[Albion] Wembley SF Ticket Purchase Priority

[Commander]

Because the unused seats are mostly in CW - not so much the single seat holders but more likely the utter prawn sandwich corporate box brigade.

The premium middle tier seats on offer to the great unwashed for the semis disappear for the final hence reduction in allocation and easier to shift corporate mincery.

Regarding 2019 I’d imagine Pep’s Citeh v Hughton’s dour underdogs was never going to be a big seller to the neutrals but this time I’d assume it’s very different. Success starved United Surrey loyalists v De Zerbi’s progressive dare say ‘cool’ upstarts will certainly pique interest in the neutrals!

Makes sense, I guess. I genuinely can’t understand why you would pay for Club Wembley and not be able to find somebody to use it for an FA Cup Semi Final though. I’ve got some 1901 season tickets I bought through my company for staff / clients / friends etc to use. I’d rather go in the NS personally but even if there is a cup game against lower league opposition it’s never difficult to find someone to take them. People bite your hand off for them.

 

[Commander]

Indeed, and yet Wolves, Watford and Albion all filled their allocations that year. Man City didn't but there were mitigating circumstances in that the Cup semi was only their third biggest game that week! (They had a massive league game and a UCL semi as I recall)

The empty seats for these games are largely the middle tier Club Wembley seats. That's where we were for the last semi, and it was soul-destroying seeing so many empty seats around us.

Had they built the new national stadium in Coventry or the outskirts of Birmingham (for less than half the cost) rather than listening to that idiot Ken Bates, none of this would have been an issue.

Why does the location of the stadium make a difference? It would have been absolutely shit if it was in Coventry.

 

[BNthree]

Why does the location of the stadium make a difference? It would have been absolutely shit if it was in Coventry.

I think they're saying it would have been half the cost if elsewhere so the need to use it so much (to make it pay for itself) wouldn't be there. Which means we wouldn't have to have semi-finals there to justify its existence.

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Does anyone happen to know what row the lower tier Cat 3 goes up to?

I’m on 189 and in PW3

 

[BNthree]

Does anyone happen to know what row the lower tier Cat 3 goes up to?

According to this it looks like row 27 would be the furthest back of the cheap seats behind the goals: https://www.seatingplan.net/wembley-stadium/detailed

 

[Weststander]

Why does the location of the stadium make a difference? It would have been absolutely shit if it was in Coventry.

The national stadium should be in the capital.

It’s not an exercise to locate the geographical central spot of the nation. Otherwise the French would’ve chosen Vichy, Germany the Harz mountains.

 

[Simster]

Why does the location of the stadium make a difference? It would have been absolutely shit if it was in Coventry.

Because it would have cost less than half the amount, meaning it wouldn't have had to be funded by 16,000 debenture holders. These are the seats owned privately (often companies) who can't be arsed to attend anything beyond the huge games.

There were 18,500 empty seats in our last semi-final - 5,000 in the City end and the rest of the empty seats were these corporate seats in the middle tier.

 

[PeterT]

Because it would have cost less than half the amount, meaning it wouldn't have had to be funded by 16,000 debenture holders. These are the seats owned privately (often companies) who can't be arsed to attend anything beyond the huge games.

There were 18,500 empty seats in our last semi-final - 5,000 in the City end and the rest of the empty seats were these corporate seats in the middle tier.

It is a joke that you build a stadium with supposedly 90,000 seats, and for many ‘sold out’ events at least 10,000 seats remain empty.

 

[Simster]

The national stadium should be in the capital.

It’s not an exercise to locate the geographical central spot of the nation. Otherwise the French would’ve chosen Vichy, Germany the Harz mountains.

I disagree. Somewhere accessible to most of the country that was a fraction of the cost would have been miles better. This idea that we have to have our national stadium in the capital so that you can make a tit of yourself by jumping into water fountains in Trafalgar Square pre-kick off is for the birds.

And Germany doesn't really have a national stadium, nor does the USA and I dare say several other countries. Even in France it is somewhat nuanced. Until the need for an 80k stadium to host the 1998 World Cup, they used Parc des Princes which held 45k and was smaller than a fair number of others. Italy also has an Olympic stadium in Rome, but it's hardly a stadium used exclusively for all big events.

 

[BNthree]

I disagree. Somewhere accessible to most of the country that was a fraction of the cost would have been miles better.

And Germany doesn't really have a national stadium, nor does the USA and I dare say several other countries. Even in France it is somewhat nuanced. Until the need for an 80k stadium to host the 1998 World Cup, they used Parc des Princes which held 45k and was smaller than a fair number of others. Italy also has an Olympic stadium in Rome, but it's hardly a stadium used exclusively for all big events.

