Collingwood members who have not pre-booked a reserved seat for Saturday's bumper clash against Carlton at the MCG can simply show up on the day and walk in — a consequence of a significant shift in the Magpies' ticketing policy that is saving fans meaningful money across the season.
The Magpies, the AFL's highest-drawing club this season with an average home-and-away attendance of 60,773, have not had a single fully ticketed home game in 2025. That includes the King's Birthday Big Freeze match against Melbourne and Scott Pendlebury's games-record appearance that pulled more than 90,000 fans through the gates against West Coast.
How much members are saving
Under the old approach, members were required to book a reserved seat for selected marquee matches — a process that came with booking fees and seat charges. Collingwood's decision to abandon that practice means members who choose not to buy a reserved seat can save between $8 and $52 per game that would previously have been fully ticketed.
If a club had designated three games a season as fully ticketed, the cumulative saving for a member opting not to reserve a seat could range from $24 to $156 across those fixtures. The club's view is that compulsory seat booking for big games was actively deterring fans from attending, and that removing the requirement would encourage stronger turnouts.
Collingwood chief executive Craig Kelly said the club's executive team had examined member show rates from past fully ticketed games and concluded fans were better served by the new approach. He noted members still have "the opportunity to upgrade" by purchasing a reserved seat in advance if they prefer, and he urged supporters to attend Saturday's clash with Carlton, which is expected to draw more than 80,000.
"But if they want to turn up … then they should be (able to)," Kelly said.
The one exception to Collingwood's new policy is Anzac Day — the annual blockbuster the Magpies have shared with Essendon since 1995, which remains fully ticketed.
An AFL-wide trend taking hold
Collingwood's move is part of a broader shift across the competition. Hawthorn have also gone the entire season without a fully ticketed game, including the Easter Monday fixture against Geelong that attracted an impressive 84,712 fans.
Carlton, who hold the second-highest average attendance in the competition this year, have fully ticketed only two matches — the traditional round one game against Richmond, which drew 74,313, and a Thursday night round six home game against Collingwood that attracted 78,058. The Blues have not applied the fully ticketed model to any of their Marvel Stadium fixtures.
Richmond, despite sitting near the bottom of the ladder and feeling the effects at the gate, reversed a decision to fully ticket the Dreamtime game against Essendon. The match ultimately drew an impressive 78,815 — a figure that may well have been boosted by the absence of a compulsory booking fee for members.
Essendon went the other way for two fixtures, fully ticketing Anzac Day — which drew a season-high 92,231 — and their round one match against Hawthorn, which drew 71,384, well short of the 80,000-plus that had been anticipated.
MCG attendances holding up despite club struggles
Despite both Richmond and Essendon enduring difficult on-field seasons and the knock-on effect on their supporter bases, MCG attendances are running slightly ahead of last year. The average crowd at the ground this season, excluding finals, sits at 59,207 compared with 58,187 at the same stage in 2024. Melbourne's improved performance on the field has contributed to a rise in that club's attendances and helped offset the losses felt by the two struggling inner-suburban clubs.
Kelly indicated Collingwood believes the AFL industry as a whole still has ground to make up on global best-practice ticketing standards, suggesting the conversation about how clubs manage member access and fees is far from over.
