Town have announced a restructuring of their ticketing operations which has led to a number of redundancies among ticket office staff.

The club’s ticketing has been brought within their wider retail operation with Lee Hyde now the director of retail operations. The Constantine Road ticket office has closed.

Several positions have been made redundant, including that of ticket office and call centre manager John Ford, who was with the club for nearly 12 years having been recruited from Norwich City, with numbers now down to two full-time and two part-time staff. Previously there were four full-time staff, including Ford, four part-timers and four Saturday casual employees.

Speaking about the changes, joint-MD Ian Milne said: “Going forward the club is committed to operating in the most efficient way possible and with the sale of tickets, our strategy is to focus on online sales, in line with the majority of football clubs and sport in general now.

“Inevitably that can lead to changes in personnel and we have taken the decision to streamline our ticket operation.

“We’d like to thank all those staff who have left us for their previous service to Ipswich Town and wish them every success for the future.”

Fans are being encouraged to use Town’s new online ticket service ITFC Direct to print their tickets at home or to buy them in person from Planet Blue. There will now be no telephone ticket sales.

To buy a ticket on the day of a game, fans can do so via Planet Blue between 10am and 1.30pm for a 3pm kick-off and 10am and 6.15pm for a 7.45pm start, with payment by cash or card.

From 1.30pm onwards (3pm kick-off) and 6.15pm onwards (7.45pm) on a matchday, tickets can only be purchased at the turnstiles and by cash only. Town are hoping to have an ATM installed in Planet Blue prior to the Millwall match. Ticket purchases on the day of a game will be subject to an additional £2.50 charge per ticket.

Supporters purchasing tickets online must do so 48 hours prior to kick-off at the latest in order to receive their tickets in the post. Those purchasing online after the 48-hour deadline should use the print at home option or buy their tickets in person at Planet Blue.

There will be no collection of pre-purchased tickets at the ground on matchdays. A ticket enquiries office will be open in Portman Road close to the away section between 1pm and kick-off for 3pm starts and 5.30pm for 7.45pm kick-offs. This will be for enquiries only, servicing ticket upgrades or reprinting lost tickets, but no tickets will be on sale.

The ticket office enquiry telephone line will be open from 9am until midday on weekend matchdays and 9am until 4.30pm for midweek games.

Meanwhile, Town have unveiled the matchday ticket prices for the new season with a lower tier Sir Alf Ramsey or Sir Bobby Robson Stand seat bought in advance of the match now costing £21 for Grade C games, which include the season first home game of the season against Millwall, £27.50 for Grade B and £32 for Grade A. That represents a rise from last season when, for example, a similar Grade C ticket cost £20. A full list of the new matchday prices, including concessions, can be found here.

We understand season ticket sales for the season ahead stand at around 12,000, about 500 down on the same point last summer.

Elsewhere at Portman Road, sales manager Rosie Richardson has changed her job title and is now the club’s director of sales.

Photo: Action Images

Beattiesballbag added 18:06 - Jul 22 I can understand the logic of their thinking in as much that printers are so cheap these days most people would have one.... for various reasons! plus most people are on the internet & buying something from the same trusted site should be straight forward & more reliable & quicker than the post! But for a company that is struggling to get the public to buy their improved product . they need every option available to get the numbers back through the door. Ease of buying a ticket at a price that is realistic for the quality of product that's on sale. The scum down the road had an inferior product in the first Div They dropped the prices to a realistic level for the product that they were selling. As a full stadium of scum can create more of an atmosphere than a half full stadium. Not a pleasant thought I know but it got scum back through the turn stiles. Until the town are back in the Premier Div, if they fail to drop the prices to a realistic level for the product on offer The gates are going to continue to decline spoiling the atmosphere & making it harder for the team to achieve their goal.

