Plan to increase GF ticket allocation

[W.C. Fry]

That's the inequality - and it doesn't recognise that the AFL grand final is a national event now. A membership that is pretty much exclusively Victorian really shouldn't have the significant chunk of the ground on grand final day as it currently does. The argument might have merit if AFL membership was a truly national membership - but it's not.

Agreeing with a docker - the horror.

Would love to see what a Victorian AFL member says about that. Noone will comment on it though - they just dance around the subject.

AFL membership should be AFL wide - or not at all.

 

[kirky]

This bagging of AFL members is not on given some of these club members believe they have a right t the GF and probably have a three match membership.

I live in Adelaide and have an AAMI stadium membership plus a full AFL membership with Adelaide club support. I get to Melbourne 3 or 4 times a year and use it to go to neutral games at both the "G" and Etihad. Haven't been to many other GFs other than the Adelaide ones but will hopefully get to this years (given it falls on a long weekend for us in Adelaide).

I contributed a reasonable amount and believe I deserve it given was on a waiting list for 7 years and have been a full AFL member for just on 13 years and I'm sorry to say but money talks.

PS : Saw game two of the Stanley Cup finals (ice hockey grand final series) in Vancouver in June and the ticket price was $784- (and nearly at the last row) so those that whinge of the cost need to have a bit of perspective

 

[Art Corvelay]

Agreeing with a docker - the horror.

Would love to see what a Victorian AFL member says about that. Noone will comment on it though - they just dance around the subject.

AFL membership should be AFL wide - or not at all.

What's there to dance around?

AFL membership is open to all clubs#, it's just not as attractive for interstate members since you don't have the number of games in your state to take advantage. As far as I know, any kind of inequitable deal e.g. wanting access to both Eagles & Dockers games, or all WA finals is due to the stadium arrangements the AFL can broker. I imagine the AFL has more leverage with Etihad & MCG due to the number of games played there.

http://www.aflmembership.com.au/join/afl-membership-entitlements/

TOYOTA AFL FINALS SERIES
Access to all matches played in Victoria in Weeks 1 and 2 of the Toyota AFL Finals Series
Access* to matches of your club of support in Weeks 1 and 2 of the Toyota AFL Finals Series (regardless of venue)

* Entry to all games is subject to capacity. Membership does not guarantee entry.

#Not currently open to West Coast members from WA, but that more to the extensive reserved seating policy at Subi which AFAIK means even general admin can be a pain to get.

 

[abs_of_STEELE]

If your team makes it to the GF and you want to desperately go, you will find a way. It may cost you some money, but that's life.

Watch this week for the hard luck stories of people who have been "lifelong" fans looking for tickets willing to pay nothing.

Exactly.

I bought a $1395 ticket last year and I've bought one again this year for the same price. I've been to every Collingwood game in Melbourne during those years, but that doesn't mean I'd be whinging if I couldn't get to the game this week. I think if you love your club and you're desperate to go, then buy a package or stfu. Just my view though!

 

[kirky]

Life is full of injustices.

Some of us are hung like donkeys and others aren't.

 

[Chasing the Dream]

I still believe I should have priority over you for a GF that the Brisbane Lions (unless if it's against Carlton or St Kilda) make it. And I can't go to 40 games a year because I live in Brisbane.

But your membership contributes pretty much the same as an AFL Membership with Lions support to our club.

I have a family Lions membership, have been a member myself ever since Footy came to Qld in 1987. Ten years ago I took up AFL membership as well, this season I was upgraded to full membership and have every intention of heading to Melbourne this weekend to watch a game of footy.

 

[W.C. Fry]

What's there to dance around?

AFL membership is open to all clubs#, it's just not as attractive for interstate members since you don't have the number of games in your state to take advantage.

Yeah its not attractive because the number of games it allows you into subi is 0.

Again you Victorian AFL members have no clue.

 

[Dan]

Getting my AFL full member seat monday morning

 

[blue harvest]

Yeah its not attractive because the number of games it allows you into subi is 0.

Again you Victorian AFL members have no clue.

