The 2nd level at Etihad - a blight on the game

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Smokin

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This thread is a blight on Bigfooty.



And if they keep the Medallion club as it currently is, they still won't sell them because it's bad business.
Bad business? how much does the stadium make? How much are they asking for it? What % return is that? The funds that own it are not overly thrilled with the results they have got.

All that is need to solve this mess, like clubs such as Essendon implemented, as an offical re-sale of seats option that isnt ebay or a public domain. Can solve a lot of issues, and be a win win for all.
 

The Passenger

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I go there week in week out and on the whole it's great, but there's just something about it I don't enjoy. Maybe it's something you only get going there regularly. I've noticed interstate fans on here who have come over once or twice love it compared to Footy Park/Subi. And in terms of facilities/location, it is miles ahead. But it just feels...empty. Soulless. The fact it's up against the MCG, which Victorians on here would go to weekly/regularly may also be what it is. Compared to the G it's nothing.
It's the atmosphere and history of the MCG that make it what it is. It's also the romance of the place and (for Melbournian's) the place of a lot of childhood memories. Etihad doesn't have t hat, but it will to the generation's of kids growing up.

Most interstate visitors who don't have that attachment prefer Etihad as a venue. Lived in a backpacker hostel in Melb's for a long time and a huge chunk of the tourists that came through would go to games, and generally the reviews of Etihad were much more positive than of the MCG. I know I fell into that category as well, but I also loved the G because I watched plenty of games on tv of the venue as a kid.

The MCG is great, but when it's only 30-40k can feel a bit empty.

But when the G starts filling up it's the best venue in Australia.
 
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My St Kilda membership (full season GA) is costing me the best part of $300 this year, and I don't get a reserved seat for that, which means level 3, except for the first 7 rows on both wings, which are reserved seats.

I have to accept that, though, because the club is going to go out arse backwards if we don't get a little greedy, as we were forced into an awful deal for the dubious benefit of playing at Etislab.
 
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It's the atmosphere and history of the MCG that make it what it is. It's also the romance of the place and (for Melbournian's) the place of a lot of childhood memories. Etihad doesn't have t hat, but it will to the generation's of kids growing up.

Most interstate visitors who don't have that attachment prefer Etihad as a venue. Lived in a backpacker hostel in Melb's for a long time and a huge chunk of the tourists that came through would go to games, and generally the reviews of Etihad were much more positive than of the MCG. I know I fell into that category as well, but I also loved the G because I watched plenty of games on tv of the venue as a kid.

The MCG is great, but when it's only 30-40k can feel a bit empty.

But when the G starts filling up it's the best venue in Australia.
You should try going to the G for a Shield game. Only a few hundred people there. But I still absolutely love it. You can just sort of sit there and take in the history and atmosphere of the place.
 

Kwality

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now theres some comedy. nobody who has been to the concrete bowl with no atmosphere has ever called it a brilliant venue.
Hey Ray, even been there when its a cold raining Melbourne day ? Its like an oasis in the desert .... having taken interstate visitors on many occasions, the place is well regarded.
 
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You should try going to the G for a Shield game. Only a few hundred people there. But I still absolutely love it. You can just sort of sit there and take in the history and atmosphere of the place.
I was at the 'G on a Tuesday night for a Foxtel Cup match between Port Melbourne and West Adelaide. We all sat in the members on level 1, I reckon there was less than 250 people there. But it was pretty cool, nonetheless.
 

The Passenger

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You should try going to the G for a Shield game. Only a few hundred people there. But I still absolutely love it. You can just sort of sit there and take in the history and atmosphere of the place.
Have been in an empty G a few times when working down there. It's an eery feeling but i like it. it's better empty (or near enough to empty) then when there is 25k in there.
 

Kwality

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Bad business? how much does the stadium make? How much are they asking for it? What % return is that? The funds that own it are not overly thrilled with the results they have got.

All that is need to solve this mess, like clubs such as Essendon implemented, as an offical re-sale of seats option that isnt ebay or a public domain. Can solve a lot of issues, and be a win win for all.
Medallion tickets are transferable, Essendon tickets are not - comparing apples with zucchinis !!

Bad business you reckon - the AFL want to get the joint early but cant make the dollars work - give Fitz a call & tell him what the AFL is doing wrong (Fitz is a major shareholder in the company that owns ANZ Stadium).
 

raymond35

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Hey Ray, even been there when its a cold raining Melbourne day ? Its like an oasis in the desert .... having taken interstate visitors on many occasions, the place is well regarded.
Yeah i've been there on a rainy day and its obviously an advantage. problem is when i go to melbourne for the footy i'm already paying several hundred dollars for airfares and hotel, so to get to etihad and sit up in the nosebleed section while most of the good seats are empty is really irritating. i don't know why so many people don't understand what masterbate is getting at.
 

Smokin

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Medallion tickets are transferable, Essendon tickets are not - comparing apples with zucchinis !!

Bad business you reckon - the AFL want to get the joint early but cant make the dollars work - give Fitz a call & tell him what the AFL is doing wrong (Fitz is a major shareholder in the company that owns ANZ Stadium).
Not at all, the Essendon 'become' transferable with the option - but the point is a proper, designated re-selling option. A bit like Stub Hub - gives buyers confidence in the purchase as opposed to some no name on Ebay or gumtree.

