Newcastle divide their own fans after revealing ticket prices ahead of 2023/24 season

Newcastle divide their own fans after revealing ticket prices for the upcoming 2023/24 season with just weeks to go until it begins.

The Magpies issued important ticket information for the opening Premier League fixture against Aston Villa on Saturday, the 12th of August.

Ticket demand has rocketed over the last few recent seasons, especially after Mike Ashley left.

Memberships for the new season were put on sale last Wednesday, with thousands of fans trying to take advantage of the scheme to make sure they get in the ballot for home tickets this season.

Newcastle have now confirmed the ballot for the opening game will open at 10am on Wednesday the 2nd of August and will close at 10am two days later.

Supporters can’t choose their seat, with adult ticket prices ranging between £44 to £74. Unsuccessful ballot members can buy seats that go up for re-sale by season ticket holders.

🗳️ The Membership ballot for our first game of the season against Aston Villa at St. James’ Park will open at 10am tomorrow.

It will then close at 10am on Friday, 4 August.

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) August 1, 2023

CLUB STATEMENT:

The Membership ballot for Newcastle United’s first game of the season, against Aston Villa at St. James’ Park, opens at 10am on Wednesday, 2nd August and will close at 10am on Friday, 4th August.

Eddie Howe’s side take on the Villans in a 17:30 BST kick-off on Saturday, 12th August and ballot applications are strictly one ticket per membership.

Those members that are successful in the ballot will be contacted by 5pm on Friday, 4th August, and payment will be processed. Seats are allocated randomly so you could be allocated tickets in any area of the stadium with the ticket range of £44 to £74 for an adult tickets (or the applicable concession rate, where applicable).

Those members who are unsuccessful in the ballot are eligible to purchase any seats put up for re-sale by season ticket holders. Any seats that are put up for re-sale can be viewed and purchased online. They cannot be purchased over the phone or in person.

Digital tickets will be emailed to the applicant, or in case of a group, the lead applicant. Digital ticketing FAQs can be found here.

This is absolutely f*cking disgusting.

Utter madness.

We’ve been completely screwed over by the Club that we’ve given everything to.

You’re now telling us what we can afford/can’t afford to pay to watch our beloved @NUFC?!

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬#NUFC pic.twitter.com/gfkJxTs4cM

— 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘆𝗻𝗲 #NUFC (@ToonMouthTyne) August 1, 2023

ONLINE BALLOT PROCESS

Each member has a unique supporter ID and can therefore only register once for the ballot (so if you are included in a group application, you cannot also make an individual application at the same time). The maximum number of supporters who may be included within a ballot application is six.

If you wish to be included in the ballot so that, if successful, you would be seated together in a group with friends and/or family members, then you must register all of the proposed members of that group in one application only.

To apply for friends and family members, they must be members and be linked to your account via the ‘My Friends & Family’ option within your online ticketing account. Please ensure that, before submitting a group application as lead applicant, you have (i) completed and checked this in your account settings and (ii) obtained the prior consent of those friends and/or family members on whose behalf you are applying.

It is imperative that you check and select the correct age band for each ballot applicant, since failure to do so may result in an unsuccessful application.

Each applicant (and, in the case of a group application, the lead applicant submitting on behalf of the group) will need to enter credit/debit card details when submitting a ballot application. No payment will be processed at the point of registering in the ballot.

If you are successful, the automated balloting system will automatically allocate you (and in the case of a group application, each of the members of that group) a seat which could be in any of the available seats. 

Once the deadline date has passed for ballot registrations, the ballot will be drawn randomly. The member applicants who are successful in the ballot will automatically have their credit/debit card payment charged for the total cost of ticket(s) allotted. Each successful applicant (and, in the case of a successful group application, the lead applicant submitting on behalf of the group) will receive a confirmation email.

If your payment is not successful the box office will contact you. You will then have 24 hours to complete payment following initial contact. If payment is not received by this time, the tickets will be re-balloted and allocated to another eligible supporter.

If you do not receive an email then, unfortunately the number of ballot applications received has exceeded available ticket capacity and you have not been successful. Supporters can check whether or not they are successful in the ballot via the ‘My Account’ option within their online ticketing account.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

* Membership is not transferable and only allows you to apply for your age band
* Seats will be allocated randomly across the stadium (if you apply as a group in one application you will be sat together)
* All tickets are digital and should be downloaded to your smart phone immediately upon receipt

As mentioned, Newcastle divide their own fans after revealing ticket prices ahead of the 2023/24 season…

@AdamP1242: £74 a ticket in some areas of St James Park is mental btw, Carabao Cup final tickets in the front row were £72 😅

@GallowgateShots: Aye. This isn’t it.

