We’re inviting fans to complete a survey on the future of away ticket priority.
Presently for every high-demand away match, all season ticket holders are given the opportunity to buy one ticket ahead of general sale.
But with more than 6,000 season tickets being sold in 2023-24 and an increase in travelling support leading to away ends nearing capacity or selling out on a regular basis, we’re aware that some of our most regular away supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated and concerned about the prospect of missing out on tickets.
We have therefore undertaken considerable research, along with an internal review of the data and resource available to us, to identify ways we can move towards introducing a fair and robust loyalty points system – an approach taken by a large number of other clubs.
As discussed by our chief executive, Joe Palmer, at our recent fans’ forum, the earliest we will be able to introduce such a system will be in 2025-26 – which poses the question of how we address the issue in 2024-25.
We’re therefore keen to hear fans’ views on whether they would prefer to:
- See the introduction of a 2024-25 away membership, which would give fans the opportunity to guarantee themselves priority access to tickets for all regular away league matches
- Retain the current system, where all season ticket holders are given the opportunity to buy one ticket each ahead of general sale, until the loyalty points system is introduced in 2025-26
Opinion on this was split among fans who attended the forum – so we now wish to conduct a survey to ensure we can consider the views of all supporters before making a decision.
Palmer said: “I’d firstly like to thank the thousands of supporters who continue to back the team so brilliantly on the road.
“We recognise the time, money and effort that goes into travelling around the country and we want to ensure those who do so on a regular basis have the best possible chance of securing a ticket when availability is limited.
“From the beginning of 2024-25, we will be taking the necessary steps to maximise data capture of travelling fans by ensuring all advance sales are handled by us – thus enabling fans who buy their away tickets from us, rather than the host club, to begin building loyalty points ahead of the planned launch of our new system in 2025-26.
“Between now and then, however, we want to know if fans would like to see us introduce a 2024-25 away membership – a way of unlocking the highest level of priority for regular away league matches.
“Please review our proposal below before completing the survey.”
2024-25 away membership proposal
- Exclusive opportunity for 2024-25 season ticket holders to receive first-priority access to tickets for every regular away league fixture in 2024-25
- Non-season ticket holders can qualify for second priority by purchasing the membership
- The following priority purchase periods would be in place for all regular away league matches:
- First: 2024-25 season ticket holders who have purchased an away membership
- Second: Non-season ticket holders who have purchased an away membership
- Third: 2024-25 season ticket holders without an away membership
- Fourth: Club membership groups, ie. Lifeline and NCFCOSA members
- Fifth: General sale
- Each supporter will only be entitled to purchase one ticket before general sale
- For example, they can’t purchase a ticket during the away member sales period and then another during the season ticket holder period. They can, however, purchase additional tickets should the match reach general sale
- Due to a lack of certainty over away allocations, this uncapped membership would not guarantee all members a ticket to each away match. It would, however, present the best chance of securing one
- Price: In the region of £10-£30
- Please complete the survey to provide your views on price, bearing in mind membership numbers would be uncapped
- Membership sales would be cut off in advance of the first away league match going on sale
- No physical membership cards will be produced – the relevant level of priority would simply be added to the supporter’s account
- Priority details for away cup/play-off fixtures will be confirmed on a match-by-match basis
Click here to complete the survey. We will share the results in due course.
