GRAND FINAL TICKETING AND ACCESS
AFLMA POSITION
For the 2001 season the
AFL introduced a system for providing priority access for Full Club Support
Members whose team is competing in the Grand Final.
This system replaced a
system where all Full AFL Members were treated equally. The reasons why the
AFLMA believes all AFL Members should be treated equally are:
1) The new system is
based on the presumption that there will be a Member's lock out
If the system is
designed so that every AFL Member who wants a seat at the Grand Final is able
to get one, it stands to reason that no Club Support members of the two
competing clubs would miss out.
2) The new system is
unfair to those who take out the Competition Package
About 19% of the Full
Membership selects to take out the Competition Package. Those members will
always be denied the guaranteed access to seats that comes with the Club
Support priority. A high percentage of Country Members fall into this category.
In order for them to take out a Club Support package they must pay an extra
$95.
3) AFL membership is NOT
a club membership
While AFL Membership
allows the member the ability to support their own club, it is more than a club
membership. An AFL Member can attend any Home & Away game played in
Every AFL Full member
should have the choice whether or not to attend the Grand Final without
preference to the club they support, in the same way that they have that choice
for every other game at the MCG. The member, not the AFL, should make the
choice as to what games they can attend. That is why AFL Members pay their
membership fees.
4) All AFL Members
should be treated equally
All Full AFL Members pay
the same amount for membership, and receive the same entry benefits no matter
what sub-category they elect. Therefore, all Full Members should have an equal
chance of receiving a grand final ticket seat.
5) The new system is
unfair to those families who are divided in their club loyalties
We all know families
that are divided in their club loyalties. In fact, for such families the AFL
Membership is ideal, as it offers them greater flexibility than taking out club
memberships of the teams supported.
The Grand Final
ticketing arrangement discriminates against families that don't support a
single team. If one of the teams supported makes the Grand Final those family
members have to make a choice. Do they take up the priority offer, or do they
elect to sit with their family and run the risk of missing out on tickets
altogether. If they choose to take up the offer of preferential seating on the
first round and the rest of the family goes for tickets in the second round, it
will result in the family spending twice the amount of time queuing for tickets
than it would have in the past.
The AFLMA is aware of
Essendon supporting AFL Members who passed on their priority access to the 2001
Grand Final, so that they could sit with family members who support other
teams. In some cases those Essendon fans were then unable to secure seat
tickets. The new arrangement did not help those Essendon fans at all, and the
AFLMA believes they should not have been placed in the position of having to
choose between a guaranteed seat and wanting to sit with their partner,
children and parents.
6) The new system
encourages people to 'Pick A Winner'
As each sub-category of
Full AFL Membership now differs only in the degree of Grand Final access it is
possible that many people will select the sub-category that increases their
chance to attend the Grand Final. Competition Package Members, families where
allegiances are divided, and supporters of lower ranked clubs may select the
Club Support package of the team they believe will most likely play-off in the
Grand Final.
As the selection of Club
Support affects the flow of funds to the clubs, the arrangement favours the top
ranked clubs and discriminates against the lower ranked clubs.
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The AFLMA notes that the
AFL only introduced the ticketing arrangement in response to the AFL Members
‘Lock-out’ at the 2000 Grand Final. The AFLMA encourages the AFL to arrange for
a 75% ratio of Full Members to Grand Final. Such a ratio would avoid the need
for a system that discriminates against families and Competition Support
Members.