The AFL and Colonial Stadium management must rectify the ticketing problems which have plagued the venue this season as a matter of urgency, Essendon Football Club chief executive Peter Jackson said today.
Jackson said members and supporters of Essendon Football and other tenant clubs had every right to be upset by the ticketing problems encountered during the first six weeks of the season.
He said many had become so disillusioned by the process they wouldn’t bother watching football at Colonial Stadium.
“Wayne Jackson has admitted the AFL is very concerned about this issue. But if ticketing isn’t addressed immediately the public will give up on Colonial Stadium – some already have,” Jackson said.
“Our members and supporters are frustrated and I expect that would be the case at other clubs. These ticketing problems must be fixed and it is incumbent on the AFL and stadium management to make certain this happens as soon as possible. We can’t afford to let these problems continue or we will have a fantastic stadium that is continually half full.”
Jackson said Essendon’s game against the Western Bulldogs this Friday night was a prime example of the ticketing problems being faced by Essendon.
“When we agreed to move to Colonial Stadium, we negotiated a deal that gave our members priority access to 10,000 seats before our away games.
"They were told these seats could be accessed two weeks prior to the match until noon on the Tuesday before the game,” Jackson said.
“We now discover these tickets for this weekend’s away game weren’t made available to members until the Tuesday morning. Members have contacted the club extremely annoyed at not being able to access good quality seats. They have every right to be annoyed. It’s simply not good enough and our members shouldn’t have to put up with it.
“And I would suggest the Western Bulldogs are also frustrated by what has happened given the revenue from seat sales goes to them and not Essendon. Some Essendon members have opted not to go to this Friday night’s match out of sheer frustration and as a result the Western Bulldogs will lose revenue.”