Palmer ruining the face of football

[bloggo]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25954683-23215,00.html

I'm not sure how many other people have seen this article, but if its true I for one am totally outraged. This clown wants to restrict the amount of people going to a game to save money. I'll be the first to admit i hopped on the bandwagon after the World Cup but this us an outrage. Is it just me or does the man think he's bigger then the game. The quicker Gold Coast fail and he pisses off the better.

He should be promoting the team and lowering prices in my view. The high prices are ridiculous for what is on offer. Going to the first A-league Grand Final will cost me less then going to a game up there and getting crappy seats. Hate the man- he is nothing but bad news for the FFA and I would much rather read anything by Rebecca Wilson then see this man stay where he is and attempt to run that club.

 

[Jazzie]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25954683-23215,00.html

I'm not sure how many other people have seen this article, but if its true I for one am totally outraged. This clown wants to restrict the amount of people going to a game to save money. I'll be the first to admit i hopped on the bandwagon after the World Cup but this us an outrage. Is it just me or does the man think he's bigger then the game. The quicker Gold Coast fail and he pisses off the better.

He should be promoting the team and lowering prices in my view. The high prices are ridiculous for what is on offer. Going to the first A-league Grand Final will cost me less then going to a game up there and getting crappy seats. Hate the man- he is nothing but bad news for the FFA and I would much rather read anything by Rebecca Wilson then see this man stay where he is and attempt to run that club.

Give the FFA time, they will wear him down. New kid on the block wants to push every one around, and no, he isn't bigger than the game, although money-wise, he is. He has come in to make money as a user pays system. No thought to the fans up there (or lack of them). Obviously, NOT a team player. And it isn't going to go down well with the FFA seeing half empty stands. He is the sort of person Scum Con the Fruiterer aspires to.

And Rebecca Wilson? Yikes... could be the lesser of two evils ... I sort of put them on par.

 

[dru]

All it will take is seeing >1/5 of the stadium in blue shirts(Sydney or Melbourne) or over half the stadium in orange and he will change his mind. Actually Brisbane will probably outnumber them anyway no matter how many seats he allows. Time to buy tickets for the gold coast game just in case.

If he does a staged approach to ticket sales he could probably minimise cost any way, not opening up the ends until all of the seats under platinum is sold then moving to open one end till that is full, then the other. would be sensible at the very least.

Agree with Jazzie eventually he will be brought into line by the FFA, or he will walk and another deserving franchise will be give a chance.

 

[clarence]

I reckon he's just puffing his chest, and seeing how far he can push people. Guys like him are so used to having everyone bow down to his demands, and he's probably seeing how far he can take issues.

I bet he's pissed off that he has to pay the Transport Levy for crowds over 5K, and his beef is more with the Qld. Govt. than us or the FFA on this issue. Sure, he can afford to pay it by himself for the whole of the season, but a guy doesn't get that rich throwing money around, and I bet the fact his club is forced to pay this Levy gets up his nose a bit.

I really doubt he can cap ticket sales, especially in the main season of the A-League. If he tried that, there'd be some sort of Qld. Govt. Consumer agency getting involved pretty quick.

 

[Jazzie]

I reckon he's just puffing his chest, and seeing how far he can push people. Guys like him are so used to having everyone bow down to his demands, and he's probably seeing how far he can take issues.

I bet he's pissed off that he has to pay the Transport Levy for crowds over 5K, and his beef is more with the Qld. Govt. than us or the FFA on this issue. Sure, he can afford to pay it by himself for the whole of the season, but a guy doesn't get that rich throwing money around, and I bet the fact his club is forced to pay this Levy gets up his nose a bit.

I really doubt he can cap ticket sales, especially in the main season of the A-League. If he tried that, there'd be some sort of Qld. Govt. Consumer agency getting involved pretty quick.

That thought crossed my mind too, Clarence

 

[goingtoadisco]

I reckon he's just puffing his chest, and seeing how far he can push people. Guys like him are so used to having everyone bow down to his demands, and he's probably seeing how far he can take issues.

I bet he's pissed off that he has to pay the Transport Levy for crowds over 5K, and his beef is more with the Qld. Govt. than us or the FFA on this issue. Sure, he can afford to pay it by himself for the whole of the season, but a guy doesn't get that rich throwing money around, and I bet the fact his club is forced to pay this Levy gets up his nose a bit.

I really doubt he can cap ticket sales, especially in the main season of the A-League. If he tried that, there'd be some sort of Qld. Govt. Consumer agency getting involved pretty quick.

That thought crossed my mind too, Clarence

Can do it at night clubs ect ?

 

[Jazzie]

goingtoadisco, would not the away team have some sort of issue re gate money also?

 

[dru]

goingtoadisco, would not the away team have some sort of issue re gate money also?

Why? all tickets sales would go to the home team. Depending on the regulations set down by the FFA they may have a gripe about the minimum tickets set aside for away supporters but as the club doesn't sell them, they don't get the booking fee so wouldn't be making any money.

As for the cap, it could be argued that he has capped it at 5k but since the platinum seating didn't sell out he was justified in capping it, he will if the full 5k sell out revise it on a case by case basis. As nobody doing walk up is going to splurge on the $90+ dollars it was for platinum he will be safe from them.