Italy has a policy of moving big games around the various stadiums and not using a "national" stadium which is why the England match last week was in Naples.

 

[Simster]

It is a joke that you build a stadium with supposedly 90,000 seats, and for many ‘sold out’ events at least 10,000 seats remain empty.

As I say, Bates insisted on knocking down the old stadium and rebuilding it - at a cost of £800m. The rebuild of Cardiff (including a retractable roof) was £121m.

That sort of disparity was partly funded by selling 16,000 seats to corporate debenture holders (same as Twickenham) and the result is that those seats sit empty for all but the very highest end events.

 

[dazzer6666]

We’ve pretty much found a cut off point then. I’m on 243 ST points and in P2.

So T1 looks like more or less longish term (8 yrs+) Amex STHs who have done home cup games (or a few aways instead) then ?

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

So T1 looks like more or less longish term (8 yrs+) Amex STHs who have done home cup games (or a few aways instead) then ?

I am T2, done no away games but both home cup games.

 

[Simster]

I think they're saying it would have been half the cost if elsewhere so the need to use it so much (to make it pay for itself) wouldn't be there. Which means we wouldn't have to have semi-finals there to justify its existence.

Correct. I know not everyone agrees with me, but I'm not against Wembley being used for cup semis anyway. Old Trafford is the only stadium that would otherwise satisfy demand and that is a bit shit.

I would just much rather the national stadium had been built somewhere cheaper and more accessible to the whole country. You could even make an argument that building two national stadiums would have been better - thus regenerating two entire areas of the country. £800m to rebuild Wembley was a shambolic waste of money. But that's Ken Bates for you - driven by selfishness, and happy to waste other people's money doing it. He is the worst type of Tory.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

So T1 looks like more or less longish term (8 yrs+) Amex STHs who have done home cup games (or a few aways instead) then ?

I’ve had my ST since Amex opened and done a majority of home cup games but only 1 away game since we got to the PL, and normally only Charlton away before that.

 

[Weststander]

I disagree. Somewhere accessible to most of the country that was a fraction of the cost would have been miles better.

And Germany doesn't really have a national stadium, nor does the USA and I dare say several other countries. Even in France it is somewhat nuanced. Until the need for an 80k stadium to host the 1998 World Cup, they used Parc des Princes which held 45k and was smaller than a fair number of others. Italy also has an Olympic stadium in Rome, but it's hardly a stadium used exclusively for all big events.

My opinion is simply that the national stadium should be in the capital. London, Paris, Berlin etc, these are centres of the human universe.

A 90,000 venue sited on the outskirts of Coventry would have no heart, no historical significance and no nearby venues for making a day or weekend of it. People who visit Wembley often tie it in with some time in amazing central London.

Bars and hotels wouldn’t spring up solely for a place used 20 times a year in the middle of nowhere, it wouldn’t be financially viable.

Just one decent train line to Coventry, would mean the vast majority would’ve used the internal combustion engine to get there. At Wembley it’s a mix, including using the lesser known station a walk away. We know new train lines cost £10b’s in this country, no government would spend that for a football stadium.

 

[dazzer6666]

I am T2, done no away games but both home cup games.

Would be cumulative (then reduced) home cup points…..not just this season ? Just a guess but 200 stps plus the remainder

 

[ChickenBaltiPie]

I’m T2 Season Ticket 10+ years (ever since I could afford it) and every home cup game…wish I had a buddy to go to away games with (I’m that generation where all my pals chose PL teams unfortunately, mugs) I would go regularly, but don’t wanna go solo if I’m honest although I’ve been really tempted a couple of times, and seems 1/2 away games would put me T1. Shame!

 

[dazzer6666]

I’m T2 Season Ticket 10+ years (ever since I could afford it) and every home cup game…wish I had a buddy to go to away games with (I’m that generation where all my pals chose PL teams unfortunately, mugs) I would go regularly, but don’t wanna go solo if I’m honest although I’ve been really tempted a couple of times, and seems 1/2 away games would put me T1. Shame!

I quite often go on my own……doesn’t matter once you get there !

 

[peterward]

So, to be clear, if you’re in 1 but want to sit with someone who is in 3, will you have to wait for the 3rd window to open or can you buy theirs in 1 window if they’re friends and family?!

I'm in same boat mate, but I'd guess its the former, simply not going to be able to sit with family or friends in later stages

Would be nice if there was a way you could reserve and pay for a seat as part of your earlier priority but have a pending unallocated seat.

I.e if the club gets 34k, your purchase reduces that number by one but your actual seat remains unallocated until later priority groups buy and your friends/family can allocate you all together...

Of course that won't happen though!