Members squeezed for games

Tigers to unfurl premiership flags

FOOTY fans will face a ticket scramble for the AFL’s marquee clashes, with one in every six Carlton and Richmond club members able to get to the season opener.

But 50,000 fans will flood into the MCG on March 18 as Richmond confirmed it would unfurl its past two premiership flags after a deal was brokered for 50 per cent capacity at Melbourne venues.

Under the deal announced on Friday, the MCG can host 50,000 fans and Marvel Stadium 28,961 supporters, with Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium set to be allowed 18,000 fans.

Home teams will take the majority of seats allocated, with Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale, pictured, saying he would meet Carlton to discuss the ticket carve-up.

Clubs may only allocate about 1000 tickets or fewer to opposition members, meaning rival members will effectively be shut out of high-drawing away games.

But the MCG’s tenant arrangement means even under a 50 per cent ratio 11,000 tickets will go to MCC memClubs bers, 10,000 to AFL members and about 1000 to corporates.

It means about 27,500 club members will be allowed into the Carlton-Richmond Round 1 contest, with the league allowing clubs to decide how they divide those tickets.

Last year Richmond had 100,420 members and Carlton had 67,035 paid-up fans.

The Blues host Collingwood on the Friday of Round 2 so most would have to wait until that clash to see their club in the flesh for the first time in a year.

Collingwood and Western Bulldogs will play on the Friday night of Round 1 at the MCG, with membership totals that last year tallied 115,738 competing for about 29,000 tickets.

including Geelong say 50 per cent capacity will force them to lose money on the season, with Cats president Craig Drummond saying it would not lead to a great financial result.

AFL fixture boss Travis Auld said 50 per cent capacity would see most clubs breaking even on gate takings given most patrons will be members who have already signed up.

The AFL confirmed it would not move games to bigger venues because of contracts in place despite MCC boss Stuart Fox being open to the opportunity on Friday.

Gale confirmed the flag unfurling, with fears in recent weeks of a crowd as small as 10,000 fans.

“It’s wonderful. We have been up and down a bit and two or three weeks ago it wasn’t looking so good at all and we wouldn’t have gone ahead if we didn’t have a big crowd,” he said.

“The Tiger Army will come along and it will be a very proud moment for us all. There was a suggestion not long ago we might have only had 10,000 people there and we would have kept our powder dry.”