FAI raise ticket prices by 32 per cent

SOCCER:Confirmation that the FAI are substantially raising ticket prices for their games at Croke Park next year has been provided in a letter from the association to members of their block booking scheme.

In the letter, which invites supporters to apply for tickets for the four European Championship qualifiers to be staged at the venue next year the association confirm the cheapest seats will cost €50, a rise of 32 per cent when compared to recent internationals at Lansdowne Road.

The €50 price applies to seats on the upper tiers of the Cusack and Hogan stands as well as all of the Davin Stand while tickets in the lower tiers of the Cusack and Hogan will cost €70 and what is described as a "very limited" number of premium seats will be sold for €85 each.

The intention at this stage is to use temporary seating placed on the terracing on Hill 16 to accommodate visiting supporters. It is anticipated that around 6,500 such seats could be provided leaving roughly 68,000 for sale to Irish fans.

Given the serious setback to Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the 2008 European Championships suffered in Cyprus the numbers and price rise might be considered optimistic by some but FAI officials remain confident its current list of regular purchasers combined with a list of those waiting to get onto the block booking scheme - said to be 5,000 - will account for the bulk of the available seats with the rest going on sale to the general public in the New Year, most likely in packages of two games each.

"Certainly the indications we've had so far all point to there being a huge amount of interest in the games," said a spokesman yesterday. "What we've decided to do is to go to our existing customer base and see what they want for these games after which we'll look at the waiting list.

"The real question is what will be left after that and the answer for the moment is that we honestly don't know but we're starting from a base figure of 32,000 advance sales for games and from the expressions of interest we've had so far we're hopeful that that could rise substantially."

The association's "customer base" includes not just individual fans but also corporate clients, clubs, leagues and other affiliates. In some cases, it is suggested, these have indicated a desire to buy substantially more tickets for each of the games played.

All of those who have received letters this week have until December 12th to confirm their requirements for the games. The €70 being charged for the better seats in the main stands is only €10 more than is currently the case but the rise for cheaper seats is far more substantial in percentage terms. It was defended yesterday, however, on the basis that "these will be bigger occasions and the product will be much better on the basis of the facilities involved.

"We wanted to maintain the multi-priced system that was used at Lansdowne Road (where prices were €38, €45 and €60). Overall we believe that what's being sold represents good value and the sense we're getting from supporters is that they believe it too," said the spokesman who added that the move to the larger ground had enabled the association to more than double the number of €10 "schoolboy" tickets available to 4,000.

The higher €70 price, however, represents a €10 premium on what Croke Park's owners, the GAA, charge for admission to its two senior men's All-Ireland finals each year. These tickets are generally more sought after than all but the most important Ireland internationals.

It is, however, some €10 less than the IRFU intend to charge for stand tickets for Six Nations games next spring with the union having adopted a flat rate of €80 for stand tickets and €30 to stand on Hill 16.