MCG: When is a sellout not a sellout?

[FRUMPY]

88000 people attended the Carlton Collingwood game. The match was a sellout (a few days prior to the match) 12000 empty seats.

So how do we explain the 12000 empty seats?

1. Presumably some AFL/club members did not attend and did not pass their tickets on to friends/family.
2. Presumably MCC members did not take up their allocation of seats.

Any other explanations?

when there are no more tickets to sell - doesnt mean people dont turn up - especially corporate and AFL and MCC members.

 

[craffles]

Whilst most of the unused seats were probably corporate boxes / carlton members I'd love to see the AFL build their own 90K stadium and **** the MCC off.

In today's day and age with how much revenue the game brings there's just no need to have some weird rich boy cult like 3rd party having any influence over the seating, fixturing etc. We've moved beyond classist segregation via some form of elite membership

 

[HaroLad]

In today's day and age with how much revenue the game brings there's just no need to have some weird rich boy cult like 3rd party having any influence over the seating, fixturing etc. We've moved beyond classist segregation via some form of elite membership

spot the seething non-mcc member

 

[Gordon Farkas]

I'd love to see the AFL build their own 90K stadium and * the MCC off.

 

[The Plowking]

My preference is always to stand.
Waste of a valuable seat if i go to ticketed games.

 

[darcytiger]

Whilst most of the unused seats were probably corporate boxes / carlton members I'd love to see the AFL build their own 90K stadium and * the MCC off.

In today's day and age with how much revenue the game brings there's just no need to have some weird rich boy cult like 3rd party having any influence over the seating, fixturing etc. We've moved beyond classist segregation via some form of elite membership

I don’t understand why people think it’s so elite? You’re welcome to put your name on the list, and the price is comparable to high level club membership/afl membership which isn’t classed as elite.

 

[Jim Prideaux]

It’s bits and bobs from all the above areas. My understanding is even for the best games, only about 75-80% of club reserved seats are actually occupied at a given match. If Carlton have 15,000 season seat holders, this means about 3-4,000 are empty on matchday. Seat holders may be on holiday, unwell, at a wedding or sitting in a corporate box with their work! Lots of reasons why.

Also, my company has a hospitality suite in the Olympic Stand. It seats 18 people yet it only had 13 attend this match. Now if we extend this across the 100+ suites in the ground you quickly get a sense of the stadium unused capacity leakage with maybe 500+ box seats unused on the day. This extends to unused capacity at coterie functions etc too.

It’s a bit here, a bit there and probably the 4-5,000 standing room not offered for sale that makes up the gap.

No one wants to hear this, just pile on the MCC and AFL members like a good lad.

 

[tigertRANCE]

View attachment 1488959

What a marvelous day and sight to behold, yellow & black filled the G, looks like the 2019 GF

 

[yodellinhank]

What a marvelous day and sight to behold, yellow & black filled the G, looks like the 2019 GF

Er...

 

[FrustratedTiger]

Any other explanations?

The corporate box that seats 20 but had a last minute cancellation x how many corporate boxes/functions etc. The people who bought seats early in the week intending on going then were sick on the day/had a family emergency/got called into work etc. A sell out is when the seats are sold but as we don't live in a dictatorship, as much as Dan has tried, noone is forced by gunpoint to attend

 

[#gosaintas]

It’s bits and bobs from all the above areas. My understanding is even for the best games, only about 75-80% of club reserved seats are actually occupied at a given match. If Carlton have 15,000 season seat holders, this means about 3-4,000 are empty on matchday. Seat holders may be on holiday, unwell, at a wedding or sitting in a corporate box with their work! Lots of reasons why.

Also, my company has a hospitality suite in the Olympic Stand. It seats 18 people yet it only had 13 attend this match. Now if we extend this across the 100+ suites in the ground you quickly get a sense of the stadium unused capacity leakage with maybe 500+ box seats unused on the day. This extends to unused capacity at coterie functions etc too.

It’s a bit here, a bit there and probably the 4-5,000 standing room not offered for sale that makes up the gap.

Lots of reserved ticket holders are also MCC members so they would probably rather sit in the members than use their reserved seat.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Think the mcg is bad, I went to a game at the docklands that was a sell-out and only 33k were there

 

[kickazz]

I don’t understand why people think it’s so elite? You’re welcome to put your name on the list, and the price is comparable to high level club membership/afl membership which isn’t classed as elite.

I occasionally go as a guest and you have to admit it is very WASPy in there. Not many ethnics had the contacts to sign up 30 years ago or whatever.

 

[Purple Suit]

Think the mcg is bad, I went to a game at the docklands that was a sell-out and only 33k were there

Something similar happened to me. Tried to get a seat near friends on the wing on level 2 who already had tickets. There were about 3 blocks left behind the goals on level 2 I could purchase. At the game, there was heaps on seats, only 25k there.

I just sat where I wanted on game day but it’s a weird system holding heaps of spare seats for members who aren’t intending to turn up.

 

[The Tilt]

Does anyone know why the AFL doesn't just release an allocation of standing room tickets in the lead up to the game? There's a case for being able to get a standing room ticket for any game, but you'd think once seats are sold out they would give people the opportunity for standing room only tickets.

 

[theyellowsash]

Excellent point. There are 95K seats, 5K standing. If MCC lets in standing that would leave around 4k standing in the rest of the ground unavailable so capacity is 96K.

we got 104k to the 2017 gf though

 

[Demonic Ascent]

Something similar happened to me. Tried to get a seat near friends on the wing on level 2 who already had tickets. There were about 3 blocks left behind the goals on level 2 I could purchase. At the game, there was heaps on seats, only 25k there.

I just sat where I wanted on game day but it’s a weird system holding heaps of spare seats for members who aren’t intending to turn up.

That's because of the Medallion Club - its ludicrous they have so many premium seats on level 2 going unused for the majority of games at Docklands while people are shunted up to level 3. Shithouse stadium.

 

[NetworkNerd]

Not sure the Jolimont Club would fill out their allocation either

 

[Walshawk]

we got 104k to the 2017 gf though

100,021. Think capacity of 100,024.

 

[pz5151]

100,021. Think capacity of 100,024.

I find those GF attendances a bit suss. Either they're selling more tickets than the capacity or the numbers are fluffed. How can you have a non-attendance rate of 3 people out of 100,024? More people than that are going to wake up with gastro and not come.

 

[My_Username]

I find those GF attendances a bit suss. Either they're selling more tickets than the capacity or the numbers are fluffed. How can you have a non-attendance rate of 3 people out of 100,024? More people than that are going to wake up with gastro and not come.

Maybe, but they wouldn't be that far off.

You'd have to be pretty sick not to go to the GF, and you'd have to have no mates if you can't find anyone to go instead.

 

[bjwilliams]

I find those GF attendances a bit suss. Either they're selling more tickets than the capacity or the numbers are fluffed. How can you have a non-attendance rate of 3 people out of 100,024? More people than that are going to wake up with gastro and not come.

100% if you wake up unable to go, you message your best mate and give it to them.

 

[FRUMPY]

100% if you wake up unable to go, you sell them along with your signature on a piece of paper for $500+ a ticket

 

[parano1a]

I'd love to see the AFL build their own 90K stadium and * the MCC off.

As pointed out they have already tried this with Waverley Park which was originally going to be expanded to fit more than 100K.
The Victorian Government backed out on its promise to build adequate public transport links and the rest is history.

 

[Ricketz]

spot the seething non-mcc member

Yeah it's awesome that corporate w***ers with cash can get seats over real fans.