Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[frank black]

A few questions spring to kind about this ticket business.


It doesn't make sense.
Questions:
What reselling sites are involved
Where did these tickets come from
How many are there
What's the price differential between the website price and face value.
Who gains/loses from selling this number at these prices in this way.

Don't know of many resellers who sell at below face value.

They’re always getting burned in this way. On the day of the match what choice do they have, with a low demand game?

I doubt the club would use unofficial resale sites. It’ll be cup scheme members. Surely?

[Villan82]

So according to the BBC the attendance was 41,847 - which is some achievement, as over 1500 seats were blocked off for advertising hoardings, hundreds were still sale last night and there were at least a couple of hundred spare in the Bolgona overflow seats.

Someone is telling porkies somewhere...

I don't think I have seen somebody blot their copybook so much in such a short space of time as the President of Business Operations. Everything else is first class except that part of the operation, and posters had flagged the pricing issue when it was announced.

[astonvilla82]

Turning out to be a complete fiasco regarding the tickets. Villa/Heck have lost a lot of faith from long term supporters like me and, will be difficult for the club to turn this around. £35 would have been about right for this Bologna match. Good luck to whoever has got my seat for tonight for the bargain price of £97!! They will be right pissed off when they find out others have paid £25 or thereabouts!

The lad who sat in the son's seat really enjoyed it and got involved in the singing and atmosphere, maybe it's a one off for him but it meant a lot to him

[eye digress]

Watching on the telly last night, it was notable that the commentators referred multiple times to how the place was sold out, there wasn't a spare seat in the house, and other similar comments.

Hyperbole no doubt, but they certainly weren't pointing out swathes of empty seats, or anything.

Thought that would have one or two on here bristling.

[astonvilla82]

Watching on the telly last night, it was notable that the commentators referred multiple times to how the place was sold out, there wasn't a spare seat in the house, and other similar comments.

Hyperbole no doubt, but they certainly weren't pointing out swathes of empty seats, or anything.

Thought that would have one or two on here bristling.

From where I was looking which was lower Holte,I couldn't see large amount of empty seats

[Lsvilla]

Watching on the telly last night, it was notable that the commentators referred multiple times to how the place was sold out, there wasn't a spare seat in the house, and other similar comments.

Hyperbole no doubt, but they certainly weren't pointing out swathes of empty seats, or anything.

Thought that would have one or two on here bristling.

From where I was looking which was lower Holte,I couldn't see large amount of empty seats

Me neither. Looked full to me.

[sid1964]

For me it was a bigger attendance than the Bayern game

[john2710]

Other than the spaces in the Bologna section I didn't see any spaces in the rest of the ground. So those, when the prices were announced, who predicted the embarrassment of loads of empty seats were wrong.

As far as the club is concerned, Heck's pricing policy, like it or not, is being vindicated.

[kippaxvilla2]

So another win for Mr Heck then.

[Percy McCarthy]

So another win for Mr Heck then.

Yep, and with Juventus & Celtic to come, he’s guaranteed another 6 points.

The tosser.

[eye digress]

So another win for Mr Heck then.

In textbook supply-and-demand terms, yes, although it might turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory. What price in the long term, for example, for putting people's noses out of joint?

But is that Heck or just what happens when you're owned by billionaires and venture capital funds?

Just putting that out there.

[Dogtanian]

The season ticket holders behind me weren't there last night, not were the ones beside me, and neither were the ones in front of me (one of whom was replaced by a lad with a huge head that blotted out my view of the right sight of the goal!).

I heard the couple beside me saying who knows when they might have the chance to watch Villa in the Champions League again.

I suspect that a lot of people have taken the opportunity to see a CL game live, even at a price point that they wouldn't normally pay.

But obviously a proportion of those people who have now seen us play in the CL are not going to keep paying through the nose for it.

[Chip Butty 111]

So according to the BBC the attendance was 41,847 - which is some achievement, as over 1500 seats were blocked off for advertising hoardings, hundreds were still sale last night and there were at least a couple of hundred spare in the Bolgona overflow seats.

Someone is telling porkies somewhere...

Clearly a bit of subterfuge going on with tickets/attendances. As was discussed yesterday on here, tickets were disappearing on the website in blocks, and people were picking up seatpick tickets all of a sudden? Tickets were still for sale in various areas before kick off? A surprising number of seats were empty again in the middle Trinity on the halfway line. With this in mind, and the empty seats ref the advertising hoardings, 41,847 would have been impossible given our current capacity? I dare say Ally McCoist and friends were unaware of seats being for sale while declaring it was another sell out.

[eye digress]

Yes no doubt (re McCoist et al). But in terms of perception, it just looked "full to the rafters" to them.

[Chip Butty 111]

Yes no doubt (re McCoist et al). But in terms of perception, it just looked "full to the rafters" to them.

The only areas showing availability before kick off were K, A and T Blocks, all high up and not really covered by TV coverage, and in the darkness wouldn't have been obvious. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter...unless you wanted to go and couldn't afford it !!