You conveniently ignored the rest of da_ilks post. He actually agrees with you that there is a lack of games you could get into (ie: zero). This is because the AFL has been unable to broker a deal with Subiaco Oval due to the limitied number of games played there and the limited capacity. Get the AFL to chip in some money to build a new stadium and then AFL membership may be useful in Perth.

 

[theflea]

So you had no qualms giving Essendon the flick & joining the AFL?

Terrible reality is you deny making a choice, as do many AFL members. You took a better offer than your footy club could make.

i understand your argument be we didnt have to make a choice as we get both because money does goes to our club(in my case if the club didnt get my money i wouldnt have continued the membership) yes its a better option/more game better value but thats life. the facts are its a user pay society and people are guna get stiffed whether they are in the right or not. is it fair that -clubs make fans pay top dollar to guarantee gf tickets then dont repay them if they dont make it?
-is it fair that wce make fans who cant get on the member roster pay a fee to be the next in line?
-is it fair that top packages from the afl gets you in on gf day?
-is it fair that most basic memberships at clubs wont get to the gf?
-is it fair that the gf is in melbourne all the time?
-is it fair that the clubs flog off their allocation to the highest bidders?


no its not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



unfortunately it is what it is. this game(gf) is what pays for the afl to function whether we like it or not. tv rights pay for the players and clubs and the rest of finaces to run the organisation comes from the corporate dollar from the high stakes games ie the gf.



as much as you might hate the mcc/afl members and the corporates and sponsors this is the best we can get especially when club membership on ave will probably be over 50k.

 

[Starburns_]

Yeah its not attractive because the number of games it allows you into subi is 0.

Again you Victorian AFL members have no clue.

Well, WA is getting a new, larger stadium (even if it's not for awhile). It would be interesting to see if the WAFL and the WA state government would be willing to play ball with the AFL in regards to AFL memberships in Perth due to the the increased capacity (provided the AFL were willing, but why wouldn't they? There's more money to be made for them).

 

[Demonic Ascent]

I had a Full/Gold AFL membership for a number of years and it got me into the 2000 GF. I never used it in other years as A) none of my friends have AFL Members tickets B) I would rather those seats go to someone who may support the club C) I'd rather watch the game with some mates at a BBQ with beers if Melbourne's not playing rather than sitting at the game by myself.

I gave up my AFL Membership about 4 years ago because I would rather help my club out by giving them the $500 per year ($2500 per year when taking the rest of my family into account). I know AFL Members are counted as club members and they get a fee but it is only $138 compared to $500. So if MFC has ~1000-1500 AFL members this is effectively ~$350K-$525K the MFC doesn't get a year which they could really do with.

I don't know other clubs situations but with MFC I can get a guaranteed GF membership pack for $500 which is basically the same as the AFL Membership fee. I know some clubs charge more (around $800) and some clubs this is actually sold out and so is not an option. However if you only want to buy the cheaper membership put aside a couple of hundred dollars a year and when your team makes it use the money saved on the dearer membership to fork out for one fo the expensive packages.

Bottom line is if you are that committed that you go week in week out and couldn't bare not being there if your club is playing in the big one (like me) then you should be able to find a way.

 

[Bort]

I gave up my AFL Membership about 4 years ago because I would rather help my club out by giving them the $500 per year ($2500 per year when taking the rest of my family into account). I know AFL Members are counted as club members and they get a fee but it is only $138 compared to $500. So if MFC has ~1000-1500 AFL members this is effectively ~$350K-$525K the MFC doesn't get a year which they could really do with.

There's nothing stopping an AFL Member also purchasing an 'Add-on' direct from their club: reserved-seat packages, social club membership, etc. For some years my family had a reserved-seat package, purchased direct from Carlton.

The $138 compared to $500 is comparing apples to oranges, because you get some something extra for the $362. A season's reserved seat, a social club membership, whatever; things that AFL Membership wouldn't get without also paying extra.

If your membership includes entry access to MFC's away games please understand that the MFC won't retain that part of your $500. They'll give the general admission amount to the gate, most of which then gets paid to the home team, for every away game you attend on your membership.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

There's nothing stopping an AFL Member also purchasing an 'Add-on' direct from their club: reserved-seat packages, social club membership, etc. For some years my family had a reserved-seat package, purchased direct from Carlton.

