Angry fans plead with McLachlan to scrap variable pricing

The AFL's new policy of variable pricing has brought a wave of anger from fans. A new chief might bring changes.

By BARBARA LEGASPI

Fans want a fair go and are demanding changes to variable ticket pricing, the rising cost of food and the “very unfriendly game times”.

The last minute reclassification of the recent Collingwood-Carlton and Essendon-Richmond matches sparked outrage among fans.

The AFL has said that once a match has been classified, the classification “will remain regardless of the change in demand for the match during the season”.

But both of those matches were downgraded from A Reserve to A. The changed classification meant club members were no longer required to pay extra to reserve a seat, though many had already paid.

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Graphic by Warren Clark

The AFL also failed to notify members.

“This whole system is confusing,” Essendon supporter Stephanie Biront said.

“It seems like the AFL changed the classification after they realised that the match would not attract as many fans as predicted,” she said.

“It’s not fair that we would have to pay extra on top of our membership.”

Fans view this as “double dipping”.

The AFL Fans Association (AFLFA) is standing up for the largest stakeholders in the game, the fans.

AFLFA President Brian Clarke said the game had been “corporatised”.

“There’s been a lot of things wrong with the AFL, in particular, the culture. They have very much put their heads down and stuck to their guns and said ‘that’s how it is,” he said.

“We are particularly concerned about the low income families who love going to the footy but are just priced out of it.”

In an interview on Fox Sports program AFL 360, the AFL’s incoming chief executive, Gillon McLachlan, said he would review the variable ticketing system.

“Taking away those A Reserve seats outside Anzac Day, allowing general admission members into every game without having to reserve a seat would be a simple thing we could do,” McLachlan said on the show.

This is progress, but Mr Clark said the new CEO needed to listen to fans.

“It’s a footy tax. It is a blatant cash grab. It needs to go,” he said.

“If Gillon was to scrap [variable ticket pricing] it would be a very, very good idea.”

Pricing not the only issue

But fans are not only concerned about the ticket pricing. The rising costs of food on match days are deterring families from supporting their club, Mr Clarke said.

“People say you can always bring your own food to the football but when you take kids to the footy, they don’t want to eat celery sticks, they don’t want cous cous, they want a meat pie and chips.

“Variable pricing with the ticketing system can’t be done in isolation, because it’s all about the match day experience,” he said.

Introduced this year, the AFL’s variable ticket pricing classifies games based on the competing teams, timeslot, rivalry, historical sales and attendance and anticipated on-field performance.

Each game is classified as an A Reserve/A Game, B Game or C Game. The AFL says that the “highest price point and lowest price point will remain the same”.

In a bid to fight the AFL, the AFLFA started a petition in Round 5 at the Geelong-Hawthorn blockbuster game, which was the first of four A Reserve games played at the MCG.

The AFLFA petition attracted more than 1200 signatures in its first two days online as well as at the Geelong-Hawthorn match.

The petition now has more than 20,000 signatures.

Mr Clarke said people who were concerned about variable pricing could sign the petition.

For more information about the AFL Fans Association, join free through their website on www.aflfa.org.