By Roy Ward
From Saturday onwards, supporters began finding out if they had won the [ticket] lottery for Saturday’s AFL grand final.
The MCG has a capacity of 100,024 for AFL matches but none of those grand final tickets go on sale to the general public, so those desperate to go either need some form of club or league affiliation or a hook-up via the league, sponsors or broadcasters who receive tickets for the game.
A view of the MCG’s Shane Warne Stand on AFL grand final day 2023.Credit: Eddie Jim
Sydney Swans members were due to find out on Saturday if they were one of the lucky few who would get a slice of the 17,500 tickets allotted to the club for making the grand final.
Brisbane Lions fans, still no doubt on cloud nine after their club’s stunning preliminary final win on Saturday, had their ballots drawn on Sunday, they are due to find out on Monday if they have tickets or not.
Then AFL gold members who have club support options for Sydney and Brisbane were able to buy tickets on Sunday, any leftovers will be offered to AFL gold members on Monday and, in the unlikely event some remain after that, AFL silver members with club support for Lions or Swans, then other silver members might get a chance at tickets on Tuesday, but there are rarely tickets left for those groups.
For those wondering, the Lions reported a membership of 63,268 this season while the Swans reported 72,746 members.
A modest percentage would have premium memberships with guaranteed grand final tickets but most wouldn’t and there were already Swans fans expressing their sadness at missing a ticket on Sunday.
Expect to see similar jubilation or sadness from Lions fans on Monday.
How grand final tickets are broken down?
The MCG’s capacity for AFL is 100,024 and none of those tickets go on sale to the general public when it comes to grand final time.
Instead, the AFL allocates tickets to various stakeholders.
The largest amount goes to members of the competing teams, the AFL, the Melbourne Cricket Club and other club members who pay for the right to buy guaranteed tickets.
This year, the AFL transferred around 1000 tickets from its corporate allotment to the competing clubs.
Each competing club gets 17,500 tickets each for their members, in the rare instance one club doesn’t use its 17,500, then any remaining tickets are offered to the other club but with club memberships growing rapidly, it’s rare this happens.
All told, those different membership bodies take around 75,000 tickets or so.
The remaining 25,000 or so tickets are shared between AFL clubs, sponsors and broadcast partners with the smallest percentage offered for premium corporate packages.
How those groups use their tickets is up to them but any ticket giveaway promotions have to be approved by the AFL, just to make sure no person or group are misusing them.
MCC members
As the game is at the MCG, Melbourne Cricket Club also receives an allotment of tickets for the MCC members stand.
But not all MCC members receive grand final tickets, only those from certain categories get that privilege of filling the 14,500 or so grand final tickets. Unsurprisingly, there are no visitor passes either.
Full members or annual guest cardholders who have renewed their membership for the coming year and have an up-to-date photo on their membership card are eligible for the secret ballot which was conducted earlier in September.
Those members guaranteed tickets, still had to join the ballot to receive their seat and, on the big day, members have been told they need up-to-date membership cards and renewal details, along with their tickets to be allowed entry to the game.
The key dates this week
There are plenty of big events leading into the grand final.
The 2024 AFL Footy Festival which is set up outside the MCG will be officially opened on Wednesday morning and remain open through to Saturday at 10pm AEST, including the Melbourne grand final public holiday on Friday.
The 2024 AFL grand final parade route.Credit: AFL
The grand final parade returns on Friday at 10.30am AEST with all the players and participants being driven on a parade route starting at Melbourne Park Oval and progressing through Melbourne Park precinct to Birrarung Marr, over the walk bridge and into the MCG Yarra Park precinct, finishing at the AFL’s Footy Festival.
The Swans will have a live site at the SCG on grand final day, with fans advised to check the club website and channels for information. The Lions were still finalising their plans on Sunday but will announce them soon.
The first bounce for the AFL grand final is set for 2.30pm AEST on Saturday.
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