0

muccletonjoe added 18:07 - Jul 22 Whatever the reason behind these decisions , it remains a fact that the more people you can entice into the ground the more money you will make. The more difficult you make it for said people to get into the ground the less money you are going to take , maybe common sense is in short supply in the chief execs dept
0

StochesStotasBlewe added 18:08 - Jul 22 h32, well said. I think £32 (£34.50) is just damn disgraceful for so called top matches. Watch the crowds dwindle Mr Evans, greedy in the extreme, a lot of fans have now been very unfairly priced out of supporting our once great "family club".
0

DaneITFC added 18:15 - Jul 22 why still insist on charging an extra £2.50 on matchday thats well offputting for people who on impulse decide they want to attend the match on the day...this is not attracting the casual fan... blimey its not rocket science! the grading is ridiculous as well as its not like we get a full house every match...another rip off!
0

alexsmith111 added 18:19 - Jul 22 Time changes. Very sorry for the individuals. But is the way of the world
0

alexsmith111 added 18:22 - Jul 22 Also although a Ipswich fan, live in the west. Petrol and ticket. Fml what an outlay. I'm sure it's much worse for others as well. It's an easy 100 with no food or drink
0

HARRY10 added 18:28 - Jul 22 " But is the way of the world " not true it is the way some misguided idiot at PR thinks we can clear the £80m debt other clubs ARE NOT imposing a matchday tax on their fans - lose one fan in 12 and you will be in a financial neutral situation, for what ? all the consequent bad feeling beggars belief
0

Taricco_Fan added 18:28 - Jul 22 Oh dear. Where to start? More ticket price rises - attendances were poor last season even during the McCarthy resurgence. Ipswich isn't an affluent town and many people will have no choice but to give up following Town or attend less games than they would like. Many fans are only willing to pay so much regardless of the quality of football or success on the pitch. Expect more poor attendances because the club is out-of-touch with the demographics of its supporter base. More match grading - I hate this concept. I go to watch Town, not the opposition. It's simple profiteering. The £2.50 match day surcharge - again, simple profiteering. This only serves to punish fans that work irregular shift patterns (like myself) or those that may not be able to commit to attending a match well in advance. On the plus side, I think the print-at-home tickets are a great idea and something I can see being very popular. However the ticket office shake up will adversely affect as many as it will benefit. Overall I think the club is really poorly run off the pitch and I don't feel the same connection with ITFC that I once did. I only went to a handful of games last year due to the ticket prices and to be honest I don't miss it any more. Such a shame.

0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 18:43 - Jul 22 Not a single person has thought that these changes are a wholly good idea, and I don't intend to be the first. This smacks of Joe Corporate, who has just completed his business management course but does not understand the nature of his "clientele." It seems that rather than get as many people into the ground as possible at lower prices (which would be good for the team and the whole spirit of the club), the strategy is to get fewer people in and make them pay more. While I can see that online buying is a good thing for many, it is certainly not appropriate for everyone. The telephone service should be available as before for those who have to make last-minute decisions or simply are not comfortable with IT technology. My guess is that a significant number of people will have problems getting tickets electronically, and some of these will just give up or they will not want to pay the extra £2:50 on the day. More empty seats is not what we want. We are in the middle of our revolution on the footballing side. How about a management revolution in understanding what it means to be a supporter? Write to the club and put forward your points of view on this matter!

0

EssoBlue added 18:47 - Jul 22 Web sales surcharge? As a silver club member last season we were excused "surcharges" and now we are being charged extra for being able to buy something off the internet whilst using your own printer?????
0

thebeat added 18:50 - Jul 22 Once again the people running our club are an embarresment and just dont have a clue how to run a business. Number 1 rule in business? KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY AND PROVIDE A GOOD SERVICE! The clowns who make these decisions please go back to the circus
0

soclopath added 18:51 - Jul 22 Sorry to hear of the redundancies, I hope that the caring family club Will reflect in generous redundancy package for all.
0

IvorFeeling added 18:59 - Jul 22 just tried to order tickets as a test for Millwall. First off you need flash player for the auto option which is outdated technology and not supported by many mobile devices especially apple. 2nd i can't see an easy way to buy children/family tickets as this is what you had to use telephone lines for. Change is welcome if it is thought through but at the mo the club are making it more difficult to buy tickets and in this day an age it should be the opposite. Those who live outside the town are less likely to buy spare of the moment, especially those with children who are the next generation of town supporters. Same for those who have no access or do not use technology. First OG of the pre season and work to do.

