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

tomg added 20:35 - Jul 22 I have read this several times now to try to work out what has happened. To say it has been streamlined is an understatement. No telephone sales. No collections. No picking a seat near your mates close to kick off on a match day as the tickets on the turnstiles will just be some random bunch. And the prices are just so high. The whole thing seems like a bloody great hurdle to get in to a half full stadium!

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EatonBlue added 20:50 - Jul 22 With so many other sporting/entertainment options available to people now, the ticketing arrangements should have been kept as flexible as possible rather than 'one size fits all'. Casual supporters will inevitably become fewer in number.
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h32 added 20:54 - Jul 22 ....... and with allegedly only 12000 Season Tickets sold - that is concerning.
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debenturedave added 20:57 - Jul 22 Just as it was starting to look good on the pitch.... a nightmare on Portman Road.... getting in will now be a nightmare for many, and many will just give up especially with inflated matchday prices. Online purchases are great but only in addition to telephone and ticket office sales..... I can see gates falling drastically despite improvements on the pitch !
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mostly_blue added 21:08 - Jul 22 My problem is I have a season ticket & often bring friends who r non season ticket holders, there r no spare seats near where I sit so call the ticket office to move my seat & buy tickets for guests how do I move my seat online?
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happybeingblue added 21:15 - Jul 22 why should ticket £s rise for a team who has been in the championship for longer than anyone else and no sign of getting anywhere near the playoffs in recent yrs... serving up very poor football at times... with no real flair players for years... to get excited about!! this is what has driven fans away as well as increase in tickets.....reality check needed
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h32 added 21:16 - Jul 22 mostly blue - ... you don't apparently - it would affect me likewise. All seems to have been thought out by - a genius !!! - but more likely someone who doesn't know, or really care.
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BrandonsBlues added 21:29 - Jul 22 May I add some further suggestions to the Directors, who have clearly overlooked the obvious on match days. Why have people selling programs when these can be dispensed via machines. Further to that get rid of the staff at the food counters and install further machines to dispense hot and cold snacks and drinks. Then all you need to employ is one electrician/ repairman to ensure they work, and to fill them up. Thats at least another 30+ matchday staff at least. Finally get rid of the stewards. Install barriers and fencing and CCTV camers all around, another 50+ matchday staff gone. Blimey this is easy init.

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BrandonsBlues added 21:42 - Jul 22 Ivor feeling I always had this problem with buying childrens tickets online, could never do it. Only option was always full priced tickets only, no concession prices online. Looks like there will be no season ticket holder offerrs this year, unless the season ticket holder buys online for you. Plus I always found that when you phoned the ticket office they always managed to find seats that I could never get online. Sad days indeed.

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suffolkpunchdrunk added 21:44 - Jul 22 I foresee obvious problems, a ticketing farce, uproar from fans, followed by hasty mealy mouthed apologies and a U-turn of sorts although I doubt any jobs will be re-instated. Big own goal by the club from a fan's perspective, very shoddy, not happy.
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StochesStotasBlewe added 21:50 - Jul 22 Only Brighton seem to be on average more expensive to watch than us in the championship. Nowhere did I find anywhere near the ludicrous prices we charge for the most expensive seats. Barnsley f.c, all adult tickets £23 for ALL first team matches. Take note Evans & board. At that price, I would imagine, like me this forthcoming season, a lot of non season ticket holders would attend.

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Dissboyitfc added 21:52 - Jul 22 Have nt really thought about it, have they? they should have done an on-line poll, could have even done it on TWTD? or did they and i missed something? I know many fans will be put off going!!
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budgieplucker added 21:58 - Jul 22 Perhaps in the view of efficiency ITFC could make one of the joint MD's redundant, I suggest the more rotund one as there would then be fewer complimentary match day pies to hand out or at least make him order his match day pies on-line (24 hours before hand) And Harry10 - I love the phrase "Chopra Tax" suggest we all adopt as common language now. A good company listens to it's customers, I couldn't even see how to upgrade my daughter's ticket on-line to an adult which is what I frequently do when she works on match days!!!

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warktheline added 22:00 - Jul 22 As always, when wrong decision are made at the top-we,us,the fan,shop-floor worker,etc, bloody pay the price.Capitalism gone mad.MM you need to relate ticket prices to the working wage.I've had my hours cut, and have to pay my local council 5% of my invoices,just to get paid on time!
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budgieplucker added 22:02 - Jul 22 Oh and lets not forget I think it was the Daily Mail (and yes I know its hardly a newspaper to respect or trust) described Marcus Evans as the most sophisticated ticket tout on the planet
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thebeat added 22:16 - Jul 22 mostly blue i have exactly the same problem.My Dad comes to stay with us 3 or 4 times a season and i move my season ticket to sit with him.Havent a clue how to do online.Ticket office staff .always did it for me. The bottom line is they just dont care about the fans anymore. But with no fans you have no club. Whats the point in the team flying this season if its infront of 12,000 fans? To the people who run (i use the term loosely) this great club if by any chance you can drag your face out of your latest caviar sandwich and happen to read this website sort this out now before you lose all the fans who can only make it to certain games!!

