was that I reckon a lot of people thought it was an 11am start, hence a slightly later roll up.


But I have a few bones to pick, and it is in here that I will pick them.

The fun police (not talking beach ball style fun policing here) at the MCG has gone into overdrive, and it's not making for a fun experience (or as fun as it has been in years gone by).

They've (as mentioned previously) made all international matches reserved seating affairs for GA. Mummy, Daddy and little Johnny and Jane buy their tickets without any thought as to where they will end up at the cricket. They either lack local knowledge, the ability to conduct the due diligence, or most likely both. They are happy with their ticket because M level is ground level. Yay guys, we're gonna sit on level one near the players!

Unfortunately for them, they're now sitting in row K, in M13 of the Great Southern Stand. Cool seats, except that's the area for the lager louts. Although not all of them are able to waltz in and sit in their favourite area of MCG mayhem, the keen ones who do the due diligence will. We now have the weird mix of families and lager louts in the one area known forever and a day as the area of colourful times at the cricket.

I'm not condoning all that goes on in Bay 13 (or has gone on); most of it, from what I've seen (others may have seen worse), appears to be harmless fun.

But I'm not here to have a go at the security to chase down the beach balls and give those who scull their beer the boot. It's Cricket Australia and the MCG who have tried to break up this area where anyone - anyone - from about M6-M15 can turn up on the day and nab a seat.

Ok, fair call, it's day one of the Boxing Day Test against the Poms. There is a demand for seats. I'd cop that, if I hadn't witnessed the same ruling for poorly attended (15k + 19k) ODIs vs the Windies last summer. Seriously, the areas had barely anyone in there.

It's concerning, IMO, because it's another brick in the wall which has seen the general public become so controlled and restricted in what it can and cannot do at sporting events. It's all about a 'fun and FRIENDLY' atmosphere. I get it, we want everyone to have a good time. But a 6yo's good time is not a 15yo's good time, which isn't a 30yo's good time, and that certainly isn't a 70yo's good time.

It caters for families, and quiet, polite, 'oh well, we'll do better next time, they tried their best while we sat on our hands' types.

This is a bit of a whinge, but as an MCC Member with a lot of mates who inhabit the GA sections, it does make it pretty difficult to catch up and watch some cricket together - unless you go for the packed standing room, which isn't all that bad, but seriously, seating is what 95% of us are after. Poor form, CA/MCC.

One final whinge from day one: the passout policy. Another step towards becoming another Telstra Dome. Scan your ticket in, scan your ticket out. Huge queues, slow turnstiles, people having no idea what they're sposed to do. That was at gate one.

If you attempt to walk from gate six (GA) around to the Ponsford Stand (gate one) - halfway around the ground - you'll be pwnzered at the gate, and have to turn back to gate six to reenter. There's no Ponsford for you, because you didn't scan out of the GSS (instead getting the humble passout, which should be perfectly acceptable). Ground staff saying to you 'heywhere'syourentryticket!??!' when you present your Members ticket is also a little bemusing. If we're allowed to cross over into GA, why can't we exit and enter the ground from the standard GA gate?

Aside from that, it was a ripper day at the cricket, and it was good to see the bowlers on top and the ball doing a bit. The Barmy Army are awesome and added to the atmosphere 10-fold.

A classic call from standing room at one point (after a few randoms began singing the Carlton theme song ) was 'YOU'RE SOFT, HOULIHAN!'. Had everyone in stitches; we come to the Boxing Day Test and you hear that. Classic.

Over 'n out.

 

[OzBomber]

Fair points you make, but how often does 28% of the MCC members fill 28% of the G? I see it rarely besides GF day. I'm just annoyed that there are people who are willing to pay a lot of money to get a ticket who can't when we've got 15,000 spare seats. Guarantee if it was 100,000 public seats it would've been full. Get members on the big matches (besides GF day, I'm talking Anzac Day, Boxing Day) to reserve there seats. They get up until 4pm the day before and then the rest goes on sale to the General Public. That or more members from the waiting list join.

 

[magic_johnson!]

Anyone see at about the start of play on level two in the dark green section, how there was a big circle with no-one in it and one person smack bang in the middle?

 

[OzBomber]

Anyone see at about the start of play on level two in the dark green section, how there was a big circle with no-one in it and one person smack bang in the middle?

Best pic I've got. We were wondering wtf was going on there too.

 

[Johnson#26]

Fair points you make, but how often does 28% of the MCC members fill 28% of the G? I see it rarely besides GF day. I'm just annoyed that there are people who are willing to pay a lot of money to get a ticket who can't when we've got 15,000 spare seats. Guarantee if it was 100,000 public seats it would've been full. Get members on the big matches (besides GF day, I'm talking Anzac Day, Boxing Day) to reserve there seats. They get up until 4pm the day before and then the rest goes on sale to the General Public. That or more members from the waiting list join.

Understand the frustration, but it's part of the MCC deal - you can walk up when you like. That's a luxury, and to be honest, I friggen love it. Wake up late on a Sunday morning and walk in the gates 2m before the ball is bounced for a standard game not involving one of Collingwood, Essendon or Carlton. Love it. I can see why it's a bugbear, but that's part of what you sign up to (only a small part, but it's still definitely a perk of the membership).

More members on the waiting list would be interesting. But it'd be hard to know when to cap it.

I can remember one time the top forward flank became available to the public in the MCC - Ess vs Carl, R13 2009. A lot of the GA was able to move across just before the start of the match.

As for the many who will cough up plenty to turn up and use one of the 15k spare seats, well, if you're that keen, either become an AFL Member (and sign up for the MCC - it'll take time, but the sooner you do it, the sooner it comes through), or get it together early on and book tickets as soon as they're released. And when word spreads that they're running out quickly, get on board asap.


They could always reintroduce wooden benches on the top decks of the Ponsford and Olympic Stands to allow more people in. And get rid of the roof. I'd like to see that.

 

[SJ]

Best pic I've got. We were wondering wtf was going on there too.

They were probably in the Long Room.

 

[Johnson#26]

Seats on levels 2-3 were reserved/ticketed, so I assume the few in the middle had purchased theirs separately and were happy to stay in their spot. Does look weird though.

 

[Mr Ripper]

There must be a way in this day and age to gauge the likely roll-up of MCCs. Poll 500 randoms over the phone a week or two prior to check on their intentions to attend. Would only have to happen four or five times a year max.