0

itfchorry added 19:01 - Jul 22 This is very sad news - Great bunch in the ticket office - Hayley is my favourite ! Best wishes to them all
0

h32 added 19:03 - Jul 22 thebeat - ...... agree with you. Warktheline - ...... don't have to look far for a few Negatives do you ? - How about this one then ?
0

StochesStotasBlewe added 19:05 - Jul 22 I suggest Mr Evans compares these prices from our championship rivals. Wigan.......cat A £20-£22. cat B £15-£17. Charlton.....Gold match £24-£30.............Silver £20-£26 Millwall........Most expensive seat in stadium £30 Leeds..........cat A from £27 cat B from £20. QPR..............Most expensive seat in stadium any game £35. I,m sure the likes of Doncaster, etc with smaller fan bases will be even cheaper. Get REAL Mr Evans & your board of directors.

0

Keaneish added 19:08 - Jul 22 How on earth are season ticket sales down!? I thought they'd be soaring given the optimism at the club and the calibre of new signings!? Come on people. Lets pack PR out for a change. Anything under 20,000 and its a morgue!!
0

h32 added 19:15 - Jul 22 Keanish ... get real man - it's because of issues such as this topic. Unfortunately I can only see it getting worse after this recent round of corkers.
0

bbkingsumday added 19:21 - Jul 22 I won't comment on the new prices etc. but my thoughts go to the people losing their jobs, I have been there and it's awful but you will find new employment and you will be ok
0

StochesStotasBlewe added 19:22 - Jul 22 Keaneish. Some of us have had to relinquish season tickets for whatever reason, as have I for the 1st time in 25 years. I will not be paying £32 plus the so called f, ing rip off fee for the "privilege" of paying on the gate. The club & supporters at one time had a great rapport but this has now almost become extinct. Great that at long last, we have a top class manager & coach. Shame I like many others will only be able to attend a handful of matches. THAT is why PR will not be rocking for a while.

0

h32 added 19:25 - Jul 22 pinewoodblueboy - spot on posts. MM is correcting much which was wrong on the playing side of this Club - unfortunately it's falling apart in other directions. This latest round has to be seen as taking the p*ss with a capital 'P'. No doubt the usual's will condone it all though - they know who they are. Wait for it ...... !!
0

linhdi added 20:05 - Jul 22 Anything that makes it harder rather than easier to get to a match makes no sense at all - so abandoning telephone sales seems nonsensical. We have a disproportionately high percentage of elderly and rural fans (both groups who are less likely to have access to the internet, and of course it's then awkward and expensive to make a special trip to buy tickets in person). I'm a bit surprised there haven't been more complaints about this - but I guess an online forum isn't the obvious place for that kind of feedback. £32 is OK for Cat 1, IF Cat 1 means cup games v top Premier League oppo, + maybe play-off semi. I can't imagine any regular league games could possibly justify that price.

0

Talbs77 added 20:07 - Jul 22 Talking as someone who has been made redundant as a programme seller along with all 20 other members of staff, i find all of this extremely disappointing. I knew it was a privilege to work at the club on matchdays but to be informed like i did, with no offer of a wage reduction was frustrating. I understand the clubs need to reduce costs my only answer to that is we hear all this ffp crap yet were is the cost effectiveness of getting rid of 1 chief executive in clegg and employing 2?! I suppose that's saving money?! Add up all the part time match day staff who have been made redundant and it wouldn't cover their wages for a day. I have supported and loved this club for 25 year's and what hurts the most is this experience has put me off supporting my club, makes me sad.

0

Woodbridgian added 20:12 - Jul 22 Spent about half an hour on line today trying to buy tickets for Barnsley game. Couldn't Log on ( despite buying loads of time last year ) Phoned ticket office 3 times trying to sort it, in the end gave up! If this is the way forward then I'm afraid there is going to be plenty of empty seats this season,. This looks like a great example of penny proud and pound shy.

0

h32 added 20:27 - Jul 22 Talbs77 - ........ totally understand your post, and genuinely feel for all of you in your respective situations. But this is what our 'once family orientated' Club has become - the only people who matter now are the punters who pay (and liberties are being taken even there) in my opinion. The hard headed businessmen will agree with all this happening - but is this what the majority of us want our Club to be ??? ........ or indeed to have become. Before anyone says all Clubs are the same - that's not strictly true. ITFC has not just been a Football Club to many - it has been a way of life.

0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls