Visitors from Russia seeking advice on Melbourne vs St Kilda tickets at MCG

[akoo 18]

Hello,

In August we are going down under to discover Australia. We are staying in Melbourne for 5 nights. As we are crazy about all kinds of sports, one of the must-to-do things is visiting the iconic MCG. There is a game between Melbourne and St Kilda on August 13. We watched several AFL games on TV, know a bit of rules, and really look forward to this experience.

I am quite confused on how the ticketing works for AFL matches. Ticketek is now selling seats in public reserve for this particular game, but I cannot choose a specific section or specific seats. It seems that they open only one section in each price category at once and go to another section only after the other one is full.

My understanding is that this is not one of the biggest AFL games, so there should be no problems getting the tickets, taking into account the jumbo size of MCG. I also read that for the first time visitors at MCG best seats are in Level 2 Wing.

Please explain if I should buy my tickets right now, wait for some more time and buy better reserved seats or just go with general seating. We don’t want to travel half of the world to end up in Level 4.

Thank you!

[daisycutter 29,614]

2 minutes ago, akoo said:

Hello,

In August we are going down under to discover Australia. We are staying in Melbourne for 5 nights. As we are crazy about all kinds of sports, one of the must-to-do things is visiting the iconic MCG. There is a game between Melbourne and St Kilda on August 13. We watched several AFL games on TV, know a bit of rules, and really look forward to this experience.

I am quite confused on how the ticketing works for AFL matches. Ticketek is now selling seats in public reserve for this particular game, but I cannot choose a specific section or specific seats. It seems that they open only one section in each price category at once and go to another section only after the other one is full.

My understanding is that this is not one of the biggest AFL games, so there should be no problems getting the tickets, taking into account the jumbo size of MCG. I also read that for the first time visitors at MCG best seats are in Level 2 Wing.

Please explain if I should buy my tickets right now, wait for some more time and buy better reserved seats or just go with general seating. We don’t want to travel half of the world to end up in Level 4.

Thank you!

just a thought. why not try contacting the club directly. you never know your luck.

i'd recommend wing 1st level  (2nd level better but most already reserved)

[Deeman 1,497]

Have you guys had anything to do with a Mr. Donald Trump on your travels around the world?

[chook fowler 19,458]

8 minutes ago, akoo said:

Hello,

In August we are going down under to discover Australia. We are staying in Melbourne for 5 nights. As we are crazy about all kinds of sports, one of the must-to-do things is visiting the iconic MCG. There is a game between Melbourne and St Kilda on August 13. We watched several AFL games on TV, know a bit of rules, and really look forward to this experience.

I am quite confused on how the ticketing works for AFL matches. Ticketek is now selling seats in public reserve for this particular game, but I cannot choose a specific section or specific seats. It seems that they open only one section in each price category at once and go to another section only after the other one is full.

My understanding is that this is not one of the biggest AFL games, so there should be no problems getting the tickets, taking into account the jumbo size of MCG. I also read that for the first time visitors at MCG best seats are in Level 2 Wing.

Please explain if I should buy my tickets right now, wait for some more time and buy better reserved seats or just go with general seating. We don’t want to travel half of the world to end up in Level 4.

Thank you!

Do they expect us to be Putin on a show?

[deanox 9,915]

2nd level will get best overview of the ground of you really want to see the sport.

 

Level 1 near the fence you'll see the players hit close up but 150 m away on the other side is tough to interpret even for seasoned supporters. 

 

Packed in the cheer squad behind the goals will get you the best atmosphere.

 

[akoo 18]

daisycutter, thanks! What do you mean by contacting the club directly? Do they sell tickets via some other site and have different options compared to Ticketek?

[akoo 18]

deanox, thanks! i understand there is a compromise between overall game view, being close to players and cheering with fans.

[Mazer Rackham 14,971]

Oh no! You're not going to hack the finals series, are you?

[Mazer Rackham 14,971]

You know, this is probably John Worsfold trying to get some inside information. Don't say anything!!!

[daisycutter 29,614]

10 minutes ago, akoo said:

daisycutter, thanks! What do you mean by contacting the club directly? Do they sell tickets via some other site and have different options compared to Ticketek?

they don't sell directly per se, but they do have access to tickets and reserved seat areas. as i said it's worth a try to send the club an email especially explaining you are overseas visitors etc etc . you are right in that it will probably be no where near a sell out, so plenty of tickets available which increases the chances they can help you.....good luck

btw how many of you are there?

Edited June 18, 2017 by daisycutter

[akoo 18]

Probably I could have used more neutral "Foreign visitors" instead of "Visitors from Russia" in the title :-)

[akoo 18]

Just now, daisycutter said:

they don't sell directly per se, but they do have access to tickets. as i said it's worth a try to send the club an email especially explaining you are overseas visitors etc etc . you are right in that it will probably be no where near a sell out, so plenty of tickets available which increases the chances they can help you.....good luck

btw how many of you are there?

