Uproar at free council tickets
RICHMOND fans waiting 35 years for their team to make a grand final now face the prospect of being locked out of Saturday’s MCG blockbuster.
But City of Melbourne councillors will enjoy some of the best seats in the house as they lap up corporate hospitality at the match regardless of whether they even barrack for the Tigers.
The councillors have been offered tickets to the premium September Club marquee for the match where they will be wined and dined free of charge, thanks to the AFL.
With thousands of Richmond and Adelaide fans missing out on seats despite shelling out for club memberships, it has sparked calls for the councillors to hand their tickets to diehard supporters.
Kevin Passmore, a Richmond member since 1994, scored a standing room ticket for $150 in the club’s Grand Final ballot but is desperately trying to find one for his “longsuffering Richmond wife’’.
He said councillors and corporates taking seats off legitimate fans was “ridiculous’’.
“It’s shocking and there will be a lot of disappointed and upset people out there,’’ he said.
“If I was a Melbourne councillor I would be looking for a Richmond or Adelaide fan to give my ticket to, someone who actually deserves to be there.’’
City of Melbourne spokesman Brodie Bott said the tick- ets were “not gifted to the councillors’’ or logged in council’s gift register.
“As part of a long-standing sponsorship agreement with the AFL, the City of Melbourne receives an allocation of tickets to the Grand Final,’’ he said.
With the AFL allocating just 17,000 seats to a Tiger army of more than 70,000 fans, the majority of Richmond supporters will be hit with Grand Final heartache before the match even begins.
Fans have been warned against buying tickets from scalpers as they could be turned away from the ground despite paying hundreds of dollars above face value.
The Grand Final is the only AFL match of the season deemed a “declared event’’, making it illegal for tickets to be sold above face value.
But Grand Final tickets were yesterday advertised for up to $2000 online.
Richmond will transform its Punt Rd Oval headquarters into a live site for the match.
But fans have even been urged to buy tickets to that before it sells out.
The club advertised its event, to run from 11am to 6pm, as “the next best thing to being at the MCG to watch the game’’ with three big screens and pre-match activities.
But the move drew some criticism from fans querying why they should pay $20 for adults, $15 for concession and $10 for juniors to watch a match at the club’s headquarters.