The Ponsford Stand - why is it so empty?

[BoxMatrix]

The Ponsford stand is one of many things that Collingwood does that annoys me.

The stand is always empty. No matter if its home or away their a always big gaps in crowds.

I tried to book tickets real early for the round 4 match (rich-v-coll) and it said

Ponsford Stand: "allocation exhausted"

What??? And when I got to the match at the Richmond end (where I sat) was full and the collingwood end was empty. Is the stand only for collingwood supporters so it looks more intimidating? If so, it's not doing a good job at all.

Not even a club like Hawthorn or Essendon have this situation at the MCG...

Does anyone reckon the club will change this? Has anyone actually managed to reserve seats in the Ponsford Stand?

 

[dansa]

The Ponsford stand is one of many things that Collingwood does that annoys me.

The stand is always empty. No matter if its home or away their a always big gaps in crowds.

I tried to book tickets real early for the round 4 match (rich-v-coll) and it said

Ponsford Stand: "allocation exhausted"

What??? And when I got to the match at the Richmond end (where I sat) was full and the collingwood end was empty. Is the stand only for collingwood supporters so it looks more intimidating? If so, it's not doing a good job at all.

Not even a club like Hawthorn or Essendon have this situation at the MCG...

Does anyone reckon the club will change this? Has anyone actually managed to reserve seats in the Ponsford Stand?

I have a reserved seat on the bottom deck as part of my Legends package. Apart from ANZAC day there is probably more empty seats than there are people in my bay. I have no idea what is going on there. Pretty ordinary atmosphere and justifiably annoying for those forced to sit up with the gods on Level 4.

 

[TradeDraft]

I say that be more Ticketek and the MCC then Collingwood

 

[SnakePlisskin]

I have a reserved seat on the bottom deck as part of my Legends package. Apart from ANZAC day there is probably more empty seats than there are people in my bay. I have no idea what is going on there. Pretty ordinary atmosphere and justifiably annoying for those forced to sit up with the gods on Level 4.

Just me and three others in my row !

 

[BoxMatrix]

I have a reserved seat on the bottom deck as part of my Legends package. Apart from ANZAC day there is probably more empty seats than there are people in my bay. I have no idea what is going on there. Pretty ordinary atmosphere and justifiably annoying for those forced to sit up with the gods on Level 4.

I sit in M10 and it's just as empty. Have no idea how the club organises seats.

 

[Premier Pies]

The Ponsford stand is all for members I believe. Many people pay for their seats for the season and choose not to go for various reasons. Top of the list would have to be poor fixturing/scheduling of matches. I know first hand that I've missed multiple matches that is bought seats for.

To the op's point though, I agree that it looks pretty poor and it isn't intimidating at all for the opposition team.

Club needs to do something about it but I'm not sure what they can do.

 

[dansa]

The Ponsford stand is all for members I believe. Many people pay for their seats for the season and choose not to go for various reasons. Top of the list would have to be poor fixturing/scheduling of matches. I know first hand that I've missed multiple matches that is bought seats for.

To the op's point though, I agree that it looks pretty poor and it isn't intimidating at all for the opposition team.

Club needs to do something about it but I'm not sure what they can do.

I don't believe the seats around me are currently allocated for members as it's always the same people seated and the same seats vacant. It's a shame because only a few seasons ago the whole Ponsford stand was full most matches and the imposing atmosphere when viewed /heard from the opposition end of the ground was powerful. I don't know what happened.

 

[jjsmitty8]

The last few games I've just rocked up at the gate and bought a GA level 3 ticket. You head up the escalators and go to find a seat then get told that you can only sit from row W and beyond.

So I've gone around to the Olympic stand and then sat down the front. Then you look over at the Ponsford stand and it's practically empty. They definitely need to sort something out there..

 

[neilk]

The Ponsford stand is all for members I believe. Many people pay for their seats for the season and choose not to go for various reasons. Top of the list would have to be poor fixturing/scheduling of matches. I know first hand that I've missed multiple matches that is bought seats for.

To the op's point though, I agree that it looks pretty poor and it isn't intimidating at all for the opposition team.

Club needs to do something about it but I'm not sure what they can do.