The $138 compared to $500 is comparing apples to oranges, because you get some something extra for the $362. A season's reserved seat, a social club membership, whatever; things that AFL Membership wouldn't get without also paying extra.

If your membership includes entry access to MFC's away games please understand that the MFC won't retain that part of your $500. They'll give the general admission amount to the gate, most of which then gets paid to the home team, for every away game you attend on your membership.

That may be so but say that's maybe 5 games a year (not including interstate games and our yearly trek to Geelong) then it's still $400 going to the club instead of $138.

I'm not sure about your first point - are you saying that AFL members can purchase add-ons (GF guarantee, reserved seats, social club whatever) to their AFL membership from their nominated club? Or do they have to buy another membership through their club with these add-ons? Either way this is not feasible for some people who even paying $500 a year is a bit of a stretch. To purchase add-ons on top of that and increasing the cost of the membership to $700-$800 especially for those who have a family and therefore maybe 3 or 4 tickets to pay for is not feasible on a tight budget.

I understand AFL membership gets you into more games and early finals for free (and Prelim free & GF cheap on a Gold membership) but for me I only really went to a couple of games other than Melbourne games each year and so would rather just buy those tickets if I'm going to attend. Clubs like Carlton, Collingwood & Essendon do not necessarily feel the pinch from members taking out AFL (or MCC for that matter) memberships, however for clubs like Melbourne, North, Bulldogs etc every penny counts so if there is 1000 MFC members only contributing $138 instead of $400 (when you take the away games into account) on top of another probably 5,000-10,000 people who only take out MCC memberships and not MFC then the club feels it on the bottom line and I would rather every penny I spend go to assist the MFC rather than the AFL who at times has shown utter contempt for my club and clubs like North Melbourne.

 

[Bakes]

Yeah its not attractive because the number of games it allows you into subi is 0.

Again you Victorian AFL members have no clue.

build a bigger ****ing ground then you whinging prick, or leave that shithole of a city

 

[Bort]

There might have been for the replay.

Pretty sure 'non-replay' Grand Finals show at the MCC attendance trend is actually increasing.

Thanks SJ; I trust you realise that I was deliberately making an opinion that gets contradicted by the facts. As the old saying goes, never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Whenever there’s a big match there’s this big outrage at the empty seats in the MCC Reserve but hardly any concern about the empty seats in the non MCC sections of the ground. And it starts at the top: Andrew Demetriou, in the AFL Annual report, states the AFL is disappointed that the MCC Members Reserve had empty seats for the replay, presents the AFL’s solution (as if this is a common occurrence at recent Grand Finals) but makes no mention of the unused empty spots elsewhere in the stadium.

 

[Giants FC]

This is how the GF allocation should be like:
* The non-competing clubs get 0 tickets in total, or 0 each.

Those tickets are a key part of many club sponsorship packages, and without clubs being able to offer their sponsors Grand Final tickets, you'd severely devalue those sponsorships. And the functions they run, the "legalised scalping" packages, are also key fundraisers for clubs.
Take them away, and you'd deliver a hit of over $1m to every club's bottom line - enough to put many clubs into the red. They'd have to increase the price of their memberships by about $50 per season to make that up.

 

[MB1908]

build a bigger ****ing ground then you whinging prick, or leave that shithole of a city

And what about the Grand Final where there is no point in a WCE or Freo supporter getting an AFL membership? There's a chunk of 22k seats that they basically don't have access to.

 

[____]

Those tickets are a key part of many club sponsorship packages, and without clubs being able to offer their sponsors Grand Final tickets, you'd severely devalue those sponsorships. And the functions they run, the "legalised scalping" packages, are also key fundraisers for clubs.
Take them away, and you'd deliver a hit of over $1m to every club's bottom line - enough to put many clubs into the red. They'd have to increase the price of their memberships by about $50 per season to make that up.

It's better than paying $38 for September Membership (although I am a GA member and I have to upgrade to prime or premium and then pay the extra $38) I don't want to upgrade to reserved seating because I prefer General Admission because it gives me freedom to sit where I want and its much easier for me to bring friends and introduce new people to the game.

