The Away Ticketing Consultation Group met last Wednesday. David Michael (AVST National Liaison Director and editor of My Old Man Said) represented AVST and the Supporters Consultation Group. Other Villans present included Steve Gough, Steve Todd and John Perks. Apologies: John Holder, Mark McFarland, Stewart Conniff & Anthony Willis.
Nicola Keye, Bromley Davenport and Lee Preece represented the club. PC Stuart Bladen attended on behalf of West Midlands Police.
Here are the matters that were discussed at the meeting.
General update
Average away support in excess of 3,000 – amazing support!
Last away game – Barnsley
Police reported no incidents of concern from the 3,700 fans that travelled to the game. This bodes well for future allocations, as the conduct of our fans, particularly at matches where we travel in such large numbers, will be vital to our receiving larger allocations going forward.
A discussion was held over the rumours that circulated that this match had sold out. Can the club let fans know how many are left for matches? The club is concerned that saying we have xx number left for a fixture may lead to false expectations for fans – for example, a fan making a journey for tickets assuming there will be some left (when there may not be a day or so after publicly stating what is left). The club will use social media to let fans know there is still availability, and more importantly, ours should be the only source fans use for confirmation we have sold out.
Next away game – Preston
We have 5,600 traveling to Preston – it is vital fans make the club proud and respect the facilities and staff of the grounds we visit.
Other future games
Birmingham City
The decision for both clubs to reciprocally offer 2,000 tickets to each other was taken at the start of the season. The Police were not involved in this decision, but fully support it.
The Police confirmed that NO home fans will be located above Villa fans in the Upper Tier – all Upper Tier seats are above Blues fans only.
Concern was raised of tickets going on sale (on-line) when fans were attending Barnsley, and that some tickets should have been kept back for phone sales. This was duly noted.
The club is satisfied that the vast majority of our regular away attendees have been accommodated with a ticket.
Brighton
Brighton & Hove Albion – 2,000 to 3,000 – dependent on sales. The group expect a good sale as many looking to stay overnight. The Friday night kick off and being live on TV may not help. Prices £25 / £20 / £10 / £5.
We have received an offer from Brighton for us to suggest a local food and drink offering to be made available to our fans in the away end. My Old Man Said have collated a list of suggestions and will look to run a poll – the club will share this with our social media.
Leeds United
3,000 unconfirmed. Prices £32, £22, £16.
Norwich City
2,500 unconfirmed. Prices £35, £25, £20, £12. ** See QPR below (now £30…)
QPR
2,500. Prices £39, £28, £24 & £34, £24, £17. The club suggested making this a discounted match and reducing the ticket price by £5. ** The group felt Norwich would be a better game to discount – the club happy to change the discount to Norwich.
Newcastle
It was asked if the club had consulted with Newcastle on a reciprocal ticket deal for our matches. The club confirmed no discussion with Newcastle had taken place. Reading have been approached and the club are in discussions for a possible reciprocal deal.
Other notes
Away scheme
Concerns were raised about the away scheme, and how some fans would abuse the system in order to obtain Blues tickets. Should anyone look to come out of the away scheme after Blues they will not get the opportunity to join the scheme in later years. The scheme exists to make it easy for those who attend every game away. Discussion was held as to whether or not any returns should be allowed.
Lions Club allocation
Discussion was held around Lions Clubs allocation of tickets for away games, particularly in relation to high demand matches such as Blues. It was discussed that there should be a loyalty scheme within the Lions Club system, to ensure regular attendees obtain the tickets, and that the allocation received is reflective of the number being taken up for other matches. The system will be reviewed.
On-line ticketing – fans with disabilities
On-line ticketing for away matches has generally been very well received. The club is looking to find a solution within the system that will allow disabled supporters who require a free carer / personal assistant ticket to also purchase on-line. At present, disabled ticketing is being ring fenced to allow telephone sales the day after a certain criteria go on sale on-line only.
If there are any specific ticketing issues that you would like to raise with the club please email clubliaison@villatrust.org.uk.