Thanks, I will do as you suggest. There are four of us: my wife, children 16 and 13 years old, and me.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

1 minute ago, akoo said:

Probably I could have used more neutral "Foreign visitors" instead of "Visitors from Russia" in the title :-)

Akoo - I would do what daisycutter has suggested above and contact the club directly.  They may well be able to help you out if you explain your situation and set you up with tickets in a decent spot within the stadium.  No matter where you sit you'll have a great experience, though.  

[Clayton van Oliver 1,823]

Just want to say I think it's awesome that you're going to check out our sport. Hope the Dees have a big win and convert you all to the red (cough) and blue.  

The G is huge, so you'll get in for sure. If you want a good view then get a level up, if you want the best atmosphere, sit with the cheersquad. 

 

[Skuit 10,031]

Akoo - you could buy a small membership package for the true experience and also be able to boast that you support the oldest continuously-running footballing team in the world. . . check melbournefc.com.au

And welcome aboard.

Edited June 18, 2017 by Skuit

[daisycutter 29,614]

3 hours ago, Skuit said:

Akoo - you could buy a small membership package for the true experience and also be able to boast that you support the oldest continuously-running footballing team in the world. . . check melbournefc.com.au

And welcome aboard.

i wonder if you can buy a 4 game club membership and use all 4 entries on the one game? Not sure how you do this with the one membership card but I have heard of other clubs offering this capability. Anyone else heard of this?

that might be a good solution and take the reserved seat option. though you would only have the one reserved seat, where i sit (lvl 1 on wing next to mcc members) there are always plenty of spare seats in that club reserved area.

[danielE288 779]

How many of you are there? I have an upgrade for 2 people from the MFC to reserved seats on level 2, just need to buy a general admission tickets to access the ground. Will possibly sell it.

[daisycutter 29,614]

45 minutes ago, danielE288 said:

How many of you are there? I have an upgrade for 2 people from the MFC to reserved seats on level 2, just need to buy a general admission tickets to access the ground. Will possibly sell it.

Quote

there are four of us: my wife, children 16 and 13 years old, and me.

 

[danielE288 779]

Oops thanks, celebrated too hard last night! 

[rpfc 28,417]

Again with the Russia thing. This is fake news people, intended to take the gloss of our win yesterday - which we won by over 200 points. Biggest in history. Everybody knows that. Sad!

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

Unlikely to be from Russia with an understanding of ticketing and levels (4) at a ground on the other side of the world. Also the English is just a bit too good.....RFPC on the money.

[praha 11,240]

General Admin tickets. Simple as that.  You can reserve your seat but it's randomised. Wont be more than 40k so will be plenty of seats on the lower levels.

[Ethan Tremblay 30,859]

24 minutes ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Unlikely to be from Russia with an understanding of ticketing and levels (4) at a ground on the other side of the world. Also the English is just a bit too good.....RFPC on the money.

I agree, first thoughts were 'akoo' was a disgruntled Collingwood or Bulldogs supporter. However, their English is far too good to be a supporter from either of those clubs. 

Edited June 19, 2017 by Ethan Tremblay

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

1 minute ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

I agree, first thoughts were 'akoo' was a disgruntled Collingwood or Bulldogs supporter. However their English is too good to be a supporter from either of those clubs. 

Ha indeed. Foreign visitors could possibly mean Tasmanian?

[akoo 18]

Hi again!

First of all thank you for your compliment regarding my English. In fact I learned English a lot at school, and I use it extensively for my job.

If someone lives so far away from Russia, it may seem to him that all Russian population is involved in hacking, corruption, and espionage. You know what, fortunately there are quite a few people here doing other (completely legal) things for living :-)

I see nothing wrong if I want to take my family for a vacation to Australia. This is exciting for us, and this is good for the Australian economy. Your country is expensive for visitors, but we want to give it a try anyway, as it looks very different from the other places. We will be visiting Melbourne, Sydney and Port Douglas / Cairns areas.

Bu the way, last night I met an Australian fan on a Confederations Cup soccer game between Chile and Cameroon in Moscow. He is heading to Sochi today where your team plays Germany. We had a nice talk and exchanged advices on our travel between our countries.

I visited England many times, that’s where I got my love to cricket and rugby. Since I follow cricket, I definitely know MCG, and also SCG, Gabba, Waca.  Now you see why it was not difficult for me to learn how the AFL ticketing works, and what different levels are there at MCG.

My email to the Melbourne FC was answered extremely quickly. They were so kind to offer my family free General Admission tickets to the game! This is something completely unexpected and very welcoming from them! I am surprised that they are willing just give away tickets to the foreigners. They also mentioned that Level 2 Wing area is reserved for members, but more tickets should be available at Ticketek closer to the game.