The Ashes Blog: Aussie prices are just the ticket (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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The Ashes Blog: Aussie prices are just the ticket
8:57am Tuesday 23rd November 2010 in Ashes blog
By Matt Donlan, Sports reporter
REGULAR readers of these little diatribes will be aware of my feelings about ticket prices for major sporting events.
Okay, I may be getting slightly carried away when I say regular readers and perhaps I should rephrase it regular reader - but that one person will know exactly what I think about the price of a day at Lord’s or a football match or pretty much anything sporting in the UK.
It is nothing short of a rip off to watch sport in this county.
In the summer just gone you could have parted with £100 (60 pints of bitter in a Blackburn town centre pub) to go to Lord’s for the Test with Pakistan. Yes, you may well have witnessed Amir and Asif and their no balls - but you don’t really want to pay £100 for that privilege, unless you can’t resist pointing at aeroplanes.
That price is a joke - and you pay well over the odds to get into Old Trafford for a match against the likes of Bangladesh.
So imagine the surprise in Telegraph Towers yesterday when, through jealousy as much as research, there was quite a bit of internet searching ahead of the Ashes.
Top price tickets for the opening day in Brisbane, the first day of the most anticipated series in years, cost just $80Aus - that’s £49.
Cheaper tickets with just as good a view are also available.
And for the Blue Riband of Test cricket, the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, prices are really friendly.
The top, top, top tickets for that game are something called a Platinum Package. These are the real deal, they are the best seats in the house in the best cricket ground there is. They cost $145AUS - £89.21.
That is still a bit steep...You can brave the notorious Bay 13, where even the Aussies fear to tread, cost $36AUS, a mere £22.15. That is also the same price across the rest of the general admission areas of the ground.
It’s great pricing - no wonder people go.
Domestic games are even more friendly and tickets for the Aussie rules also come in way below the price of even the cheap days at Ewood Park.
Yes I know there is different taxing in Australia - but surely we could take a lead.
The spectators should not suffer for the wages paid to the players.
Right, that's that sorted...just need to convince my boss that the Lancashire Telegraph should have representation Down Under...
Comments are closed on this article.
Comments (3)
6:24pm Tue 23 Nov 10
Robert Jennings says...
12:35pm Wed 24 Nov 10
boredofmellor says...
Can't see that ever happening over here but I've also got to say that whilst the tickets may be cheapish the aussies do exactly what every other sporting event world wide does and thats rob you blind with anything you want to buy in or around the grounds.
One thing that still puts a smile on my mush is walking up to the MCG on boxing day in the rain with the touts trying to sell tickets and the aussies not having a clue what was going on , but of course the touts were as usual all scousers !!!!
1:46pm Wed 24 Nov 10
Marconi says...
I am a member (concession) at the WACA in Perth.For my money this year I get.
5 games of Sheffield Shield cricket (20 days)
5 one day domestic series games.
3 KFC Twenty-20 Big Bash Games.
Western Australia V England (3 days)
Australia V Sri Lanka Twenty 20.
Australia V England 1day international.
Australia V England (Test) 5 days.
Seats in the members area.
Plus a guest ticket for the above games.
Cost $315. 195pounds (present exchange rate)
Any home series finals are included.