CHILDREN aged under 15 will be granted free entry to Sunday matches at the MCG and Etihad Stadium next season following the AFL's shake-up of ticketing for Melbourne games.
After gathering feedback from Victorian supporters, the League has announced a range of initiatives for 2015.
Click here for the full 2015 AFL fixture
They include general admission tickets now being available for every home-and-away game, while the Anzac Day blockbuster will be the only fully reserved seat match.
Variable pricing remains, but matches will no longer be classified in categories of A-reserve, A, B, B-reserve or C.
The move follows the AFL coming under fire from general admission members who had to pay extra to reserve a seat for blockbuster A-reserve matches last season – such as the Geelong-Hawthorn clash on Easter Monday.
Other key ticket initiatives include:
- A price freeze on general admission tickets at $25 for adults, $17 for concession and $5 for children (excluding transaction fee)
- Reduced transaction fees from $7 this year to $2.50 in 2015 for online tickets for Etihad Stadium matches
- A new online tool on AFL.com.au and club websites for user-friendly ticket searches
- Variable prices set collaboratively by the AFL and all 18 clubs
Attendances in Melbourne dropped last season, with an experimental fixture partly to blame.
But the AFL has made affordability and accessibility at games its priority for 2015.
Sunday games in Melbourne will now become family-friendly days, with free entry for children tying-in with other fan engagement initiatives, such as the revival of kick-to-kick on the MCG.
The AFL is working with non-Victorian clubs to implement similar initiatives, where possible, next season.
Travis Auld, general manager of clubs and AFL operations, said the League wanted to remove roadblocks for fans attending matches.
"We trialled a number of things last season and it became pretty clear that some worked really well and others didn't," Auld told AFL.com.au.
"So what we've done is listen to our fans and work really hard to address those things that didn't work and we're really confident leading into this season that we've done that.
"The number one objective for next year is to build crowds and provide the opportunity for supporters to get to games and support their team – with a particular focus on kids and families, particularly for Sunday games.
"Making kids (admission) free for Sunday games at the MCG and Etihad certainly enhances that opportunity."
Auld said the AFL and Victorian clubs collaborating to set variable ticket prices – which non-Victorian clubs have been doing for years - made sense given clubs' understanding of their supporters and the fact they retain profits from ticket revenue.
The League has also worked closely with ticketing agencies to make it easier to buy a ticket.
"Variable pricing itself remains, what we've done is work really hard with our ticketing agents to make the process of purchasing a ticket a lot easier," Auld said.
"So supporters who would have used the system in previous years will notice a significant difference this coming season and that's required a fair bit of work from a technological perspective.
"And then the complexity in terms of when a supporter does go online to purchase a ticket, they don't have to choose between categories of games."
St Kilda plays nine Sunday games at the MCG or Etihad next season, the most of any side.
Melbourne has eight, the Bulldogs have six, Essendon five, Collingwood and North Melbourne four each, while Carlton and Richmond play three each.
Hawthorn plays two games but Geelong has no Sunday matches at either ground in 2015.
Tickets prices for every game next season will be made public and available to buy about a month before round one of the 2015 season kicks off on April 2.
