Change to the MRSC Ticketing System

The Munster Rugby Supporters Club is moving to a new ticketing system provider for all ticketing requirements.

WHY ARE WE CHANGING?

In 2014 our long time ticketing support partner Magico indicated in writing that they wish to move in a different direction as a business and would no longer be in a position to support our ticketing system.

WHAT OPTIONS WERE CONSIDERED / ASSESED?

The Supporters Club committee in conjunction with Munster Rugby set up a series of vendor interest discussions & meetings. In total, it was felt that two companies had the capacity and capabilities to meet our ticketing needs as a Supporters Club.

• Both vendors were met by members of the Supporters Club Committee and Munster Rugby.
• Both submitted detailed interest documents.
• A very detailed discussion and evaluation period took place.

WHAT WERE THE AREAS TO THE FORE OF THE DISCUSSIONS & TENDER DOCUMENTS?

• Functionality versus current application.
• Cost analysis.
• Security & data integrity.
• Potential for sustained relationship.

WHAT DECISION HAS THE COMMITTEE IN CONJUNCTION WITH MUNSTER RUGBY DECIDED UPON?

The chosen vendor following the tender analysis period, for a contract period of 4 years, is Ticketmaster.
The Munster Rugby Supporters Club committee held a series of meetings with Ticketmaster to ensure that all elements of this new support relationship were clear and that the membership of our club received the best package available.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES TO US AS MEMBERS?

FUNCTIONALITY

• Most functionality will remain while the application will be different in terms of user interaction (ie. it will look different). We will produce a guide with the next phase of renewals in April to ease this process. Full support will be provided to our members as per previous years, from the Supporters Club office. For this year only, to support this transition period, a specific Ticketmaster Sports team will provide backup support during renewals.

WHAT FUNCTIONALTIY WILL BE DIFFERENT?

Downgrading from Seated to Terrace Tickets:

• This feature will not be available to complete on-line during this year’s renewal process. Members will be requested to email the office and one of the support staff will assist in completing this process.
• If you wish to upgrade from terrace to a seated ticket, this can be completed on-line. Please note that next year (2016), it will be possible to complete all season ticket upgrades and downgrades on-line.

Lead Purchaser

• This function is different from our existing system.
• Lead purchaser will not be available for renewals. Please note that this will not result in any hidden charges as the transaction fee will remain per membership renewal this year, as it was in previous years.
• Lead purchaser function will be available for single match purchases throughout next season. A lead purchaser can have multiple members under their name and can purchase multiple tickets on a match by match basis. Lead purchaser will allow you to select tickets side by side, and complete your booking in one transaction, using one debit/credit card.

Email Addresses

• All membership accounts will be required to have a unique email address.

COST

The chosen vendor offers the best value for us as members.

Please see table of cost with the previous vendor in comparison to the new chosen vendor. Please note a detailed cost process was undertaken and we as your committee are satisfied that the best cost to members possible was negotiated.

Note: Please note that our current transaction fee of €;2.50 was to be reviewed as this sum was not sufficiently covering all banking and admin costs associated with a transaction.

SECURITY & DATA INTEGRITY – The operational supplier is a proven and trusted source in relation to data integrity & information security.

SUSTAINED RELATIONSHIP – It is vital for the growth of the Munster Rugby Supporters Club that our systems have a platform of robust technical and system support to maintain our needs and ticketing and renewal processes. We are confident that the chosen supplier gives us this. As previously outlined, you will continue to be supported by staff in our Supporters Club office with a direct phone line and email address.

OTHER BENEFITS OF MOVING SYSTEM?

• The interaction from Magico to Ticketmaster was a manual process, whereby all matches had to be set up as new events and tickets uploaded. Now by using the same system as the Ticket Office, we will have the following benefits:
• Quicker access to available tickets. We will no longer have to wait for ticket allocations to be received, events set up, tickets uploaded, and site tests to be completed.
• Free up time. Large amount of time has been spent on administration around the transfer of data between the systems – this time can now be channeled into further developing the benefits for members.
• More family and junior ticket options – other than the 1+1 or 2+2 currently available
• Less margin for errors as there will be no data transfer between systems.
• Option to print tickets at home for individual matches.

Please note also that all membership ID numbers will remain the same.

Thank you for taking the time to read the above. MRSC Manager and Committee appreciate that members will have queries based on the announcement of the move to Ticketmaster. We welcome those queries which you can address to supportersclub@munsterrugby.ie. We are also currently putting together a list of FAQs which we will answer via our website in the coming days.