Surrey halt all but Championbship Membership Sales

Surrey e-mail to all members - Overcrowding being caused by non-members in members areas ?

Membership sales have been paused for the remainder of the 2022 season

Surrey County Cricket Club has paused the sale of all Memberships, excluding Championship Membership, with immediate effect until the end of the season. This decision has made by the Club to ensure that the existing Membership receive the best possible experience when visiting The Kia Oval.

There has been huge growth in Surrey County Cricket Club Memberships in recent years. We have taken this step to ensure that all Members who attend matches in the Vitality Blast and The Hundred are able to access their Members’ Areas.

It is incredibly important to the Club that Members enjoy the key benefits of their Membership, such as exclusive access to the Micky Stewart Members' Pavilion, Peter May Garden and Laker Balcony. For future match-days, the Club will be looking into different options to guarantee that only Members are able to enter these parts of the ground.

Steve Elworthy, Chief Executive at the Surrey CCC, said “We want to offer the best experience for Members at major match-days, and therefore we are pausing Membership and trialling new systems to protect the exclusivity of our Members’ areas. Some of those measures will be increased stewarding and vigilance at entry points and the possibility of introducing wristbands. It is imperative that our existing Members get the attention, support, and access to the Club."

A telephone conversation heard in the Gents last night ( not by me ofcourse!) “ Don’t worry mate, I ‘ll bring out another card and get you in the members area” As members we need to be thinking of fellow members and stamping some of this out ! It’s ok for CC and RLODC but T20 just makes it uncomfortable for fellow members .

PLG wrote:A telephone conversation heard in the Gents last night ( not by me ofcourse!) “ Don’t worry mate, I ‘ll bring out another card and get you in the members area”  As members we need to be thinking of fellow members and stamping some of this out !  It’s ok for CC and RLODC but T20 just makes it uncomfortable for fellow members .

Or the club open up some of JM Finn stand opposite the pavilion for members as they did in previous seasons,
The club should remember we have paid to watch these games, not just the so called turn up at the gate crowd as we would have described it in the past.

optimistnot wrote:

PLG wrote:A telephone conversation heard in the Gents last night ( not by me ofcourse!) “ Don’t worry mate, I ‘ll bring out another card and get you in the members area”  As members we need to be thinking of fellow members and stamping some of this out !  It’s ok for CC and RLODC but T20 just makes it uncomfortable for fellow members .

Or the club open up some of JM Finn stand opposite the pavilion for members as they did in previous seasons,
The club should remember we have paid to watch these games, not just the so called turn up at the gate crowd as we would have described it in the past.

Well, yes, exactly. There may be a few anecdotal instances of members loaning out tickets to non-members when they can't themselves attend, but (a) I doubt this is widespread, and (b) Surrey should assume that people who they've taken T20-inclusive membership fees from will usually go.  To get tough on "non-transferability" while at the same time not giving back even a couple of blocks of seats on the visibly sparsely-populated Finn/OCS balcony seems unlikely to help make the T20 experience more comfortable for members.

tickets are not transferable and members know that, it is about groups of members going into the pavilion and then one of those going out again and taking tickets and bringing more
Non members in . The transferring of tickets is far more wide spread than you think . There are also a lot of instances of “ go on mate, I just want to bring my friend in “ That is the reason that the military were bought in for yesterday to try and stem the tide ! I saw 4 instances of this just in the short time I sat outside the pavilion . the truth is the membership cards being swiped in were no where near as many people who seem to be making their way into the members areas. There are far more seats available to members now in the Laker stand (almost the same level as the Finn) Peter May gardens and even the pavilion has more seats in it since the new building work. “Some” of this is down to members not considering other members !

Blimey, just adds to the T20 "experience" (what on earth does that mean?). Can't wait to see what happens at the 100.

Can’t answer that, wont be there !! Visiting Gosforth, Radlett and Wellbeck Colliery with the RLODC squad !!

Not difficult to see what the problem is here. The club has 17,000+ members, the bulk of whom have access to T20 games. The club has allegedly allocated only 5,400 seats for members at T20 games on a first-come-first-served basis. With those arrangements, there's always a big risk that the number of members attending is greater than the number of seats allotted.

I suspect the issue of non-members sneaking into members' areas is a red herring.

I don't know about the specific numbers, but a few years ago T20 membership numbers specifically were rather low, compared to the rest. Always surprised me...

I was sat in the Peter May stand last night and went up to the bar at the Garden to get a drink, and before doing so at the top was politely asked for my membership card; they didn't mind me bringing my other half up to give a hand. I didn't even realise that that area is specifically for members nowadays, because you honestly couldn't tell. Still took around 20 minutes to get a drink in what was a drastically shorter queue compared to the ones you'd see on the concourses...

As already mentioned , it is FACT that between 3500 -5000 attend the T20 games, this is measured by the number of membership cards swiped through the turnstiles. Some
of those have also chosen to take up their “free” seat with a paying member of the public outside the members areas so the allocation is sufficient. At no time have 17000 people tried to arrive for a T20 . 1500 members do not attend the Oval at all , for any form, they just want to be members and support the Club . there is also a category that does not include T20 or the . I can also assure you that the problem with non members trying to enter the pavilion and other members areas is a very real problem and I know of at least one member of staff who was verbally abused yesterday when she informed a member that he could not take a guest into the members’ pavilion , which I suggest is very poor behaviour on the part of the member in question, but sadly he is not a solitary case ! Should the clamour for more
Members seats arise in future years , I am sure that the allocation will be accounted for !

Are county members of the visiting team allowed into the members areas for the T20 still,

PLG wrote:As already mentioned , it is FACT  that between 3500 -5000 attend the T20 games, this is measured by the number of membership cards swiped through the turnstiles.

A fact based on what exactly? Last season?
The club should consider the members number one priority and actually ensure better reservation system. Being unable to secure a couple of seats for a family of three because they are all members is not exactly cricket. Perhaps the only area reserved for members could be the Pavilion and then allow those who wish to attend to book their seats in advance to do so.

It’s measured at every game including this season , as the message says measured by the swiping of the membership cards !

New Mailing from the club regarding the Somerset game  has the following:

surrey ccc wrote:SURREY MEMBERS MUST SHOW THEIR MEMBERSHIP CARD IN ORDER TO GAIN ENTRY TO THE GROUND FOR ANY SURREY HOME FIXTURE.

Entry will be refused if people fail to show their Membership Card when trying to access the ground. Members will be charged for a replacement card.

So "members" have been let into the ground without producing their card ?

And when you click on "matchday guide" - My Bold

Surrey CCC wrote:Members can sit in the Micky Stewart Members’ Pavilion, Peter May Garden and Laker Balcony for all T20 matches.

Please note that on the Laker Balcony, a small number of seats are allocated to Laker Debenture Members, should they wish to use them. All other seating is unreserved in Members’ areas.

There are more seats available to Members for T20 matches than ever before.

Could have fooled me given that the upper tier in the Pavillion has been rammed about an hour before the game starts.

Blimey do you T20 fans really enjoy all this hastle? Just had 4 exciting days at Taunton, no heaving crowds, boozers, or closed tube stations. Watch it on the telly.

Chinaman wrote:Blimey do you T20 fans really enjoy all this hastle? Just had 4 exciting days at Taunton, no heaving crowds, boozers, or closed tube stations. Watch it on the telly.

You actually make a good point there for am I the only poster on this board who now finds watching on the live stream a better experience than the cramped hassle of being at the ground in the members area for Blast matches ?