 

[curious]

As nobody doing walk up is going to splurge on the $90+ dollars it was for platinum he will be safe from them.

You realise how tiny the the platinum area is? Going by the stadium seating map it would be lucky to be a couple of hundred seats, which makes them a non issue.

I read everything i could find re the claimed limiting to 5k ticket sales, but can't find a quote or even a source that backs it up. Am I blind, or is this another " a little bird told me"?
This is as much as i could find. From the Courier Mail

The Courier-Mail can reveal Palmer wants to cap the attendance at 5000.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25953422-5003412,00.html

 

[Jazzie]

goingtoadisco, would not the away team have some sort of issue re gate money also?

Why? all tickets sales would go to the home team. Depending on the regulations set

I was under the impression that the 2 teams split the gate sales.... they used to do that years ago.

 

[Jazzie]

The problem I have with the issue of capping seat sales, is that it's not going to promote "going to the game". Punters who for what ever reason decide on the fly to go at the last minute will probably stay at home and watch it on TV, or go elsewhere. Not a good image for the HAL.

 

[curious]

As I insinuated before, I'd like to be as sure of winning lotto as I am that this is a beat up.

 

[dru]

I was under the impression that the 2 teams split the gate sales.... they used to do that years ago.

I doubt that with each stadium costing different amounts to hire it would really be short changing Melbourne for example. How would you also split season memberships etc. Prize money and maybe gate takings during finals yes, gate takings in the regular season no.

The problem I have with the issue of capping seat sales, is that it's not going to promote "going to the game". Punters who for what ever reason decide on the fly to go at the last minute will probably stay at home and watch it on TV, or go elsewhere. Not a good image for the HAL.

Yeah but we have the same problem with Con, It is their team and they are the only ones that matter to them. I'm sure palmer wouldn't care if he had a pitch with his coporate box and 200 whacky wavy inflattible tube men lining the other side of his pitch for the team to play on.

As I insinuated before, I'd like to be as sure of winning lotto as I am that this is a beat up.

Probably is and probably going to drive ticket sales for this weekend but when has that ever stopped something from being discussed on here?

 

[dibo]

Seattle Sounders in the MLS cap their tickets. They play out of QWest Stadium which has a capacity of about 67k, and they capped their sales at the start of the season to about 27k. They've since upped that to 29k and then to 32k I think. There are simply parts of the stadium they don't open up and in fact they cover with massive tarpaulins with Microsoft XBox360 ads printed on them.

Newcastle didn't open the top deck of their stadium unless they got ticket sales above a certain threshold (until they demolished their Western Stand). Welly don't let people sit on the Western side, instead plonking them all in the TV friendly Eastern Stand. Sydney don't open their Upper Eastern stand.

What Palmer's looking to do is a bit different to these though. He's looking to cap sales at a level *below* the normal level of crowds. It drags down average attendances, looks shitty on TV and is generally a bad look PR-wise.

Wiser moves might be to attempt to offset or absorb the loss on fixed costs by getting more people in the gate. Cut ticket prices, get more bodies through the gate, sell more food and merch and most importantly build a bloody fanbase. The costs of getting to a bigger fanbase will pay for themselves over time.

If he couldn't cop the expense of running an A-League club, maybe he shouldn't have put his hand up.

 

[Jazzie]

The problem I have with the issue of capping seat sales, is that it's not going to promote "going to the game". Punters who for what ever reason decide on the fly to go at the last minute will probably stay at home and watch it on TV, or go elsewhere. Not a good image for the HAL.

Yeah but we have the same problem with Con, It is their team and they are the only ones that matter to them. I'm sure palmer wouldn't care if he had a pitch with his coporate box and 200 whacky wavy inflattible tube men lining the other side of his pitch for the team to play on.

Yeah, grand being mega rich, isn't it?

 

[goingtoadisco]

The problem I have with the issue of capping seat sales, is that it's not going to promote "going to the game". Punters who for what ever reason decide on the fly to go at the last minute will probably stay at home and watch it on TV, or go elsewhere. Not a good image for the HAL.

Yeah but we have the same problem with Con, It is their team and they are the only ones that matter to them. I'm sure palmer wouldn't care if he had a pitch with his coporate box and 200 whacky wavy inflattible tube men lining the other side of his pitch for the team to play on.

Yeah, grand being mega rich, isn't it?

LOL !

 

[curious]

Probably is and probably going to drive ticket sales for this weekend but when has that ever stopped something from being discussed on here?

Is the pope a catholic?

 

[dibo]

Um, yes. Yes he is.

 

[curious]

Um, yes. Yes he is.

Thanks, and bless you dibo

 

[midfielder]

This guy is going to be interesting most of the other A-League clubs have the belief that we need to build the domestic competition from the ruins of the old NSL most accept the fact that the AFL & NRL are leap years ahead in terms of media, tradition, etc SOOOOOOOoooooo the clubs have by and large accepted the good with the bad for the betterment of football as a whole.

Mr P seems not to care about the league . he wants a spot in the ACL let nothing stand in his way.Not sure how this is going to pan out but is not going away

Im thinking the 5000 restriction is an attempt of political brinkmanship or bluff between Palmer and FFA trying to wind them up or holding them to ransom over a particular issue rather then Palmer seriously contemplating restricting crowds (I hope). I dont think he is gone mad or he is being an incredible tight ass.