Members save cash as Pies, Hawks opt against making blockbuster games fully ticketed

Collingwood members who have not booked a reserved ticket for Saturday’s blockbuster against Carlton can simply show up and walk in if they do not care for where they sit, as a result of a major shift in the club’s ticketing policy this year.

The Magpies, the competition’s largest drawing club again this year (average 60,773 home and away), have not had a single “fully ticketed” home game this season, including the massive King’s Birthday Big Freeze game against Melbourne and Scott Pendlebury’s games record game that drew more than 90,000 against West Coast.

Collingwood decided to shelf the practice of fully ticketing major games before this season, in a recognition that members could avoid booking fees and seat charges and that the previous ticketing method of compulsory booking of seats for select bigger games could deter fans from attending.

The Magpies did not fully ticket Friday night’s game against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, which drew more than 48,000, and will continue that policy of allowing members without reserved seats “to walk up” to the game for Saturday’s clash with the revived Blues, which is expected to draw more than 80,000.

The Magpies say that their change in ticketing policy would save those members (who do not buy reserved seats) between $8 and $52 for every game that is no longer fully ticketed; if they previously had designated three games as fully ticketed per season, the member would save between $24 and $156.

Collingwood’s shift against fully ticketing games has been part of an AFL trend, with Hawthorn, too, having not had a single fully ticketed game this year – including the Easter Monday game against Geelong that attracted an excellent turnout of 84,712.

Carlton, who have had the second-highest drawing average attendances this year, have fully ticketed only two games – the annual round one clash against Richmond (74,313) and their round six home game against Collingwood, which drew 78,058 on a Thursday night. That game is destined to be remembered as one in which midfielder Elijah Hollands suffered a mental health episode. The Blues have not fully ticketed any games at Marvel Stadium.

Richmond, like Essendon mired in the bottom two and feeling the impact of their struggles at the turnstiles, had reversed their decision to fully ticket the Dreamtime game against the Bombers – a game that drew an impressive crowd of 78,815, an attendance that might have been assisted by fans not facing a compulsory reserved seat/booking fee.

Essendon had two home games fully ticketed – Anzac Day, which is almost invariably the highest drawing home and away game each season (92,231), and their round one clash with Hawthorn, when “only” 71,384 turned out for a game that was expected to surpass 80,000.

Despite Essendon and Richmond’s struggles, the MCG has attracted slightly higher attendances this year so far (59,207) compared to last year (58,187) excluding finals. Of the MCG tenants, Melbourne has improved its performances dramatically and seen a rise in crowds.

Many members buy a package of reserved seats over the season.

Collingwood chief executive Craig Kelly said Anzac Day, which the Magpies have shared with the Bombers since 1995, was the exception to their new policy of no longer fully ticketing games this year.

Kelly said that Collingwood’s executive team had examined the show rates for members at past games that had been fully ticketed and concluded that members would be better served by not fully ticketing games as in the past, “other than Anzac Day.”

The Collingwood CEO said members had “the opportunity to upgrade” by buying a reserved seat beforehand if they wished, and he encouraged fans to attend the Carlton game.

“But if they (members) want to turn up … then they should be (able to).”

But Kelly said the AFL industry was not up to global standards on ticketing, as the Magpies had tried to introduce a system of having members resell tickets when they were away or unable to attend.

“Our industry processes and system are not up to world standards, and we need to continue to invest in our stadiums and our structures,” he said.

Kelly cited the example of four members with seats who were heading away or out of town, who should find it easy to on-sell those tickets via a technological system, gaining some return for them and the club. “We’re trying to do it. It’s always manual, and it’s labor-intensive and it’s hard.”

The Magpies seek to give fans $25 discount on the next year’s membership for on-sold tickets.

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