This is the club member's seating arrangements. I'm a Legend's member and have N11 for home games and Q31 for away games:

 

[mattys123]

Eddie and the club have to face it, his great "Magpie end" Ponsford stand idea has died a slow death because he rushed into the worst area in the ground.

What the club should have done is waited for the rest of the northern stand to be built and take the Olympic stand area as the home and away seating, with the cheer squad then behind the goals at the Southern Stand end.

The first year we moved into the Ponsford stand end I had home and away tickets in the Ponsford but they were almost side on to the goals and were very poor seats. I've since moved to M15 for home seats and just buy away seats through the AFL members.

The Ponsford stand idea is failing, simple, we need to compact as many of our members as we can in decent seats, and the Olympic Stand would be a way better option.

 

[dansa]

Eddie and the club have to face it, his great "Magpie end" Ponsford stand idea has died a slow death because he rushed into the worst area in the ground.

What the club should have done is waited for the rest of the northern stand to be built and take the Olympic stand area as the home and away seating, with the cheer squad then behind the goals at the Southern Stand end.

The first year we moved into the Ponsford stand end I had home and away tickets in the Ponsford but they were almost side on to the goals and were very poor seats. I've since moved to M15 for home seats and just buy away seats through the AFL members.

The Ponsford stand idea is failing, simple, we need to compact as many of our members as we can in decent seats, and the Olympic Stand would be a way better option.

I'm not sure that would have been possible. The great coup that Eddie pulled off at the time was getting a stand that would guarrantee seats for Collingwood members AWAY games not just home games. The Olympic stand has always held Melbourne FC reserved seat members at their home games which would rule this out.

 

[TradeDraft]

I sit in M10 and it's just as empty. Have no idea how the club organises seats.

I sit in M9 for home games and there are ton’s of Empty Seats every game.

I am in the Ponsford Stand for the Away Games and it’s just as Empty

 

[mattys123]

I'm not sure that would have been possible. The great coup that Eddie pulled off at the time was getting a stand that would guarrantee seats for Collingwood members AWAY games not just home games. The Olympic stand has always held Melbourne FC reserved seat members at their home games which would rule this out.

We play the Dees once every year, so we'd still have 13-14 games in that area, it's just a better area to watch footy than the Ponsford stand.

 

[dansa]

We play the Dees once every year, so we'd still have 13-14 games in that area, it's just a better area to watch footy than the Ponsford stand.

I would prefer to sit there too. I'm not sure but I suspect Richmond, Geelong and other clubs have reserved seats in the Olympic stand for home games at the MCG. The idea was to have one stand for every game home or away and build the social club and function rooms around that base. Unfortunately it hasn't worked as well as planned - for a number of reasons, not just the position of the Ponsford stand.

 

[manicmagpie]

What??? And when I got to the match at the Richmond end (where I sat) was full and the collingwood end was empty. Is the stand only for collingwood supporters so it looks more intimidating? If so, it's not doing a good job at all.

Not even a club like Hawthorn or Essendon have this situation at the MCG...

Have you ever seen a Hawthorn match at the G? Their sold out reserved seat section in the Olympic stand is always the least filled section in the stadium and is never even 50% full, even for games against Geelong and us.

 

[Collingwood 4 eternity]

I don't believe the seats around me are currently allocated for members as it's always the same people seated and the same seats vacant. It's a shame because only a few seasons ago the whole Ponsford stand was full most matches and the imposing atmosphere when viewed /heard from the opposition end of the ground was powerful. I don't know what happened.

You will find that many of the people have paid for the chance/right to buy a Grand Final ticket , which all 10,000 + Legends members have done , there was a waiting list a few years ago for the guaranteed GF ticket membership when we were successful in 2010/11

If you went to the footy with your mates one week or every week , where would you sit ? In your reserved seat , and not with your mates in the G/A , or would you leave your seat empty and join your mates in G/A or standing room?

Many people also prefer to stand in the standing room , despite purchasing a seat for the year , as purchasing a seat guarantees them entry to the Anzac Day game each year.

 

[Vicky Park]

You will find that many of the people have paid for the chance/right to buy a Grand Final ticket , which all 10,000 + Legends members have done , there was a waiting list a few years ago for the guaranteed GF ticket membership when we were successful in 2010/11

This is my situation. I have been a Legends member for some years, but have only used my Ponsford Stand seat once in three seasons. This is because I am also an MCC member, and sit in the Members Stand for all our games.

