Tuesday 23rd January saw the latest in a series “Fan Engagement” event held at St. James’ Park hosted by the Newcastle United Supporter Services Group. This one again, focused on the emotive subject of away ticketing.
United is not keen on details of these meetings being shared as they are often misconstrued and the club and attendees come in for criticism post meeting. In this instance though, I feel information needs to be shared as it benefits those in attendance and hopefully fans can see how they were represented.
Additionally, if United take what they heard at face value and act accordingly, it will have a benefit for the club too.
Who was there?
The usual suspects had representation. NUDSA (Newcastle United Disabled Supporters Association), UWP (United with Pride), NUST (Newcastle United Supporters Trust) and NUSC (Newcastle United Supporters Club).
It wasn’t mentioned, unless I missed it, as to whether members of the newly selected FAB (Fans Advisory Board) were there, though you would assume they should have been.
The fans invited along were selected on the following basis. Those who had been unsuccessful in their application to join the aforementioned FAB and then those who’d shown interest in previous fan engagement events but not been selected to attend.
Around 100 were in attendance in the Moncur Suite with a further selection joining online. These weren’t visible or audible to the room but had their own input gathered by an online United representative.
It was apparent there were a good number of away day regulars in attendance, which is a positive, as well as a good mix of ages and genders.
As with all these meetings, the representatives from the Supporter Services team, namely Sarah Medcalf, Yvette Thompson and Matt Willis did the intros and set the agenda for the evening.
There were 3 main points of focus:
- What challenges does the current away ticketing process present? Do you have suggested solutions?
- How do we ensure the away ticket process is fair and easy for fans to access/engage with?
- Does the current loyalty point process need developing to support some of the ticketing challenge/concerns we may face? If so, are there suggestions to tweaks to the system?
The tables were given approximately an hour to discuss the 3 points while the allocated club representative took notes and summarised at the end of the session.
Rather than take the individual points, it’s easier to give an overall summary as they didn’t really follow the intended format. It’s worth noting every table had much the same views so the summarising was repetitive but conclusive.
In terms of challenges, the main point of contention was the current check system on away tickets. Even though many agreed the check system has worked in opening away ticketing to fans with lower points, the checks were resented as draconian and punishments seen as disproportionate to the supposed “crime” of passing on an away ticket.
Suggestions on how to make this work better were pretty much covered by two points.
Firstly, could the club advise fans 72-hours in advance they will face a planned check and will need to collect their ticket from an United representative outside the away end. This would remove the stress of getting a “red” ticket and needing to go to the box office at an away stadium which many felt was unfair and in some people’s opinions, dangerous.
The downside in my opinion is anyone who had no intention of going in the first place would then just take advantage of the 72 hour returns period and say they could no longer make it. The subsequent view was that fan would be monitored in future.
I did ask the question how many have had their points removed after being caught out but the club representative didn’t know the figures. I also asked if the check system was random or pre-determined. It was suggested it is totally random.
The other main topic on this one was for fans to be allowed to pass their ticket on if their circumstances changed and they could no longer attend. Spurs (a) being mentioned as a lot missed out due to train cancellations.
The consensus was we should be allowed to do this up to 3 times per season. There was a degree of variation in opinion as to who you could pass the ticket on to and who would get the point. Some thought passing to season ticket holders and some thought members. Either way, there was an agreement it should be someone on the club’s data base. Obviously the person passing on the ticket would not get a loyalty point. Some thought nobody should get it while others thought the person then using the ticket should get it. Even a member! (a point for later) It was generally accepted this is more workable with a digital away ticketing system.
There were a couple of points raised about the purchase of away tickets in general and site accessibility. Points drop regularly and incremental drops, which were mentioned in the opening speech by Yvette Thompson.
It was also suggested ticketing information specific to away games should be highlighted on the website and easier for fans to access. It could also have a separate area to purchase away tickets so sales do not clash with home tickets. This is something many of us have had an issue with.
One suggestion made on this section was for fans to be allowed to apply for an away ticket on release, then the club could sell them from highest points to lowest until sold out.
As ever with these get-togethers, loyalty points excite discussion and this was no exception. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of away day regulars present of differing ages and it was viewed by all the current system does not need changing and the way it currently works is the best way moving forward.
There were one or two mentions of cut off periods for historical points but this wasn’t really taken very far. That’s not to say United won’t look at something based upon a 3-5 year rolling period as has been suggested on social media etc.
A lot of discussion centred on how younger fans can get tickets and a young people’s ballot had a lot of support though where the tickets come from is open to discussion. These wouldn’t be additional tickets and for every special category created, others lose out in a situation of such huge demand.
Many agreed the original ballot system should have been for young fans only as older fans have had more than ample opportunity to get on the points ladder.
It was suggested ballots should only be for full/higher allocation games and not for low allocations like Luton and Bournemouth. That is a very valid point in my opinion. Should people on zero points get a ticket for Luton over someone on 150 points? Howay man!
On the subject of young fans, there was a further discussion around how parents could take their kids even when they don’t have the required points and additionally how people can go as families. This is not something I’m in favour of as once again, someone has to miss out for this to happen. One suggestion was if the parent has the points required, they can also buy their child ticket despite them not meeting the points requirement. That’s a contentious one.
Additional loyalty point discussions focused on points for home cup ties (which used to be part of the system) points for home games in general(?) and points for buying merchandise etc.
Generally thoughts on loyalty points though seemed to be “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”.
The final point on which was the strongest point of interest was transparency from United re ticketing, namely, who gets tickets, how many and why?
That covers a broad spectrum including players, staff, sponsors, corporate, ballots and the touchy subject of international fans. Yes, we see you getting tickets!
The club may disagree, but it is very easy to post on the website prior to release, how the ticket split will go.
For example, 2500 on sale via the points system then the split in the other 500 between aforementioned groups etc. Though United may feel it’s of little benefit to them directly, transparency is key and it stops the rumours circulating as to where the tickets are actually going. They must be aware this is a toxic subject at present amongst supporters and damaging the club’s reputation.
Many feel the change in away day experience comes down to who gets the additional tickets and do they actually use them? Many present brought up the thorny subject of empty seats in “sold out” away ends over the season, which isn’t something we have experienced previously.
My final summary of the evening.
Was it a box ticking exercise as many had feared?
No, far from it – providing United take and act upon the feedback and sensible suggestions from supporters. I was at the first meeting around ticketing and “transparency” remains the key word. For people to believe and trust United, this HAS to change and the club should not hide anything.
Was the room full of You-Tubers and Podcasters full of their own self importance as many suspect these meetings are?
No, it was full of Mags who in general have supported the club through thin and thinner and want the best possible experience for all Mags.
In my view, United spoke to the right people about subjects that matter a lot to both fans and the club itself.
Here’s hoping things move in the right direction and we can all just go back to enjoying the brilliant away experience we love.
All eyes on those responsible at Newcastle United to deliver – don’t let us down!
Steve Wallwork – @stevewallwork
