There are just a few things I would like to say on this topic.
Firstly, and I think most importantly, if the club say such and such an event is only open to this category of fan, then that's what it is and should remain. They shouldn't do a u-turn because of a few people on a forum - that would be idiocy on their part and would cause them bigger problems in future.
If this event has been deemed to be appropriate to be reserved for season ticket holders only, then fine - after all, there are various events throughout the year that not everyone can attend, such as sponsor evenings, and no-one complains about that.
For those who are saying "have an event mid-season", it's a bit late for that at this stage, really. Maybe they should have done, maybe they should have thought of this sooner, but they didn't and as far as I'm concerned, better late than never.
They definitely need to do something to make the season ticket better value. We became ST holders when we realised that we were going to every game anyway, so would be better off if we did. The saving isn't huge, but it's better than nothing. And nothing is what we get otherwise. The list of so-called "benefits" is pretty random, and I can safely say I've been able to take advantage of the discount on Ladies Night and nothing else. For my other half, who as a bloke is barred from Ladies Night for obvious reasons, there has been no extra benefit at all. As people have said already, there really needs to be something extra to make it attractive to people.
As far as "farewell to the players" is concerned, perhaps it should be renamed, then maybe there would be less of a feeling of entitlement. As far as I know, it's only been happening for a few years anyway, and the new management wasn't obliged to run it at all. This belief that everyone is entitled to go "to say goodbye to our players" reminds me a bit of what Sheffield fans did after they won the playoffs last year. They insisted, because "it's traditional", that the players had to be back at the arena in Sheffield by a certain time on the Sunday night so that they could celebrate with them. This totally ignored the fact that the team was quite happy celebrating where they were, and also the fact that there were fans who had actually travelled to Nottingham and been there to support their team, and who may have spent money to stay in Nottingham on the Sunday night, who were thus unable to celebrate the achievement they were actually there to see. I realise this situation is different, but it's equally ridiculous. If you're so sure that the Devils are going to win the playoffs, I'm assuming you've booked to go to Nottingham? If not, and you miss the chance to celebrate the hoped for victory on the actual day, then I would say that it's your own fault, and that is the reason I will always go to playoff weekend, just in case. I would hate to not be there when it finally happens. If it does happen this year, I'm sure the club would want to arrange something extra to celebrate properly.
I'm guessing that a few of the people who are so unhappy about this are really unhappy about the fact that it's an auction they won't be able to attend, rather than anything else. However, if there had been 100% uptake of player sponsorship, there wouldn't be any warm up shirts left to auction, so you'd miss out anyway. Would you still have such a problem with the event being for ST holders only in that situation?
And finally, a few practical points. I understand from the office that there will indeed be someone checking season tickets on the entrance, so don't bother turning up without one. I'm not even prepared to take the chance that they'll let us in if we forget to take them with us. If you're thinking you can borrow someone else's ticket and get in that way, best have some form of ID on you that proves you have the same name as on the ticket. I also understand that the venue would be too small if all 500 or so ST holders turned up, never mind everyone else. I doubt the club could get a venue big enough and still have a free event.
:lol: 
