Iran war, precinct decay or steep ticket prices?
REACTION: The South African Rugby Union is putting on a brave face, as the demand for Test tickets ahead of the international season has slowed down to a trickle.
Weekend media reports suggested Ellis Park, the venue for South Africa’s season-opening Test against England, is likely to be ‘half-empty’ on Saturday.
SARU, in acknowledging the challenge to attract sell-out crowds, listed the ‘Iran war’ as one of the reasons for the low demand.
A glance at official booking agencies makes it clear that most of the tickets that have been snapped up are in the ZAR450 per ticket) range.
The available seats range between ZAR950 and ZARR3,000 for standard seating categories.
Hospitality packages are available from about ZAR7,895.
Apart from the unaffordable ticket prices, other reasons for the unwillingness of fans to rush to sale points include the badly decaying Doornfontein precinct that surrounds Ellis Park.
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The area has become increasingly notorious for its urban decay, as well as crime and safety concerns, which have combined to turn the iconic venue into a proverbial White Elephant.
However, SARU painted a more favourable picture.
“We have had strong sales for the six high-profile matches that will be played in Gauteng in the next two months,” a SARU spokesman told @rugby365com.
“It is the most tickets that have ever been out in one market and has given the consumer lots of choice.”
There was still about 35,000 of the 62,000 seats available by Monday.
Sales for the Greatest Rivalry series between the Springboks and All Blacks appear to be getting most of the attention.
“The impact of the war with Iran has undoubtedly had an effect on everyone’s pocket, which has reflected across the retail industry as well as in event ticket sales,” the spokesman told @rugby365com.
“Having said that, we hope to get close to the historic average against England in SA of 91 percent of the stadium’s capacity.
“Tickets will be available right up until kick-off, and we hope to see a strong week of final sales for the start of a major new competition.”
@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com
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