Arsenal's 2013-14 ticketing announcements
7 May 2013
In recent weeks, Arsenal have made two announcements on ticketing 'enhancements' for next season; an enclosure for teenage supporters and today's news about a 'friends and family' style ticket exchange for season ticket holders.
'Young Guns' enclosure
This new section in the ground will be a block next to the current Family Enclosure, exclusively for the use of Junior Gunners aged 12 to 16. Tickets in this area of the ground will cost £10 but this only applies to Category B and C matches.
We discussed this initiative with the club and gave the idea our backing, so we applaud its introduction.
In our discussions with Arsenal we described the way younger generations used to 'grow up' watching The Arsenal and likened it to an apprenticeship, working your way up to adult age and your place on the terraces. This may have included the former Schoolboys Enclosure, the Junior Gunners Enclosure in front of the West Stand at Highbury, or for some younger fans, taking your place in certain areas on the Clock End or North Bank terraces and joining in with the songs and general atmosphere generated inside Highbury. It's something we've been concerned about for some time and part of the reason we started this supporters group - as younger generations have been slipping away from home matches, finding it too expensive or impossible to get a ticket. As the young support goes elsewhere, the future 'hardcore' of our support is lost.
We were advised by the club that more information on this enclosure will be published in the summer (including a possible different name for the section, not necessarily 'Young Guns') and there should be some good news around ticketing for younger fans wanting to go to this year's Emirates Cup.
Ticket Transfer scheme
There are already many season ticket holders who pass their tickets on to friends or family when they can't make it to a game, however, it's always been a 'cloak and dagger' scenario with nobody really sure if they're allowed to do it under the Terms & Conditions of their ticket/seat. We've even heard some stories about season tickets being confiscated where the person in the seat isn't the actual season ticket holder.
Arsenal are therefore introducing Ticket Transfer, to sidestep this issue and make it easier for season ticket holders to pass on their ticket should they not be able to attend any home matches. From what's been announced so far, it'll work like this:
As a season ticket holder you can log into your account on the main Arsenal website and enter names of friends and family (although at this point the club have not confirmed how many) who you want to be your nominated recipients.
If you can't make it to a match, you log in and choose a recipient from your list.
That person then gets a message offering them the seat, and a coupon which they can print off; the ticket readers at the ground will be able to read the bar code from this printed ticket.
All sounds good, however the club has announced there will be a "small administration charge" when this service is used. No mention has been made of how much this charge will be or how it will be applied. Of course there is the issue of ticket touts and the initial thought that this could make it easier for them to do their usual business, given that it'll be a piece of paper handed over and not the actual season ticket card - in other words they won't have the hassle of collecting the card again after the game. And of course the scheme falls down if the nominated recipient doesn't have a printer.
So while we applaud the fact that the club have made it 'formal' with the introduction of Ticket Exchange, the only real benefit we see is that you have the convenience of not handing your ticket to someone else. We'd envisage that many will just carry on as usual, simply giving their ticket to friends or family to use when they can't attend... and save the "small administration charge" in the process.
We await to see if any further news announcements will come on the current ticket exchange system, where season ticket holders can sell on their seat to any other member. It's had its fair share of criticism and for many still doesn't work that well, so enhancements would be welcome.
As ever, we'll keep you informed of any further news we hear from the club, or discussions with them.
Up The Gunners
In recent weeks, Arsenal have made two announcements on ticketing 'enhancements' for next season; an enclosure for teenage supporters and today's news about a 'friends and family' style ticket exchange for season ticket holders.
'Young Guns' enclosure
This new section in the ground will be a block next to the current Family Enclosure, exclusively for the use of Junior Gunners aged 12 to 16. Tickets in this area of the ground will cost £10 but this only applies to Category B and C matches.
We discussed this initiative with the club and gave the idea our backing, so we applaud its introduction.
In our discussions with Arsenal we described the way younger generations used to 'grow up' watching The Arsenal and likened it to an apprenticeship, working your way up to adult age and your place on the terraces. This may have included the former Schoolboys Enclosure, the Junior Gunners Enclosure in front of the West Stand at Highbury, or for some younger fans, taking your place in certain areas on the Clock End or North Bank terraces and joining in with the songs and general atmosphere generated inside Highbury. It's something we've been concerned about for some time and part of the reason we started this supporters group - as younger generations have been slipping away from home matches, finding it too expensive or impossible to get a ticket. As the young support goes elsewhere, the future 'hardcore' of our support is lost.
We were advised by the club that more information on this enclosure will be published in the summer (including a possible different name for the section, not necessarily 'Young Guns') and there should be some good news around ticketing for younger fans wanting to go to this year's Emirates Cup.
Ticket Transfer scheme
There are already many season ticket holders who pass their tickets on to friends or family when they can't make it to a game, however, it's always been a 'cloak and dagger' scenario with nobody really sure if they're allowed to do it under the Terms & Conditions of their ticket/seat. We've even heard some stories about season tickets being confiscated where the person in the seat isn't the actual season ticket holder.
Arsenal are therefore introducing Ticket Transfer, to sidestep this issue and make it easier for season ticket holders to pass on their ticket should they not be able to attend any home matches. From what's been announced so far, it'll work like this:
As a season ticket holder you can log into your account on the main Arsenal website and enter names of friends and family (although at this point the club have not confirmed how many) who you want to be your nominated recipients.
If you can't make it to a match, you log in and choose a recipient from your list.
That person then gets a message offering them the seat, and a coupon which they can print off; the ticket readers at the ground will be able to read the bar code from this printed ticket.
All sounds good, however the club has announced there will be a "small administration charge" when this service is used. No mention has been made of how much this charge will be or how it will be applied. Of course there is the issue of ticket touts and the initial thought that this could make it easier for them to do their usual business, given that it'll be a piece of paper handed over and not the actual season ticket card - in other words they won't have the hassle of collecting the card again after the game. And of course the scheme falls down if the nominated recipient doesn't have a printer.
So while we applaud the fact that the club have made it 'formal' with the introduction of Ticket Exchange, the only real benefit we see is that you have the convenience of not handing your ticket to someone else. We'd envisage that many will just carry on as usual, simply giving their ticket to friends or family to use when they can't attend... and save the "small administration charge" in the process.
We await to see if any further news announcements will come on the current ticket exchange system, where season ticket holders can sell on their seat to any other member. It's had its fair share of criticism and for many still doesn't work that well, so enhancements would be welcome.
As ever, we'll keep you informed of any further news we hear from the club, or discussions with them.
Up The Gunners