Member forum 2 Feb... and Gold/Platinum seating changes

[Dan the Membership Man]

Hey Everyone

On Thursday 2nd of February we will be hosting a Mariners Member Forum at Drifters Wharf at 6pm.
If you would like to come and listen to Rich and Shaun speak about the club and answer any questions we would love you to come along.

Link below to reverse a spot for the night
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/mariners-members-forum-tickets-526207880937

look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the match i will be on Dane dr from 5.30pm until kick off if you want to pop over and say hello.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Hey Everyone

On Thursday 2nd of February we will be hosting a Mariners Member Forum at Drifters Wharf at 6pm.
If you would like to come and listen to Rich and Shaun speak about the club and answer any questions we would love you to come along.

Link below to reverse a spot for the night
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/mariners-members-forum-tickets-526207880937

look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the match i will be on Dane dr from 5.30pm until kick off if you want to pop over and say hello.

Love your work mate

 

[rbakersmith]

This email from Dan arrived earlier this evening:

Dear Loyal Mariners Member,

Central Coast Mariners invite you to join us for a meeting to discuss the Club as well as some upcoming changes at Industree Group Stadium for some members.

As you may be aware, Venues Live have assumed stadium operations for Industree Group Stadium from Central Coast Council. Central Coast Mariners welcome the new collaborative direction being forged; however, to ensure a sustainable working relationship some changes have needed to occur.

As a result, Central Coast Mariners have been asked to relinquish bays Gold 35 and 36, Platinum 37 and half of 38 (Bay 38 all seats number 1-10 from rows A-H), which regrettably, will affect your current seating arrangement going forward.

The Club will strive to minimise your disappointment in moving you to a new, yet comparable seat for future seasons through mutual agreement.

Consequently, Central Coast Mariners are hosting an open discussion forum for our valued foundation members and broader membership base. Whilst welcoming membership feedback and best practice suggestions, the conversation will largely centre around proposed seating solutions.

The forum will be held at 6pm at Drifters Wharf on the 2nd February. Please advise intended attendance by securing your seat at this important juncture, Finger food and refreshments will be supplied.

Click the link to RSVP https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/mariners-members-forum-tickets-526207880937

We look forward to discussing this matter with you and working together to further enhance your Central Coast Mariners membership experience. Please direct any questions or queries to Dan Challinor on 4352 7200 or by email

As a long term platinum member, to say that I'm disappointed by this outcome is an understatement. To me it sounds like Venues Live are screwing us over on venue hire and trying to push their stadium memberships.

I can't see how the club can move us into a comparable seat going forward. I specifically picked bay 38 for the ground position, and if we're being locked out of the bays that have a similar view then what's the point of keeping my platinum membership?

I won't be able to make it on Thursday (weeknight games are hard enough to get to from Wollongong), but I'll definitely be following up with Dan on this.

 

[bikinigirl]

. not only are they trying to push their stadium memberships (which I have only just heard about) ... but they are pushing them to some of the most loyal and the highest paying members of their only tenant (at their tenant's expense)

. AND they are doing it in a way they hope some of those members will feel they have no choice if they want to keep 'their' seats ... not the best way to ensure their tenant continues to be operational

. i suspect we will see a situation similar to the ACL games where the AFC wanted all those seats on the eastern side, excluding members that had paid a premium to sit their for years and then they sat empty ... except this will be for every game. the club probably won't even be able to sting visiting sydney fans for any spare seats

 

[bikinigirl]

. i also don't like that the club have combined this with a general forum - the first in a long time and just after Rich's email. big issues will be cannabalising time from one another

. short notice and time of the week are another problem

 

[FFC Mariner]

Venue managers are presumably entitled to do this so the forum is simply a whingefest
The decision won't change.

 

[bikinigirl]

. i agree that the decision is about as likely to change as the GF hosting decision

. but the conversation may help anybody who was contemplating a stadium membership ie. the impact it has on the club. other than those forced to move - the club seems to be the biggest loser here

 

[Corsair]

What's a Stadium membership? It sounds like you get an allocated seat from the people that now run the stadium and the club gets nothing out of that?

 

[bikinigirl]

What's a Stadium membership? It sounds like you get an allocated seat from the people that now run the stadium and the club gets nothing out of that?

. pretty much ... but i don't believe you get an allocated seat - there will be allocated bays for stadium members

. they just happen to be the premium bays - locking CCM and their members out of those bays

. i don't know what compensation the club will receive but i can't imagine it would be very appealing

 

[Ancient Mariner]

To say I am unimpressed would be an understatement.
Currently I am have 5 platinum memberships that will be affected. One for my wife and myself and 3 for my son and his family.
My son like myself is a platinum member and has just added a new grand baby to the family hence this year they have not attended any games, having a two year old and baby in tow.
I have been happy to still fund these seats for the family as I consider them to be the best seats in the stadium and an investment in the future when hopefully such seats will be unattainable due to popularity of the games. it has been an extravagance which I have justified to myself by saying that it is an investment in the future and the money that I am wasting is at least supporting the Club.
Having read this email, now instead of planning n extra family ticket for the new Bub thus ensuring that we have 6 platinum seats together so the family can sit together in future I am now thinking of not wasting any more money.
I am sick of being taken for a mug by the A-League now I doubt I will be allow myself to be taken for a mug by the Club's dealings any longer.