@NicolaDolby5: What you’re forgetting is that ticket sales count as revenue, a part of FFP. The lower the ticket prices, the less money the club has to spend. Yes, @NUFC are a football club but also a business. Just be glad you’re not an Arsenal supporter. They’re cheapest season ticket is £975

@laurenamos__: Plz can you review this and bring in price banding options because us folk cant afford potentially paying £74 a pop

@joshtemps97: If I’m paying £74 for a home match against Villa, I want at least a 45 minute run out at left back like, shambles that 🤧

@lukebambridge: You had years upon years when it was literally easy to get a Season Ticket mate? We could barely give them away at one point. What’s the excuse?

@bazza080808: An alternative could be different ballots for different price ranges. I.e you choose which ballot you want to be put in for from the below. One entry to one ballot per member.
Ballot one £35 – £44
Ballot two £45 – £54
Ballot three £55 -£64
Ballot four £65 – to £74

@Boatzy: Should be that you enter the ballot for a chance to purchase a ticket. That way you can then select price point & part of stadium to sit. Yes it would be pot luck with other fans but would be fairer than current system.

@JonathanOllie: Not giving the choice where people wanna sit if successful. Jesus christ

@TutFoster: Well I was going to try and get a couple of tickets.. but no chance I’m paying £74 each 😂 Massive own goal by the owners this.. probably the first ting they’ve done wrong so far..

@NeilHeilbron: This is exactly how the so called biggest clubs allocate tickets, so do we want to compete with them or do we want to go back to where we were, can’t have it both ways.

@cam_nufc: Fair enough you couldn’t of made this worse if you tried

@S_Davisonn: This is all a bit of a shambles isn’t it.

@Rosscomal: Not having a choice where you sit is just awful. Not everyone can afford £74 for a match ticket. Really struggling to see how this makes sense…

@DeanaHoggat: “Seats are allocated randomly so you could be allocated tickets in any area of the stadium with the ticket range of £44 to £74 for an adult ticket”. What if I’m happy to pay £44 but not £74? #nufc

@Midwifejules: Really unhappy with the way this is being done as only 13 year old son has a membership with me and his dad having season tickets. Previously we could buy him an additional ticket near us but now absolutely no way of making sure he’s not sat in an area of the ground on his own.

@ToonBlogg: I mean it was inevitable. Ticket price was always going to increase as we become a more competitive club. The issue we all should have is the way the club have decided that this random allocation bollocks is a good idea and that they think it’s okay to not communicate it til late

@paulcoldman5: Personally don’t see the issue, I think when we were awful and couldn’t fill the stadium then lower prices are normal but when your successful and playing European football you have to raise prices as demand increases and also the club is struggling to increase revenue so yea!

@iam_oxley: The way you have chosen to do this could potentially drive away your average fan, or is this the plan? Have more, day trip fans coming? If so, say goodbye to that famous atmosphere, and enjoy the soulless corporate style that has happened to other clubs….

@KENDALL3T: Randomly allocated seating is awful

@PaulCopeland70: As a season ticket holder it doesn’t really affect me but will for my young niece & nephew. Surely the right thing to do would’ve been to release this information when the memberships went on sale so everyone knew the ins & outs before buying one.

@IrishGeordie1: So it says £44-£74 and random allocation. So if someone can afford the £44 ticket but not the £74, they get given it randomly and have to pay is that the case? Feel like it is a bit harsh on people that want to go to matches but may not have that much expendable income

@FredCostanzo8: Don’t have a problem with a ballot, but I do have an issue with the random seat allocation. If you’re going to give seats out at random, they should all be at the same fixed price. Someone shouldn’t have to pay almost twice as much for a seat, even though they didn’t choose it…

@GarethCoffey84: People should absolutely be given the choice of ticket costs they want to enter. £44 Vs £74 is a big difference especially if a family are going. Hopefully this option can be added in the future

@ADHollway: Genuinely don’t see the issue. It’s now more accessible for fans who aren’t season ticket holders. I get fans who were able to go to every game last season might miss out a few games now but it was becoming an exclusive club.

@PeteSword_: Believe members should have been able to pick which pricing tier they would like to be in…£74 is for too expensive for a lot of people.

@ItsNiceUpNorth1: Wow @NUFC you’ve really got this wrong, mind. First off, those prices for a home match vs Villa are criminal. Secondly, for it to be completely random is not on. Some people might be just about able to afford £44 and would choose an area of the ground accordingly

@BarclayNicholas: I think it’s brilliant. As a fan who isn’t a season ticket holder I now have a chance to get decent seats. And to travel away. Get off your high horse. The club belongs to all fans not just a few who live within spitting distance of the ground.