I contacted the club about this some years ago, and offered to return my Ponsford Stand seat for someone else to use, but it is apparently too hard. Access is via my Legends card, which I need for my Legends seats at Etihad, and also for the finals. A solution might be for the club to make reserved seating optional for Legends and other members. Not all want to attend games, or need a reserved seat.

 

[Collingwood 4 eternity]

If you look at old footage of AFL games via Name a Game or on YouTube , you can clearly see how "club reserved seating" has grown in the past 20 years.

Practically all of the lower public M section which used to be G/A is now fully ticketed reserved seating.

When it was initially first allocated as reserved seating bay by bay as each year sold out , another bay or two got added each year with the ebb and flow of Collingwoods form.

Groups of friends or family that all sat together 10 + years ago have individuals that have either died , are now too old to attend , grown up and got their own families or moved on with other interests in their lives , so that leaves a scattering of holes of seating all over the reserved seating section each year.

And that is because as in order to secure a guaranteed Grand Final ticket your must pay for a reserved seat to all game 11 home games or the 17 H/A games wether you plan to sit in it or not.

It is not to dissimilar to when a group of work colleagues buy a Tattslotto ticket together each week , you put in you money for the hope of winning Division 1 in lotto , but if you don't put your share of money in for each draw you'll miss out if the numbers come up.(chance to get a GF ticket)

 

[Robroy22]

Any of you guys that don't like sitting in the Ponsford stand can give me and my tribe your seats. The Ponsford IS as close to the old Viccy Park as we'll get and it should be full and intimidating. Get onto that will ya Ed?

 

[neilk]

Eddie and the club have to face it, his great "Magpie end" Ponsford stand idea has died a slow death because he rushed into the worst area in the ground.

What the club should have done is waited for the rest of the northern stand to be built and take the Olympic stand area as the home and away seating, with the cheer squad then behind the goals at the Southern Stand end.

The first year we moved into the Ponsford stand end I had home and away tickets in the Ponsford but they were almost side on to the goals and were very poor seats. I've since moved to M15 for home seats and just buy away seats through the AFL members.

The Ponsford stand idea is failing, simple, we need to compact as many of our members as we can in decent seats, and the Olympic Stand would be a way better option.

When I selected my seating I had the option of level N in the Olympic stand but the guy advised my against this as it will get a lot wetter than the Southern Stand level N. Drip line is row H in the Olympic and Row B in the Southern.

 

[BoxMatrix]

Have you ever seen a Hawthorn match at the G? Their sold out reserved seat section in the Olympic stand is always the least filled section in the stadium and is never even 50% full, even for games against Geelong and us.

I went to the last game we played against the hawks (round 14) and I could not reserve seats anywhere on the bottom level. It was either reserved for collingwood away members or reserved for hawthorn members. Weird...

I did manage to score a friends hawthorn membership and sat in M15. The bay was about a third full. The collingwood end was not much better.

So the club is telling me that more than half their reserved seat members did not turn up to a blockbuster match? Something fishy going on here.

 

[3kicks3goals]

I've often wondered about this. It isn't only a Collingwood problem - I work as an attendant at the G, empty seats in members areas seem to happen for a lot of other clubs.

 

[Trickster]

Until they get savvy and allow reserved seats to be on sold through the club similar to NFL this will continue to be a bug bear for lots of people.

I'm an AFL member and in the past we'd have access to Level 2 seats, now you've got very little chance of getting any seats there to most games so generally end up in nose bleed section.

 

[BoxMatrix]

One thing i must add also. I know someone who works at the Telstra Dome, and Essendon have this system where you basically RSVP to a game and if you cannot make it your seat goes up for sale to another member and that price is discounted off your membership. Terrific system.

 

[DaicosianMarvels]

I love the Ponsford stand as I don't have to be near any opposition fans. Don't think I can control myself if I had to sit or stand next to opposition fans and would probably find myself going less to the football.

I love being around Collingwood fans, doesn't have to be the Ponsford stand, it can be anywhere around the ground as long as there aren't any opposition fans near me haha.