Firstly we would like to thank you all for your support during the 2023/24 season.
It’s been a record-breaking season and you pushed us all the way, whether it was at the Emirates Stadium or supporting us around the world.
It was also another season of unprecedented ticket demand far outstripping supply. With the season over, we wanted to provide an update on tickets.
Ticket ballot
Our goal remains the same: to get tickets into the hands of our supporters, with a focus on our paying Silver and Red members.
At the start of the 2023/24 season, we introduced a voting system to help us achieve this goal. This followed extensive discussions with Arsenal’s Advisory Board, the Supporters’ Forum and the Ticketing Taskforce.
We believe this is the fairest way to allocate tickets to Silver and Red members. It allows members to sign up in their own time, before a clear deadline, addressing the problem of the previous system that required members to be online to join a queue at a set time.
Basic Ballot Statistics
After the first season of voting, we are able to get a full picture of its impact in contributing to the distribution of tickets in the fairest way and ensuring that tickets are given to paying members.
For anyone using a screen reader, a full list of ticketing statistics can be found at the bottom of this page.
Supporter comments
During the 2023/24 season, we made changes to the way tickets are allocated, based on supporter feedback.
In the middle of the season, we restricted the exchange of tickets to members who were not successful in the voting. This gave members priority and more opportunities for those who regularly tried to access tickets through the ballot.
We have also removed the 10% fee for season ticket holders to use Ticket Exchange or Ticket Transfer, encouraging greater use of seats and enabling more tickets to be made available to members through these platforms.
We have implemented a functionality so that members can select the top two preferences of the price band they wish to purchase as part of a successful voting request.
Advertising
Ballot also helped us take strong action against illegal ticketing and bot activity as the system detects suspicious activity before tickets are allocated.
During the 2023/24 season, we banned 20,000 members and 54 season ticket holders for attempting to obtain tickets through unauthorized means. This action helps ensure that tickets go to genuine supporters at their correct value.
Next season we will continue to increase our investment in anti-marketing measures, including deploying greater cyber protection, providing more operations on the ground and dedicating more internal resources to action.
Seat use
With demand for tickets so high, we are also committed to ensuring that every seat is used. We can confirm that 24 season tickets were canceled last season due to lack of use. During the 2023/24 season, fans had to use their season ticket (attend in person or make their season ticket available at Ticket Exchange or Ticket Transfer) for 17 of the 22 matches. For the 2024/25 season, this will change to 20 from 23.
Next season
The introduction of the ballot was a necessary and positive step, with evidence showing improved access to tickets for paying members.
Voting will continue next season and, in consultation with Arsenal’s Advisory Committee, members who applied to 20 or more ballots and were unsuccessful once will be invited to purchase a ticket from a selected number of games before Christmas. This includes around 300 members and ensures that those unlucky enough to miss out get a chance to watch a match.
Us CEO, Rich garlicsaid: βDemand for tickets continues to grow but we are pleased to see that the data from the 2023/24 season supports our decision to introduce the ballot as the fairest and most equitable way of allocating tickets for our members.
βIt is encouraging to see that 20% more Red Members were able to access tickets as a result of the ballot and only two members who applied for all 25 ballots were unable to secure tickets through the ballot or Ticket Exchange.
βGoing forward, we will continue to work with Arsenal’s Advisory Board and Ticketing Taskforce to keep the supporter experience at the forefront of our efforts to make tickets accessible. We will also continue to review our data as we aim to strike the right balance and identify areas where we can make further improvements.β
“We would like to thank the Arsenal Advisory Board, the Supporters’ Forum and the Ticket Working Group for their input and representation of Arsenal fans on the important issue of ticketing.”
The Arsenal Advisory Boardsaid: βWe welcome the opportunity to review tickets with the Club at the end of the season and this subsequent publication of further information on the results of the ballots.
βAt a time of unprecedented demand, this transparency allows Arsenal fans to better understand their ticketing arrangements and comment on their ideas for further improvement.
“In response to our ongoing concerns about ticket sales, we welcome the club’s commitment to invest even more in anti-contest measures next season, including dedicating resources online and at the ground. It’s an important issue we want to return to in the future meetings.
“We will continue to represent our ticketing members through the AAB and Ticketing Working Party and we welcome discussions on proposals to move towards possible greater flexibility for season tickets.”
Full ballot statistics
- 420,000 β tickets accessed by members via the ballot, Ticket Exchange or Ticket Transfer
- 174,000 β members who applied for at least one ballot
- 42,000 β members who only applied for one ballot
- 20,000 β members who failed to vote but later obtained a ticket via Ticket Exchange or Ticket Transfer for the same game
- 93,000 β members received tickets through the ballot, ticket exchange or ticket transfer
- 73,000 β members who succeeded at least once on the ballot
- 6 β members who applied to all 25 ballots and failed once
- 5.8 β average number of ballots submitted to each member
- 2 β members who applied to all 25 ballots and were unsuccessful or unable to obtain a ticket via Ticket Exchange or Ticket Transfer
- 13,000 β more Red Members managed to acquire a ticket in the 2023/24 season compared to the 2022/23 season (20% increase)
- x3 β Silver Members were on average three times more likely to obtain ballot tickets than Red Members.
- There it was an average 5,800 Silver Members at Emirates for every home match.
- 10,450 β total accessibility tickets available to members via the ballot, Ticket Exchange or Ticket Transfer
- 9,000 β average number of tickets purchased via Ticket Exchange or transferred to members via Ticket Transfer for Premier League matches.
- 4,200 β average number of tickets purchased through Ticket Exchange for Premier League matches
- 4,800 β average number of tickets transferred to members for Premier League matches
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