West Ham ticketing update

West Ham met with ten members of the OSB ticketing subgroup on Wednesday night at the Captain’s lounge at the London Stadium.

The subgroup was made up of five Official Supporters’ Board (OSB)  members presenting disabled supporters, Claret members, bondholders and season ticket holders together with five non-OSB members were had previously applied to the OSB but were unsuccessful. These additional members including away season ticket holders and home season ticket holders with high priority points.

The club received feedback from the subgroup members obtained from a variety of methods and from a variety of stakeholders who all use the West Ham ticket office.

Head of Ticketing Nicola Keye explained that an upgrade of the TicketMaster system was performed in January 2019 in order to meet this increasing demand, and she was confident that previous errors with the system, including the ballot process, have now been resolved.  It was also confirmed that the club will introduce the ability to upgrade concession tickets online soon and the club was confident that the system will be live before Christmas.

Following feedback from fans regarding the misuse of away tickets, this season a set of Terms and Conditions were introduced. As a result, a number of fans have been removed from the scheme for a breach of these.  Additionally, a member of the Ticket Office is now working at every away game to assist travelling fans.

The Ticket Office are also monitoring the non-attendance of supporters who have purchased away tickets with the sole intention of earning points, and there was a discussion on how the Club could take action on this including the potential to remove points for non-attendance.

It was also confirmed that the Ticket Office monitor social media and ticket websites to act on the resale of our away tickets. Supporters are reminded that tickets are for personal use only, and the resale of a ticket without the express permission of the club is illegal.

Other clubs have introduced ID checks for travelling fans, and an example was given of England away matches, whereby supporters have to collect tickets on the day with photo ID. The Club confirmed that while it wishes to prevent touting, supporter experience is an absolute priority, but it will be consulting further with the OSB and ticketing subgroup on any future proposals.

It was confirmed that there are also no plans to abolish the Priority Points system and the Club is keen to hear fan views on how points are allocated. The Clubs’ preference was to have the most simple system possible to prevent any confusion, for example, some clubs offer points based on the distance travelled, but also take into consideration the category of the game, meaning there is a large variety in the points offered.

Currently, the scheme offers one point for a competitive away fixture or home cup game, or two Priority Points for those supporters on the home cup scheme. Supporters present suggested a bonus point system for mid-week games, or any games moved for television at short notice. The Club agreed to review that suggestion.

There was a question as to why supporters receive 90% of their ticket price when selling their ticket on the Ticket Exchange. It was confirmed this was to cover the processing cost from TicketMaster.

The Club said they do not license any travel partners to sell tickets for away games, and if supporters see tour companies offering away tickets, they should bring them to their attention by emailing the Ticket Office with full details.  The Club does engage with travel partners who can sell home tickets, but if any supporters are unsure of a company, they can ask the Ticket Office before purchasing.  Supporters found to be selling tickets on without the permission of the Club will be subject to stadium bans.

It was confirmed the OSB would be consulted with during the process on ticket pricing for the 2020/21 season. It was asked that the Club gave as much notice as possible to supporters, to allow them to plan personal finances, and suggested early-bird renewal prices, or multi-year offers.

A question was asked regarding concession pricing for under 18s as students are now in education until they turn 18. The Club agreed to review the feasibility of this.

Club Cash is accrued by supporters selling their seats on the Ticket Exchange, and the current process has the cash lasting for a season, expiring on May 31st. The majority of supporters use their Club Cash towards the cost of renewal for their Season Tickets, but it can also be used to purchase merchandise from the online store.

It was raised that there have been issues with supporters forgetting to use their Club Cash, or not being able to access it online, and asked if the deadline for Club Cash could be changed to give supporters more time for use. The Club confirmed that a review would be undertaken of the user process for Club Cash, and that the deadline for use would be part of this.

Supporters asked for clarity on the Season Ticket Waiting List. Context was given, confirming it was created for the move to London Stadium, and due to the demand for Season Tickets seemed a natural way to continue as we head into the fourth season here. It was confirmed that the Club is currently undertaking a review of the Season Ticket Waiting List product with a likely move to a season by season list, whereby supporters would have to opt-in each year in order to remain on the list, ensuring it is more current and relevant.

On Away ticket allocation it was confirmed that there are 700 supporters on the away scheme (a capped number), which is designed to provide a ticket for travelling supporters for personal use. There is and has been no suggestion of abolishing this scheme.  The club confirmed the break down of allocation given at the last ticketing meeting was still accurate.

Those figures shared previously were a typical 3000 allocation were allocated as follows Bond Holders up to 300, Players, players families and staff up to 90, Away Season ticket holders 700, Club London corporate ballot up to 200, general 10% ballot reserved up to 300, disabled supporters around 60. This typical allocation would use up 1,650 leaving 1,350 for season ticket holders with the highest priority points.

The pros and cons of the ballot were also discussed with broad agreement that, as a principle, it is a fair way of ensuring that away tickets are not a ‘closed shop’. There was some further discussion about the size of the ballot relative to the allocation and the Club has agreed to review this, for example, games where the allocation is less than 3,000, the ballot could be offered as 5% of tickets, but for games we receive the full allocation, 10% would be saved for the ballot process. This suggestion will be taken forward to the main OSB meeting.

It was also made clear that the Club welcomes suggestions regarding making the allocation fairer to all supporters and are happy to discuss any ideas further at the next OSB meeting.

You can contact members of the OSB here