And on the stadium - the issue is the funds are whinging it doesnt return what they wanted, so the AFL offers what they think is fair, and they scoff at it.

At last look - it made an operating profit of $4 for a year (but made a loss after one-offs) and the AFL offered over $200 million for it. Why should the AFL go nuts when they will get it for nothing anyway? To me, anything near $200m is way too much in any event.

The point is people think it is being run perfectly because it just is and they know best. IMHO it has been mismanaged from the start - from grass issues, ticketing issues, to giving vastly different deals to different teams, to holding concerts at the wrong times which, over its history, has led to a bad reputation for a great, great stadium!
 

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Kwality

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Mismanaged from an AFL footy view I agree.
The clubs were picked off by the stadiums (the MCG & Docklands), took the low hanging fruit & left the rest to the AFL.
 

Underdog

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Yeah i've been there on a rainy day and its obviously an advantage. problem is when i go to melbourne for the footy i'm already paying several hundred dollars for airfares and hotel, so to get to etihad and sit up in the nosebleed section while most of the good seats are empty is really irritating. i don't know why so many people don't understand what masterbate is getting at.
Then don't sit up in the nosebleeds. I don't. If you're going to the trouble of buying airfares and accommodation, what's an extra 10-40 for a better ticket? It's a very minor additional cost in the grand scheme of things.
 

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I went to the game Saturday night with my Dad who is a big Melbourne fan- we bought tickets for level 2, but were told at the ticket booth level 2 was all full except for behind the goals. I found that surprising, but whatever. Get to the game, take our seats behind the goals and there are huge blocks of empty seats to the right of us- on what I believe to be the non-medallion club side (the side opposite the coaches boxes etc). Not sure how they work their ticketing but it seems like it could improve
 

blue harvest

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I went to the game Saturday night with my Dad who is a big Melbourne fan- we bought tickets for level 2, but were told at the ticket booth level 2 was all full except for behind the goals. I found that surprising, but whatever. Get to the game, take our seats behind the goals and there are huge blocks of empty seats to the right of us- on what I believe to be the non-medallion club side (the side opposite the coaches boxes etc). Not sure how they work their ticketing but it seems like it could improve
http://www.brilliantforbusiness.com.au/axcess-one/
which is basically another Medallion Club.
Also home club members own some of level 2.
But I agree there must be a better way.

For anyone interested you can still buy level 2 seats on Ticketmaster for the Hawks v Bombers game Friday.
 

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http://www.brilliantforbusiness.com.au/axcess-one/
which is basically another Medallion Club.
Also home club members own some of level 2.
But I agree there must be a better way.

For anyone interested you can still buy level 2 seats on Ticketmaster for the Hawks v Bombers game Friday.
Lot of competition for the clubs chasing members, not surprising so many clubs in Melbourne are battling.
 

cammo78

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Lot of competition for the clubs chasing members, not surprising so many clubs in Melbourne are battling.
I don't know a single person with an Axcess One membership.

As far as I'm aware, it's just "second-tier" corporates.

Not really a product that competes with club membership.
 

Dont be a lemon

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Yeah i've been there on a rainy day and its obviously an advantage. problem is when i go to melbourne for the footy i'm already paying several hundred dollars for airfares and hotel, so to get to etihad and sit up in the nosebleed section while most of the good seats are empty is really irritating.
You get irritated because you don't want to pay for a better seat?

Difficult to be sympathetic when you can afford hotel and airfare holidays and master bate can afford annual MCC membership but paying more for a better seat is somehow a burden.

If you were poor I could understand but you're just tight whingers.
 

Underarm

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Not at all, the Essendon 'become' transferable with the option - but the point is a proper, designated re-selling option. A bit like Stub Hub - gives buyers confidence in the purchase as opposed to some no name on Ebay or gumtree.

And on the stadium - the issue is the funds are whinging it doesnt return what they wanted, so the AFL offers what they think is fair, and they scoff at it.

At last look - it made an operating profit of $4 for a year (but made a loss after one-offs) and the AFL offered over $200 million for it. Why should the AFL go nuts when they will get it for nothing anyway? To me, anything near $200m is way too much in any event.

The point is people think it is being run perfectly because it just is and they know best. IMHO it has been mismanaged from the start - from grass issues, ticketing issues, to giving vastly different deals to different teams, to holding concerts at the wrong times which, over its history, has led to a bad reputation for a great, great stadium!
Those seats are empty at all non blockbuster games because they aren't sold, not because members haven't turned up.
 

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geez you think that's bad ANZ stupid booking system thinks the best seats are third tier shit and as you cant select individual seats like a mad man you go back and forth trying to get good ones on the second tier as the crap third tier ones get bought by unsuspecting buyers.

nothing more frustrating then to see empty seats closer to the action because ticket master are complete wankers!
 
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blue harvest

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I'm going to Etihad for the first time in a few weeks, where's the best seats to get?
Same as any other ground - depends where you like sitting, high, low, close, further back, wing, goals etc.
One piece of advice, the back 3 or 4 rows on level 1 you can't see the top of the goals or the big screens, but they have TVs above you that you can see.
 

The King!

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You should try going to the G for a Shield game. Only a few hundred people there. But I still absolutely love it. You can just sort of sit there and take in the history and atmosphere of the place.

Maybe because its a rare visit like a few times a year but for me yeah i agree, i walk in and its almost magical just to be there
 
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