I am extremely upset by the shortness of notice for this meeting. I am currently interstate and will be returning tired (post Covid struggle) and extremely pissed off, that afternoon. If I feel fit enough and have time enough to drive up from Sydney they are going to have to do some fast talking and have some amazing compensation if they want to keep me.

Angry bear alert, take care.

 

[rbakersmith]

. i don't know what compensation the club will receive but i can't imagine it would be very appealing

My interpretation was that club would relinquish those bays in return for not getting completely reamed on ground hire.

It seems completely counterproductive to me. The only reason I go to CCS is for Mariners games, so there is no way in hell that I would pay an extra $300 a year to stay in my seat (especially when the club would get nothing from that). That they would risk no revenue at all from the seats instead of some revenue is baffling.

 

[Rising Sun]

Stadium memberships are very marketable at the big city venues with multiple tenants and a steady flow of high profile one off games/events. But not at CCS with a single tenant, a couple of NRL games and a carol concert.
I hope Shaun and Richard have asked how many stadium memberships have been sold since they started marketing this a few months ago. My guess is it will be close to zero. So we are not being asked to vacate these bays to accommodate the hundreds of stadium members, but rather it is an attempt to steal customers from their sole client by putting a gun to the customers head that if you want to remain in these bays you have to sign with us instead. Complete dog act.

 

[Rising Sun]

Venue managers are presumably entitled to do this so the forum is simply a whingefest
The decision won't change.

I assume the main reason for the forum is to placate fans and work toward palatable alternatives for them to remain Mariners members not stadium members.

As for changing the decision - Venues Live is a NSW government agency so I would be looking towards the politicians to see what influence we can have. I would certainly be inviting Adam Crouch as guest of honour on Thursday to explain why an agency of his government is screwing us over, and what he is doing about it (with an election handily around the corner).

 

[Corsair]

. pretty much ... but i don't believe you get an allocated seat - there will be allocated bays for stadium members

. they just happen to be the premium bays - locking CCM and their members out of those bays

. i don't know what compensation the club will receive but i can't imagine it would be very appealing

This is about the worst possible thing you could do to your best customers. Who sat through all those shit seasons when attendance was through the floor? Which seats were they in? Seats they have sat in for years and years with their friends around them, seats that give them a feeling of belonging and tradition. Very poor decision, probably by some bean counter with no involvement or passion for the club at all. I'm not even directly affected by it and I'm still disgusted.

 

[rbakersmith]

I assume the main reason for the forum is to placate fans and work toward palatable alternatives for them to remain Mariners members not stadium members.

I suspect many people will either choose not to remain members at all, or vastly reduce their membership.

Between the travel from Wollongong and having a newborn I would be lucky to make it to half the games this season, yet I keep my seat because I want to provide as much support to the club as possible. If the option that is provided is less than satisfactory (which is what I expect) then I would more than likely drop back to a non-ticketed membership next season and just watch the games on TV.

 

[Tevor]

Gee, first was the email that was a call to arms and get more people to the games and now four bays who pay the most membership get shafted. All seems like a bit of a cluster at the moment and the left hand isn’t talking to the right. I’m not impacted however feel so sorry for those that are. I was annoyed about moving a row when we had to social distance. Shaun has been talking up Venues live as well, the Club must have known this was coming from the beginning. I’m not able to make the forum but sounds like it isn’t going to be all that pleasant.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

The whole tone of the email sounds like the Club is working hand in hand with the stadium management. Not like we have been royally screwed by the stadium management and we are fighting for our members interests.
Add to that they have a forum to discuss it at short notice sent at 7.45pm on a Friday night.
Sounds very much like pollies releasing unpopular decisions on the eve of a Melbourne Cup in the hope that it will miss the main news.

 

[Tevor]

So reading the stadium membership this starts now and not at the end of the season. You can now buy the stadium membership starting Jan 2023. So do they not get to sit in the seats for this match?

 

[true believer]

What's a Stadium membership? It sounds like you get an allocated seat from the people that now run the stadium and the club gets nothing out of that?

yes ,you get to subsidise the NRL and ARU.
what shit

 

[Ancient Mariner]

And they thought the straw that broke the camel's back was the grand final decision. They are still loading this camel.
I feel in need of shouting FFC some beers while he gives me a lesson in the realities of the running of football clubs in a modern setting and stop me living in a world of wishful thinking.