Just emailed Alex to register my disappointment.

I think a lot of good points have been made here. The main ones I made in my email were that the fact the charge was introduced so covertly would suggest to me that the branch knew it was a poor decision.

More importantly (and cows alluded to it already), I feel the €20 figure is also a psychological limit for a lot of people. To make an analogy, I go for lunch with a group of colleagues most days. There's no canteen where I work so we go to pubs etc near the office. We are all in agreement that for lunch, €10 is the limit. Something could be €10.50, and people would be reluctant to spend it. Similarly, when it comes to connacht games I think a lot of people don't even give the €20 a second thought. But that extra €3 might make them give it some thought, and once that happens we're in trouble. Because logic will kick in, and people will start adding up parking fees etc (which I know haven't changed), and all of a sudden they'll realise the real cost is probably closer to €30 and they'll decide to watch the game on telly instead (or if it's not on, watch the Munster/Leinster/Ulster game which definitely is on).

Like I said, I'm disappointed. I feel a lot of good work had been done to improve PR over the Summer in particular, and a move like this is likely to undo a lot of it.

Finally, with a surcharge of €3 on a €20 ticket, it'll take 7+ people who actually do pay it, to make up for 1 who decides not to attend the game. So, while I suspect this won't deter the hard core fans (which let’s face it, if you're on here you probably are), I really do believe this will have a big effect on the fair weather fans. And it's the fair weather fans that we should be trying our best to keep happy in the hope they'll become brainwashed like the rest of us!

Finally finally, based on past performance, I suspect the branch will stick stubbornly with this charge, and if numbers do dwindle, they'll just lie about the attendance figures like they always do.

sea_point wrote:

rossie wrote: He has obviously never heard of a ticket collection booth!

How many people to staff it, and who pays for it? Add the cost on to ST's or to those who actually want the walk up option available...?

Every other club have one. Even Croke park has one ffs. Every ground I've ever been it for every kind of sport has one. Its in poor taste and discriminating against the non gal way based supporter.

In fact they already have the facility. The sales counter is there. It can double up as a collection point. Alex Saul says its because they can't judge staff levels etc. Bs! The crowds aren't that big. I was told that there was no more than 3k actually there on Saturday. Wud it not be easier to sell them over phone and allow distance fan collect at ticket office on match day? Of course it would. The ques are minimal. I know because I'm in them regularly. Its taxing the people who want to attend rather than getting out there and growing your business.

are there not clubs around Connacht with the facilities to open a designated collection point for a specified time period

rossie wrote: He has obviously never heard of a ticket collection booth!

How many people to staff it, and who pays for it? Add the cost on to ST's or to those who actually want the walk up option available...?

He has obviously never heard of a ticket collection booth!

Got an answer to the email I sent to the branch:


Thank you for your email and feedback.

We appreciate fans taking the time to provide feedback and it helps shape our thinking for future decisions.

With regards to our pricing model, all our prices are transparent and indeed we breakdown - on our website - the cost of buying tickets through the various channels. ie. €20 at branch, €22 online or in store, €23 at match day box office.

The total cost is called out to all purchasers to allow them make an informed decision as to where and when is best for them to buy. Your point regarding the Mayo or Sligo fan is well made and we have a challenge in delivering a €20 option in their local communities. The reality is there is a cost to making tickets available online or in Musgrave stores in these communities and that this is a cost that we as a business cannot absorb. I would make the point that someone purchasing online last year would have had to pay a €2.95 booking fee per ticket with Ticketmaster. We have worked hard to reduce this and feel that a €22 option in your local store is an improvement in this regard. We are delighted to have been able to improve access to tickets through the Centra and Supervalu network.

The €3 or (€1 when compared to online) fee on match days is entirely avoidable and fans can purchase online or in-store in advance of the game at the normal rates (cheaper than last year). We incur significant planning and preparation challenges due to having repeated late walk ups and therefore our model is to encourage early purchases. The sooner we know how many people will be coming through the gates the more we can improve our operations from staffing for stewarding, scanning and also for bars, vendors, security and cash handling.

With regards to the concession tickets, a €1 surcharge to normal online rates will apply to these tickets. Ie. €15 branch, €16.50 online or in-store, €17.50 match day.

