Soccer: As attendances at Republic of Ireland matches continue to dwindle, the FAI will cut the price of their season tickets for the Aviva Stadium next season. And with sales of Vantage Club scheme falling well short of expectations, the FAI has slashed the price of those packages to existing holders.
Under the amended season ticket deal, adult seats will start at €189 and allow access to six Ireland internationals and the FAI Cup final. Tickets for under-16s will also go on sale with prices starting at €55.
Last month’s friendly against Uruguay attracted just over 20,000 to Dublin 4, despite reduced ticket prices, which prompted the association to abandon their controversial ticket bundling scheme. At just over €25 per match for the cheapest tickets, the new package hopes to address the issue of falling crowds.
“We were fortunate about a month ago to announce the centralised television deal with Uefa which allows us to reduce our tickets even further for the coming season,” FAI chief executive John Delaney said this morning.
“Effectively, for about €230 a father and son can sit together for six Ireland games and the FAI Cup final in the coming season which I think is great value.”
With thousands of Vantage Club seats still available - Delaney has always refused to give precise details of how successful or otherwise the scheme has been – existing holders have been offered the chance to buy extra seats at a fraction of the original cost.
Initially pitched between €12,000 and €32,000, seats on the premium level will now be available from as little as €300 a year. Ticket holders in Vantage 1, the most expensive of the premium level seats, can purchase extra seats for just €600 per anum.
“The offer for Vantage seats will be open to existing holders to reward them for their support of Irish football and will enable the purchase additional seats on an annual basis from 300 per annum in Vantage 4,” Delaney added.
Delaney also confirmed that a limited number of seats are available for the Europa League final after Braga failed to take up their full allocation of tickets for the decider.
The Portuguese club meet neighbours Porto in the final on May 18th but, with a comparatively small support base, have returned a “very limited” amount of their 12,000 tickets. Porto will take up their full allocation.
*England are due to make their first appearance in Dublin since 1995 early next year. The high-profile friendly at the Aviva Stadium is expected to take place in February, barring either side's involvement in Euro 2012 play-offs.