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alfromcol added 22:23 - Jul 22 So many negatives on here, you need to let the club know your views, rather than post on here!!! Presumably Phil you have the ear of people in high places?? Just had a quick look at Leeds and QPR online ticket sales and the prices are no where near what ITFC are charging, no doubt a full survey of all Championship clubs will show us as one of, if not, the most expensive.

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Blue041273 added 22:28 - Jul 22 The most revealing aspect of all this for me is the fact that the club clearly do not expect a full house at any game soon. Given that a successful team attracts more casual support, it might be appropriate, if not necessarily prudent, to plan for an increased demand for seats if a successful start of the season should be delivered. Instead it would seem we are gearing up for failure. Without telephone access to ticketing information those people without on-line availability or techno-capability will be required to buy tickets at the ground, (for many this will be on the day of the match) without any guarantee of availability. While this may not necessarily be a problem when a third of the ground's capacity is free, God help us if demand stretches to occasional times where we might actually be close to getting to full capacity. This is potentially a disaster waiting to happen and does not appear to me to be 'living the dream'; more like 'living the commercial pragmatism'. The saddest thing is that this commercial pragmatism kicks the average fan's dreams into the long grass. This is not a club that shares the aspirational values of its fans. At a time when the fans' hopes and expectations for 'on field' success are the highest for many years, this signal is at best, disappointing, at worst, the straw that breaks the camel's back.

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StochesStotasBlewe added 22:35 - Jul 22 alfromcol. I have been on all the championship websites for ticket prices. On average, only Brighton are more expensive, we are second alongside Burnley. Most clubs have A & B price bands or one set price for all league games & the difference between the two is only a few quid. We as fans are being ripped off pure & simple by faceless corporate greed.
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NITFC added 22:36 - Jul 22 My problem is that, as a season ticket and gold card holder for more years than I can remember, I have now had to pay a booking fee for tickets for away games at Reading and Stevenage. I have never paid before. So some poor sods lost their jobs AND we are paying more. It's such a shame - just at a time when there is so much positivity around the club
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HARRY10 added 22:54 - Jul 22 At last some common sense from the paying fans and those who love this club. When this came up a week or so back those expressing their reservations nad concerns were told to get with it Daddio, this is the way technology is going. This is not about technology it is clear now that it is about petty, penny pinching as wit the removal of the programme sellers. Supermarkets fouled up the same way with self service and now most have introduced a box like structure to counter the huge losses they were occuring - and still are as folk simply enter the lowest price item of veg when weighing expensive fruit. Adding the Chopra Tax to tickets purchased on the day is not going to drive folk to buy tickets in advance, it will merely be another weight on the wrong side of the balance when deciding whether to turn up or not. how much will it take to arrange for each turnstile to have the correct amount of change required and you can imagine the random figures that will be charged as £2.50 is added to each ticket price. Further cost cutting will see fewer turnstiles open and the liklihood of fans still queueing outside after the game has begun. This has come about by Evans appointing two company bean counters tasked to save as much money as possible - whilst loaning Chopra £250,000 and now having to pay up his contract to get rid of him. The Chopra Tax in name and deed.

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MickMillsTash added 23:04 - Jul 22 You now have to pay a f@cking booking fee for a ticket?
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vodkaboy added 23:21 - Jul 22 few points - first club are coming into modern world of ticket distribution (no problem with this) - second, timings confusing and also having to purchase hour half before will put off casual support if no cash turnstiles = lower attendances - also what happens if 50 still in q at 1.30 will they turn away £1500? Last point is that shortsighted to cut out key distribution channels to your customers ie phone - will disadvantage some - should have also enabled mobile redemption ie barcode sent to phone..wud avoid need of reprinting

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debenturedave added 23:26 - Jul 22 I want to buy Qpr away tickets and extra Leeds tickets before I go away on holiday. They are not available online yet , so what do I do ? In the past I would have rung up John Ford or one of his minions and it would be sorted no problem, but not now so has anyone got Marcus Evans mobile so I can see if he can sort me out with a couple of blackmarket tickets ?
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62WasBest added 23:30 - Jul 22 Makes you wonder why they don't cut out the middleman (the fans), close the stadium to spectators and sell the matches direct to TV if they believe the product is so valuable. Yes, I know they can't, but that is certainly the direction of travel with this attitude to the paying customer. This announcement isn't a neutral cost-cutting exercise. It's a attack on the very customers which this club needs to keep going. Everything is for the convenience of the business and nothing for the convenience of the paying punter. We know football finances are skewed but I'm for paying the players less as a way of improving cost ratios rather than the customers receiving a two-fingered salute that this move represents.

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