I don't like it...

 

32 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

Oh please, turn up in a reasonable time, and at the end the foot traffic was moving smoothly out up the footbridge towards Southern Coss and Bourke St, nitpicking to the extrem

Etihad is a poorly organised, poorly laid out stadium which does not make it easy for the punters. The footbridge is a bottleneck designed by an artistic architectural practice (Woods Marsh) with no previous experience in large pedestrian movement. I turned up at a reasonable time and left after the game with everyone else. It was very slow for such a low crowd number. Never experienced that problem at the G, the SCG, Gabba, etc. Not nitpicking, simply stating the obvious. If you like the stadium and like us playing there, good for you chap.

After all the hype  "come to watch us at Etihad"  by the club, then they put on a shithouse performance like that again!

It will take a lot more trust building to get a decent crowd there again, IMO.

1 hour ago, Gorgoroth said:

It's simple.  If you're a top club getting big crowds you don't play there.  We aren't, we don't.  We play there. 

Nope, not true. Collingwood has two home games at Etihad this year, and has done for awhile.

IMO the problem is twofold: the AFL has a contractual requirement to have a certain number of games at Etihad this year and two of its tenants, Carlton and Essendon, get to host too many of their home games at the G.

Why is Essendon hosting Geelong at the MCG? Why does Carlton have home games against interstate sides at the MCG? These are the clubs who signed up to Etihad at the start, they should be the ones wearing the minimum games requirement, not MCG clubs like Melbourne (and Richmond, and Collingwood).

1 hour ago, Satyriconhome said:

I just get a bit bored with the general whingeing about Etihad, it is in the city precinct right next to a major transport hub, I got out of the ground and up to the top of Latrobe St in less than 15 minutes yesterday

The location is fine.

The design is appalling. The service is poor. The facilities are worse than the G's. The seating arrangements are complicated. Ticketing is difficult. 

i doubt i will ever set foot in that arena again

 

There was absolute no upside being there yesterday. Well, other than sitting with some nice people. I met the sports writer Martin Flanagan. What a nice bloke!!

Ground - hate it. Performance by the team - appalling.

I got in early to watch the trac warmup - sat in 36 with premium dees members . I noticed a lot of people trying to find a seat on the first bounce and after , good to see a half decent dees turnout though 

2 minutes ago, CityDee said:

I got in early to watch the trac warmup - sat in 36 with premium dees members . I noticed a lot of people trying to find a seat on the first bounce and after , good to see a half decent dees turnout though 

There were ticketing issues and a lot of people didn't get in until halfway during the first quarter. Classic Etihad.

 

53 minutes ago, stuie said:

There were ticketing issues and a lot of people didn't get in until halfway during the first quarter. Classic Etihad.

To be fair, the G has had ticketing issues a few times this year now (including last week vs Richmond).

Apparently those issues lie with Ticketmaster/Ticketek (are there any two more useless, over-priced, low-performing, profiteering companies going around at the moment)?

12 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

To be fair, the G has had ticketing issues a few times this year now (including last week vs Richmond).

Apparently those issues lie with Ticketmaster/Ticketek (are there any two more useless, over-priced, low-performing, profiteering companies going around at the moment)?

In answer to your question I see your ticketek and raise you an AGL ,a Myki and an ASIC.

Yeah, I'm done with Etihad. Usual shemozzle for getting one extra general admin ticket - my heroic girlfriend sent me in ahead so I could see the start, but that still sucks. Atmosphere still dull. Lighting and angle from the top deck makes it feel about as natural and involved as watching on TV. Didn't eat (despite not having anything before the game that day) after seeing the absurd prices - yeah, I could afford a few extra dllars, whatever, but no, I'm not going along with being insulted and fleeced like that.

Good luck to the Demons at any future games there, but I'm not wasting an admission on that awful place again.

It is not our home ground. 

1 hour ago, titan_uranus said:

To be fair, the G has had ticketing issues a few times this year now (including last week vs Richmond).

Apparently those issues lie with Ticketmaster/Ticketek (are there any two more useless, over-priced, low-performing, profiteering companies going around at the moment)?

Cheap shot

Worked in the inustry, both are agencies , in this case for AFL who set the price, both only charge handling fee coz they are not charities, also card processing fees lay with the banks

You can buy tickets weeks before on the phone, internet or at outlets, forward planning is a lost art amongst the general populace

Turning up less than half an hour before a game, and expecting no queues for purchasing tickets is naive

Clubs and AFL supply listings of barcodes and comp tickets, always fluid and prone to error, hence system issues

Like to share your industry, like real estate, building, car mechanic, insurance, health fund

 

Ticketmaster and co are renowned for being inept and parasitical Saty.

The fact that you worked there hardly disproves this.

I wonder why they don't have a cash only window.

These days of online bookings,computer generated bookings and credit card payments slow it down for the real people with real money.

2 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

Cheap shot

Worked in the inustry, both are agencies , in this case for AFL who set the price, both only charge handling fee coz they are not charities, also card processing fees lay with the banks

You can buy tickets weeks before on the phone, internet or at outlets, forward planning is a lost art amongst the general populace

Turning up less than half an hour before a game, and expecting no queues for purchasing tickets is naive

Clubs and AFL supply listings of barcodes and comp tickets, always fluid and prone to error, hence system issues

Like to share your industry, like real estate, building, car mechanic, insurance, health fund

 

Stop making [censored] up. Many queues were well over half an hour to get in with membership cards and/or pre purchased tickets. There's no excuse for poorly staffed gates and ticket booths. Some gates only had half the entry points open. Card processing fees are now less than 1%, yet ticketing companies charge far more. Took me and those around me about 30 mins to get out over footbridge to Spencer St after game. Crap venue, crap service.