The fee is not profit making or punitive but goes directly to covering these additional costs. It is also important to note that we have the lowest booking fees of any province for both season tickets and match day tickets.

I'd like to thank you again for taking the time to contact me to raise your concerns and ensure you that we will, at all times review the effectiveness and success of any of our policies. At all times our primary objective is growing the game of rugby in the region, becoming increasingly self-sufficient and releasing more funds back into the professional and community game here in the province.

Best Regards,

Alex Saul
Head of Commercial and Marketing

I had a spare ticket tonight for the zebre game, gave it to one lucky supporter outside the ticket boot for a tenner. It felt great!

@Pinky I know what you are saying. I feel exactly the same way. I would MUCH MUCH prefer if this was an announced ticket price increase, with a discount for those who buy early. It would be much nicer to say "Tickets are €23, but if you buy them early you get them for €20".

It's the implementation of this that will leave people feeling hard done by, and Connacht Rugby cannot afford to do that.

For the record I have no quibble with tickets.is charging 2 euro. They are after all a third party for hire to sell Connacht core business and that's their commission.
Connacht rugby themselves charging a commission for handling their own business on their 14 principle business days is another matter altogether and is taking the piss too far IMO.

Pinky as you obviously live in gal way city or close by you have no idea how we think so why bother speculating?

The reality is that non gal way based fans are now being discriminated against. If I lived in or near gal way city I can purchase a ticket for 20 euro Monday to Friday in the sports ground. If I don't it will cost me 23 euro from the same source. They wont post me the ticket or allow me to collect it at the sports ground on game day. Grounds which experience far higher average attendance have ticket office without surcharge and collection points for tickets. Its discrimination. They don't want us and the message is clear and received.( or at least they don't want the hassle of dealing with us on match day)

OK, I'm rowing against the tide here, but I think charging a higher price on match day versus advance purchase is a good idea, though they have made a feck up of how they implemented it.

The online surcharges were there last season as well with ticketmaster, which meant that your ticket cost more if you bought it in advance. Since Connacht games are almost never sold out, there was no incentive to buy in advance.
Fair weather fans will always be a part of the game and there's nothing wrong with them (I started as one myself), but I don't think we should be actively encouraging it by offering them cheaper tickets.
The argument that it discriminates against people living outside Galway doesn't hold much water either. If you're travelling a long way, you have to plan the whole thing in advance anyway. If anything it's Galway people who benefitted from cheaper tickets on the gate, as they could decide to go to a game last minute, a luxury not available to those coming from afar.

All that said, it baffles me why they implemented it as a late surcharge rather than an early discount.
If they'd said a ticket was €23 at face value but you got €1 off for buying online or €3 off for buying in the branch, it would leave less of a sour taste. People hate hidden charges but everyone loves a discount.
Also, they should have announced the price increase at the same time as launching the season ticket campaign, as it makes the season tickets price more attractive relative to single tickets.

It's not the price hike I object to, it's the lack of Vaseline.

Hey Alex, if you're going to do it, I expect dinner first.

Really you'd have to question who made this decision and what rationale was possibly behind it. Connacht have a strong base of season ticket holders, we need to keep building the support base and I think Connacht charge more than enough for walk up supporters. if you are going to charge at least have the decency to let people know rather than stinging them on the gate. People may take the hit once but they won't be fooled a 2nd time.

Really I'd be reluctant to tell anyone about a Conancht game if this is the sort of tricks they are going to be pulling.

I know the branch are exploring every option to generate revenue to boost the squad but this is madness and must be shelved immediately.

As I've posted before I travel from south Roscommon to games with my son and often his friend. It costs 20 euro + for diesel, 3.80 for tolls, 4 for parking in school, 10-15 euro for refreshments and now 23 euro admission and 5 per child. I'm now going to avail of a substantial saving and stay at home. Gal way utd are alive and well and avoiding the taxman by hiding out in the sports ground disguised in green. Soccer friends of mine say they always played rugby! Lol
Enjoyed it while it lasted.

Right im a little confused here, tickets are €20 but if you walk up to the gate they will charge you €23.

All that's going to do is piss off supporters who decide last minute to go to the game.

Makes no sense whatsoever.

I'm ll for the club trying to generate revenue but this is pure sneaky IMO