Hammers to run ballot process for final 3 fixtures & OS season ticket
West Ham United are pleased to announce details of how Academy Members will be able to apply for tickets for our final three Barclays Premier League games at the Boleyn Ground.
There has been overwhelming demand for tickets in this historic season for the Hammers, with the upcoming fixture for Crystal Palace selling out to Academy Members, several days before tickets were due to go on general sale.
Due to the expected rush to purchase tickets for any of our final three Boleyn Ground fixtures, the Club is opening a ballot process exclusively for Academy Members, to fairly allocate tickets for the visits of Arsenal, Swansea City and Manchester United.
The first ballot for the Arsenal fixture is open now, and will close at 5pm Tuesday 22 March. The lead client on successful applications will be notified by email.
http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2016/March/7-March/Hammers-to-run-ballot-process-for-final-three-fixt
There has been overwhelming demand for tickets in this historic season for the Hammers, with the upcoming fixture for Crystal Palace selling out to Academy Members, several days before tickets were due to go on general sale.
Due to the expected rush to purchase tickets for any of our final three Boleyn Ground fixtures, the Club is opening a ballot process exclusively for Academy Members, to fairly allocate tickets for the visits of Arsenal, Swansea City and Manchester United.
The first ballot for the Arsenal fixture is open now, and will close at 5pm Tuesday 22 March. The lead client on successful applications will be notified by email.
http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2016/March/7-March/Hammers-to-run-ballot-process-for-final-three-fixt
Comments
".....the Club is opening a ballot process exclusively for Academy Members, to fairly allocate tickets"......how is that any fairer than first come first served booking on-line or on the phone as per usual ?
"It is not too late to become a Member either. So to give yourself a chance of being there as history is made, join now !".....really ?? suddenly doesn't feel quite so fair on existing Acadamy Members if you can just jump in last minute & have an equal chance of being there for the last game(s) !!??
Agree with your points Bozo.
Can see why the club are pouncing on the opportunity to sell memberships now for £40 with barely any games left. Squeezing every penny!
How is it not fair on existing Academy members? If you've been a member from the start of the season you have enjoyed the benefits for the whole season. If you joined half way through, you get the benefits for half a season. If you join 6 weeks before the end of the season you get the same benefits as any other Academy member for the very short period you are a member.
If you pay your money to be a member you have the same rights as other members, no more no less. Surely that's exactly fair - anything else would, imo, be unfair.
Academy membership gets you preferential treatment over non-members; I think unreasonable for anyone to want preferential treatment over other Academy members as well.
On the ballot thing, I agree - can't see why this is being introduced.
On the other hand, it could be an honest attempt to try to give everyone an equal chance to get a ticket for games which look like they will be massively over-subscribed.
It has always been possible to buy Academy Membership at any point in the year, afaIk. I can't see that the point in time you bought it should either advantage or disadvantage you.
You could argue a case for saying that those Academy Members with higher volume ticket purchase get a better chance, but that would presumably be unfair on those who bought their membership in the knowledge that they might only get to a couple of games in the season.
Personally, I think a ballot is fairer than 'take your chances on the 'phone/Interwebby when the tickets go on sale.'
Yes, this.
Sorry, not advocating preferential treatment over other members, just venting frustration over change to a ballot - up to now, any game I've wanted/been able to go to I've managed to get tkts for by means of phone or online (not always easily, but successfully) - perhaps wrongly, but I now feel my chances of getting tkts have lessened due to this lottery type system introduction - think I would've thought twice about joining if this system had been in place for all home games - knowing that, apart from filling in a form, my chances of getting a tkt would be purely down to the luck of getting my name drawn out of a hat ?! Could still get a tkt anyway so probably moaning for nothing , but just can't help feeling the change to a ballot system is unfair to me - selfish I know ?!
No, I can see how the fact that the ballot will probably have lessened your chances of getting a ticket would be frustrating.
Although, perhaps with such high demand, you might not have been one of the lucky 'quickest off the mark' this time, in which case the ballot would improve your chances.
I honestly think it is the club trying to do the right thing, even if it isn't completely thought through.
They've done some great work in all areas of the club, not just ticketing, but this ballot is right up there as a negative for me.
The plus 2 tickets for each ST holder at the OS, terrible when you consider how many very loyal band 2, 3 or 4 ST holders had their place in the pecking order pushed back for some people to jump in.
10 quid a pop for the priority list for ST at the OS, they're still selling it though, even though they've admitted it's massively over subscribed, they've not made any attempt to stop it, people still keep flocking in the hope. Reality is tens of thousands (25,000 right now) will not get a ST next season or in the foreseeable, and they won't see that tenner back either.
Now this with the ballot, selling memberships for 40 quid a pop just to make everyone's chances even longer in reality.
If it's managed to annoy this bloke, then they've probably gone a bit too far as he rarely criticises what the board/club do......
http://www.claretandhugh.info/transparency-and-fairness-please-whufc
http://www.whufc.com/Tickets/Membership/UK
- The club made one very specific promise, that each season ticket holder would get a seat at the OS. I [at my appointment] was shown an aisle seat in the BML equivalent. Job done. Promise kept.
- People were sent appointments in Band order, starting with Band 1. Those with the most expensive seats went first. So the club would know what was available if fans wanted to ‘upgrade’.
- Season ticket holders could take 2 mates [non ST holders] with them to the appointment to select seats. This logistically was the only option given the alternative was to seat all existing ST Holders then move them about so friends and family could sit together. In effect doing the same thing but twice. Which for me at least is just plain daft. [This is was Citeh did and it was an unmitigated disaster that took 3 season to sort out].
- As for the more loyal fans comment. How on earth do you measure it? A returning solider doesn’t have an ST because he’s been in Afghanistan is less loyal than, say, a train diver who has an ST. A 50 year old man who has been able to afford an ST for 30 years more loyal that a 25 year old who has not been going as long because he hasn’t be alive long enough… Fans who couldn’t afford an ST because they really needed to feed their kids and pay a mortgage, are they less loyal than me?
Having a moan about queue jumping is ego… The I’m better than him so I get to go first nonsense makes my blood boil. People full of their own self-importance with an over blown sense of entitlement.
I would understand the complaint if a current season ticket holder was denied a season ticket in the OS but EVERYONE who wanted to renew got one. Most at a £100 discounted price or at the same price for a higher band.
/rant over
But the +2 (not sure it even stayed within those parameters at times) has pushed plenty of ST holder back while people who never had a ST (until now) jumped in front.
Having any ST for any length of time compared to a friend of a friend of a friend is surely more loyal?
AfaIk, every current season ticket holder was guaranteed a seat in a comparable part of the OS, so how did they get 'pushed back'? They haven't missed out on anything, have they?
ST sales have gone form around 25k to nearly 40k.
Of those 15k extra, many were bound to have friends/family already attending as ST holders.
As Suze said, how else would you manage to get them sitting together, or would you just not bother?
or did some feel they should have gone first when looking to change their seat?
All of them?
Or were many pushed into other areas, prices or bands (possible more cost if having to upgrade?) directly or indirectly because of the number of ST that took up the +2 offer?
I don't know if there was a better way or not......
Maybe Slizzy means those on the ST waiting list that are still on the waiting list because friends and family have been given STs ahead of them
That's my understanding ;puzzled
;weep
I'm on about people who've possibly jumped into a band they probably wouldn't have gone for had it not been the +2 option....or even supported the club in some circumstances (new fans always welcome though)
Any need for this? Nobody questioned your loyalty whether you've had a ST or not.
That obviously answers one of your questions, Slizzy.