Just now, Moonshadow said:

Stop making [censored] up. Many queues were well over half an hour to get in with membership cards and/or pre purchased tickets. There's no excuse for poorly staffed gates and ticket booths. Some gates only had half the entry points open. Card processing fees are now less than 1%, yet ticketing companies charge far more. Took me and those around me about 30 mins to get out over footbridge to Spencer St after game. Crap venue, crap service.

I assume you were hopping or walking backwards, talk about bulldust

1.95% is card fees if they are there at all, as I said the banks doing, your industry?

As for pre game I was on the footbridge at Etihad at 1.30pm (I had a commitment) and was sat in a seat on Level 3 at 1.42pm ready for the first bounce (I can give you witnesses if you like precious)

5 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

The reason people miss the start is that they turn up at 1.40pm for a 1.45pm start without tickets and expect to get a ticket straight away and be in their seat within 5 minutes. Just out of interest by the way Geelong have a 'home' game at Etihad this year

I've made it into that stadium on time once.  Each and every time I have arrived a minimum of 30 minutes before the bounce.  For round one 2014 myself and two friends arrived 45 minutes before the bounce ... and got in 5 minutes into the second quarter.  

1 minute ago, Trisul said:

I've made it into that stadium on time once.  Each and every time I have arrived a minimum of 30 minutes before the bounce.  For round one 2014 myself and two friends arrived 45 minutes before the bounce ... and got in 5 minutes into the second quarter.  

I was just going to say the same thing. Happened to the group I was with as well at that game.

7 minutes ago, Trisul said:

I've made it into that stadium on time once.  Each and every time I have arrived a minimum of 30 minutes before the bounce.  For round one 2014 myself and two friends arrived 45 minutes before the bounce ... and got in 5 minutes into the second quarter.  

 

3 minutes ago, Maple Demon said:

I was just going to say the same thing. Happened to the group I was with as well at that game.

Either get a membership or buy your tickets before the game, I have never had an issue of being late into Etihad and as I stated before I have never missed the first bounce and I have never missed a game at Etihad and the last rew I have usually had a commitment that kept me from getting in until 15 minutes before the game

24 minutes ago, Biffen said:

Ticketmaster and co are renowned for being inept and parasitical Saty.

The fact that you worked there hardly disproves this.

I wonder why they don't have a cash only window.

These days of online bookings,computer generated bookings and credit card payments slow it down for the real people with real money.

And/or a line or two just for members of clubs to upgrade to a reserved seat, especially if their normal membership is a reserved seat.

1 minute ago, Satyriconhome said:

 

Either get a membership or buy your tickets before the game,

4 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

 

Either get a membership or buy your tickets before the game, I have never had an issue of being late into Etihad and as I stated before I have never missed the first bounce and I have never missed a game at Etihad and the last rew I have usually had a commitment that kept me from getting in until 15 minutes before the game

i can't remember the last rew i had. not being sober didn't help

5 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

i can't remember the last rew i had. not being sober didn't help

tYPING too fsst for my gingers Dizzy

3 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

 

Either get a membership or buy your tickets before the game, I have never had an issue of being late into Etihad and as I stated before I have never missed the first bounce and I have never missed a game at Etihad and the last rew I have usually had a commitment that kept me from getting in until 15 minutes before the game

Saty, I do have a membership and have since I first set foot in this country in 2005. I don't appreciate the insuation that I am a fat, unorganised, lazy and cheap individual because I have routinely had bad experiences with ticketing and/or leaving the venue after a game.

Not once have I called you a liar and said that your experiences are false. You may not have had poor experiences with Etihad/Telstra Dome, but a number of people clearly have. Can't you accept that without saying it is all their fault? Clearly if that many people have routinely had unpleasant experiences, there is some room for improvement.

Surely you guys should know better - if it's never happened to Saty then it can't possibly happen to anyone else.  Don't try and make valid points as it's like water off a ducks back.

49 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

Cheap shot

Worked in the inustry, both are agencies , in this case for AFL who set the price, both only charge handling fee coz they are not charities, also card processing fees lay with the banks

You can buy tickets weeks before on the phone, internet or at outlets, forward planning is a lost art amongst the general populace

Turning up less than half an hour before a game, and expecting no queues for purchasing tickets is naive

Clubs and AFL supply listings of barcodes and comp tickets, always fluid and prone to error, hence system issues

Like to share your industry, like real estate, building, car mechanic, insurance, health fund

 

I have no problem with buying tickets in advance but sadly not everyone is able to know in advance if they're able to attend.

Charging people a fee to print their own tickets out at home (I don't know if this applies to AFL tickets but it certainly applies to other events on Ticketmaster/Ticketek) is a classic example of why I don't like these companies.

Their customer service is poor, their websites crash, and this year their systems at the MCG (and now, apparently, Etihad too) have crashed and failed, causing people to be stuck outside missing the game (e.g. Rich v Carl Round 1, the opening game of the year, some people who had pre-purchased tickets couldn't get in because the turnstiles were down). If they're "prone to error" then that makes my point.

As for my industry, as if that's relevant, I'm a lawyer. Feel free to take a pot shot. Doesn't mean the two ticketing agencies aren't crap.