Member Update from Craig Kelly

Dear Members,

I wanted to address the ticketing situation regarding the Grand Final ballot which took place yesterday.

As a competing Club, we receive 17,000 tickets which is far from enough for our most loyal Members.

We believe Members who contribute their hard earned should be rewarded with a fair opportunity to witness our team on the biggest stage.

We have been working through the situation overnight and have some updates for you.

Every single Priority One (P1) Member who registered for the Grand Final ballot will receive a ticket to the 2023 AFL Grand Final.

There were 37 P1 Members who did not select the Standing Room option and, as such, missed out on tickets through the automated ballot – we will sort each of those 37 Members directly to ensure they have a seat.

Anyone who is a P1 Member and were given a Standing Room ticket – that will be changed from Standing Room to an Allocated Seat.

I want to be clear, Priority Two (P2) and Priority Three (P3) Members were not allocated tickets prior to P1, however, accessible requirement Members were fulfilled yesterday.

We call on Ticketek to improve their system so that the moment funds are taken out of bank accounts, tickets are released to Members immediately.

We have been informed that 700 Members whose credit cards either failed or had insufficient funds are not at risk of losing their allocation. They will be contacted by Ticketek and the Club this morning.

We know Grand Finals are a case of high demand and limited availability which is why we call on the AFL to increase competing Club allocations from 17,000 to at least 20,000 tickets.

We want to assure all Members that we are actively engaging with the AFL, MCC, Ticketek, and other stakeholders to push for changes and improve this system and access for our most dedicated Members.

For other Members and supporters who unfortunately won’t be able to enter the MCG on Grand Final day, we encourage you to immerse yourself in the activity that will be happening around the Club.

We will have two live sites in our precinct on Grand Final Day; the Make it Legendary Grand Final Live Site at the AIA Vitality Centre and another free Collingwood live site across the road at Grand Slam Oval.

We have had to ticket the Live Site at our Club due to liquor licensing laws – this will be $4 for Members (plus Ticketek’s processing fee) and $20 for non-Members.

This week is all about our Collingwood community and our connection with our Members and supporters and we look forward to embracing the week together.

From here, we will keep you informed every step of the way, ensuring that you have the most accurate and up-to-date information.

We thank all Members for their commitment to our Club and we remain committed to delivering for our most loyal supporters.

Craig Kelly

Chief Executive Officer

Collingwood Football Club