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Outgoing AFL boss Gill McLachlan has declared that Thursday\u2019s preliminary final between Collingwood and Melbourne could have sold out twice over, while rejecting criticisms of the finals\u2019 ticketing system.<\/p>\n
But the AFL Fans\u2019 Association says the league\u2019s ticketing arrangements are a \u201cpot luck\u201d system that needs improvement. It says some loyal fans missed out on seats for the match, despite logging on early, and were left devastated.<\/p>\n
Collingwood and Melbourne will play in front of their biggest crowd since 1964 on Thursday, after reserved MCC member, AFL member and general public tickets sold out in a matter of hours.<\/p>\n
The Pies recorded their largest membership base this season, announcing a tally of more than 100,000. The Demons have about 70,000 members.<\/p>\n
Asked on Monday whether the current ticketing system was fit for purpose, McLachlan was adamant it was, emphasising the high demand had inevitably led to some fans being disappointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur brutal reality of our game is that we have so many members, so many supporters \u2013 and we have a huge venue. We could have sold 200,000 tickets to Thursday night. The game sold out in hours. Between Collingwood and Melbourne I think they\u2019ve got 175,000 members, and there\u2019s [only] a certain amount of seats [available].\u201d<\/p>\n
MCC tickets for the Thursday night game went on sale via Ticketek at 9am last Tuesday, but by 9.27am the Melbourne Cricket Club tweeted to inform members that visitor tickets had sold out.<\/p>\n
Tickets for club members went on sale at 10am, and at noon reserved tickets became available for AFL members. By 12.42pm, the AFL announced there\u2019d be no further tickets for AFL members and no opportunity for them to gain entry on the day without a pre-purchased ticket.<\/p>\n
Allocated tickets for the general public were also quickly snapped up later on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe demand for many, many games outstrips supply,\u201d McLachlan said at the AFL\u2019s official finals launch.<\/p>\n
AFL Fan Association president Ron Issko described the system as \u201ca bit of pot luck\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ticket agency system needs improvement because some fans get the tickets they want quickly without any fuss, but a lot of fans don\u2019t get the tickets they want, get on early [but] get worse seats than the people that get on later [who] end up getting better seats,\u201d Issko said.<\/p>\n
Issko said while the system wasn\u2019t terrible, the association heard varied experiences from fans \u2013 devastated members who missed out on seats despite joining online queues early, and very happy fans who secured them without hassle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a dog breakfast \u2013 that\u2019s unfair. I would say that it needs improvement, so the fan experience is good all the time,\u201d Issko said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Pies and Demons will face off at Thursday\u2019s sold-out preliminary final match. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cThe view tends to be the same; if you get on quickly, areas tend to fully exhaust \u2026 The earlier you get on, the worse seats you get.<\/p>\n \u201cFans that get on early somehow get good seats, other fans that get on early get bad seats, and then there are fans that get on later getting great seats.\u201d<\/p>\n Similar concerns were reported by fans purchasing tickets for this year\u2019s FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup, who complained that the lack of transparency about how seats were allocated meant many who rushed to get presale seats were stuck with obstructed views, away from the action.<\/p>\n The other long-running concern Issko outlined was the allocation of corporate seats for the grand final.<\/p>\n Asked what proportion of seats are allocated to corporates during finals, McLachlan said:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the opening games, very little. … [However] the grand final is slightly different \u2013 but for the finals in the first eight games, it\u2019s all to members and GA [general admission] supporters. They all go on sale to members, and that\u2019s the reality of it. It\u2019s just demand outstrips supply.\u201d<\/p>\n Each of the two competing clubs are allocated 17,000 seats for the grand final for their members \u2013 a combined 34,000 seats of the 100,000 available at the MCG.<\/p>\n Issko argued the clubs should receive a half the tickets, rather than the current one-third. The association has previously lobbied the AFL to increase allocation to the teams.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year for the last 25 years, fans miss out on tickets. Fans miss out to the corporates and to the sponsors,\u201d Issko said.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n
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