[Albion] Newcastle's slow ticket sales / new penalties for handing on tickets

[Bozza]

An interesting read on Newcastle following Albion's lead on away ticket passing-on, and how it's dramatically slowed up away ticket sales for their opening away games of the season.

Newcastle's second away game of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign dropped to 10 loyalty points earlier today with a combination of internal and external factors slowing ticket sales significantly.​

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At the time of writing, there are still around 1,200 tickets available at the Amex Stadium, meaning there's a good chance the game could fall all the way to zero points.​

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The primary driver in the sluggish sales is the club's new draconian guidelines on away ticketing, which have introduced severe penalties for supporters who pass their tickets on to friends and family "unofficially".​

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This has caused quite the debate on social media since it became public knowledge, with the club, the Newcastle United Supporters' Trust (NUST), the Newcastle United Supporters' Club (NUSC), and individual fan accounts bearing the brunt of people's frustration.​

Full article: https://nufc.news/brighton-a-drops-to-10-loyalty-points

Kick-off time and the rail strike are clearly contributing factors, but the piece in the article about their Man City game illustrates that they had a lot of passing on of ticket going on previously.

 

[Bozza]

Newcastle's communication on it...

Ticket and ID spot checks to take place at Etihad Stadium

Supporters travelling to Newcastle United's Premier League fixture at Manchester City are being urged to ensure the name on their match ticket corresponds with their identity

www.nufc.co.uk

Fan reaction piece:

Identity Crisis ' tickets, checks and no balances - True Faith

NUFC Fanzine TRUE FAITH reacts to Newcastle United's contentious plans for ID checks with away tickets at man City. Michael Martin for TF

true-faith.co.uk

 

[Uter]

Fan reaction piece:

Identity Crisis ' tickets, checks and no balances - True Faith

NUFC Fanzine TRUE FAITH reacts to Newcastle United's contentious plans for ID checks with away tickets at man City. Michael Martin for TF

true-faith.co.uk

I suppose we should be surprised they view things as black or white.

 

[Mr Bridger]

Newcastle's communication on it...

Ticket and ID spot checks to take place at Etihad Stadium

Supporters travelling to Newcastle United's Premier League fixture at Manchester City are being urged to ensure the name on their match ticket corresponds with their identity

www.nufc.co.uk

Fan reaction piece:

Identity Crisis ' tickets, checks and no balances - True Faith

NUFC Fanzine TRUE FAITH reacts to Newcastle United's contentious plans for ID checks with away tickets at man City. Michael Martin for TF

true-faith.co.uk

“We all know the majority of football grounds fill up about 20 minutes before KO.“
Not all mate, we know you lot like quaffing as much Newkie Brown as possible so you can just about slosh through the turnstiles.

“Imagine getting to a turnstile and being prevented from entering despite holding a ticket you have paid good money for and then having to go to a ticket office at the other side of the stadium, perhaps wearing club colours as home fans make their way to their seats?”
Perhaps! You all wear shirts, and never are you shy in coming forward in letting people know who you support!


“ Likely missing a good chunk of the game? “
Get there earlier then!

“it does not make any sense.“
It does, think about it.

“Imagine if your mobility is limited or you have a health concern?”
Stop shoving copious amounts of Newkie Brown down your throat then.

“Imagine if you are a woman on your own?”
I give up, your just clutching at straws.

 

[jonny.rainbow]

“Imagine if you are a woman on your own?”
I give up, you’re just clutching at straws.

Not really. They are just embracing the ideology of their Saudi owners.

 

[BBassic]

Outraged at this and not at their owners.

Classic.

 

[Is it PotG?]

“Imagine getting to a turnstile and being prevented from entering despite holding a ticket you have paid good money for and then having to go to a ticket office at the other side of the stadium, perhaps wearing club colours as home fans make their way to their seats?”

Jumping up and down wobbling your belly with no shirt on should do it.

 

[Bozza]

Outraged at this and not at their owners.

Classic.

I particularly liked this bit...

"Ticket touting is wrong. I loathe it and will support measures to stop it. But random ID checks conducted in the draconian style of totalitarian states is way over the top. It is a sledge hammer to crack a nut."

 

[Weststander]

Interesting. It’s flushed out cheats who illegally hog away tickets amongst family/mates.

 

[portlock seagull]

Welcome to what George Orwell predicted!

All presented as “fair” and in the interest of true fans everyone blah blah blah. But it’s more about control and making money. Same with traffic enforcement and a thousand other things technology has been introduced to “improve”

Another decade or two and no one will protest because they know no different.

First they came for…etc etc

 

[Is it PotG?]

Welcome to what George Orwell predicted!

All presented as “fair” and in the interest of true fans everyone blah blah blah. But it’s more about control and making money. Same with traffic enforcement and a thousand other things technology has been introduced to “improve”

Another decade or two and no one will protest because they know no different.

First they came for…etc etc

You don't HAVE to go.

 

[portlock seagull]

Interesting. It’s flushed out cheats who illegally hog away tickets amongst family/mates.

Networking by dear boy. Networking…

 

[portlock seagull]

You don't HAVE to go.

But I do I do! And I blame the Albion. I got bitten over forty years ago and despite desperately trying to kick, it’s in the blood. Like malaria. Nothing I can do about.

 

[portlock seagull]

Not really. They are just embracing the ideology of their Saudi owners.

Ouch! Classic harsh…but fair!

 

[Weststander]

Networking by dear boy. Networking…

With their secret song.

 

[dstanman]

And the punishment they get:-


LOSS OF LOYALTY POINTS
Should the identification not correspond with the ticket, the person the original ticket purchase is linked to will have their loyalty points deducted in full.
A repeated breach may lead to the original purchaser's season ticket being cancelled.

 

[Uter]

Welcome to what George Orwell predicted!

All presented as “fair” and in the interest of true fans everyone blah blah blah. But it’s more about control and making money. Same with traffic enforcement and a thousand other things technology has been introduced to “improve”

Another decade or two and no one will protest because they know no different.

First they came for…etc etc

How is this about making money?

 

[amexer]

Sounds like Newcastle are making sure tickets going to right people.
On a general note I think some of these big established clubs not finding it easy to go down to things we have put in place. Liverpool families etc have owned STs for years that they have always passed round. Outrage when Club tried to do something about this. Again outrage at West Ham when tried to go fully digital because many supporters own more then one ST and share them about. Dont know what situation is this season but last one the club backed down.

 

[portlock seagull]

How is this about making money?

You’re intelligent. Sure you can work out.

 

[Uter]

You’re intelligent. Sure you can work out.

It seems the opposite to me: a whole lot of extra admin / expense for Newcastle Utd that they are choosing to undertake. Plus (as I understand it) if they are left with unsold tickets they still have to reimburse the home club for all the tickets they were allocated. So if these measures reduce demand, they are exposing themselves to financial risk. To suggest this is about money making has stumped me, I'm afraid.