 

[Bort]

That may be so but say that's maybe 5 games a year (not including interstate games and our yearly trek to Geelong) then it's still $400 going to the club instead of $138.

I'm not sure about your first point - are you saying that AFL members can purchase add-ons (GF guarantee, reserved seats, social club whatever) to their AFL membership from their nominated club? Or do they have to buy another membership through their club with these add-ons? Either way this is not feasible for some people who even paying $500 a year is a bit of a stretch. To purchase add-ons on top of that and increasing the cost of the membership to $700-$800 especially for those who have a family and therefore maybe 3 or 4 tickets to pay for is not feasible on a tight budget.

I understand AFL membership gets you into more games and early finals for free (and Prelim free & GF cheap on a Gold membership) but for me I only really went to a couple of games other than Melbourne games each year and so would rather just buy those tickets if I'm going to attend. Clubs like Carlton, Collingwood & Essendon do not necessarily feel the pinch from members taking out AFL (or MCC for that matter) memberships, however for clubs like Melbourne, North, Bulldogs etc every penny counts so if there is 1000 MFC members only contributing $138 instead of $400 (when you take the away games into account) on top of another probably 5,000-10,000 people who only take out MCC memberships and not MFC then the club feels it on the bottom line and I would rather every penny I spend go to assist the MFC rather than the AFL who at times has shown utter contempt for my club and clubs like North Melbourne.

They're add-ons to the club membership component of their AFL membership. AFL Members aren’t required to purchase a second club membership. So they can spend an extra $260 and ensure it goes to their club.

You mention spending $700-$800 being a stretch and elsewhere you mention Bulldog supporters. For the three previous years the Bulldogs have made the Prelim, meaning they played in three finals in each of those years. A Doggies fan who had the some type of membership as you have with Melbourne and who attended each of those finals would have spent $700-$800 each year.

As to your last point, if you attend a reasonable number of games the AFL retains only a minority of the member's fees. Not only does the AFL give the Club Support team $138, but for every non-home game an AFL Member attends the AFL contributes money to the gate, most of which goes to the home game. The more games the member attends the less money the AFL retains and there is a point at which the AFL begins to lose money.

 

[Art Corvelay]

Yeah its not attractive because the number of games it allows you into subi is 0.

Again you Victorian AFL members have no clue.

Yeah, except where I agree with you. How about you get off your high horse and read what I write next time?

I'm not sure about your first point - are you saying that AFL members can purchase add-ons (GF guarantee, reserved seats, social club whatever) to their AFL membership from their nominated club?

Not sure about Melbourne but you definitely can for the Pies:

http://membership.collingwoodfc.com.au/2012-packages/afl-and-mcc-member-upgrades

 

[Rob]

Well, WA is getting a new, larger stadium (even if it's not for awhile). It would be interesting to see if the WAFL and the WA state government would be willing to play ball with the AFL in regards to AFL memberships in Perth due to the the increased capacity (provided the AFL were willing, but why wouldn't they? There's more money to be made for them).

I'm sure they would consider it if the AFL want to pay for it. Say $5-10m a year for a 10,000 seat AFL reserve.

I doubt the AFL are interested though. Why would they be? The clubs will put the bums on seats anyway without the AFL needing to offer heavily discounted seating like they do in Melbourne.

 

[ManWithNoName]

I'm sure they would consider it if the AFL want to pay for it. Say $5-10m a year for a 10,000 seat AFL reserve.

I doubt the AFL are interested though. Why would they be? The clubs will put the bums on seats anyway without the AFL needing to offer heavily discounted seating like they do in Melbourne.

$600 a year membership = discounted seating?

 

[Rob]

$600 a year membership = discounted seating?

Absol-****en-lutely. It costs me nearly that for an 11 game reserved seat.

You get 30 games plus finals for that don't you? People pay double that just for a grand final ticket.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Absol-****en-lutely. It costs me nearly that for an 11 game reserved seat.

You get 30 games plus finals for that don't you? People pay double that just for a grand final ticket.

I think you're taking WA ticket/membership prices as standard. You're wrong, you're just being hideously overcharged.