Tottenham Hotspur fans have branded ticket prices at their new temporary home a “disgrace” following the release tickets for a friendly later this week. The organisers of the club’s friendly game against Juventus next Saturday have been criticised by fans for unfair and unreasonable ticket prices. The company guilty for this uproar is Relevent Sports – an American company that is responsible for organising the International Champions Cup every season.
Wembley is the home of Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur for the 2017-18 season following a deal made earlier this year. Tottenham are in need of a temporary stadium to play home games for the season while the final phase of building work on their new 61,000 capacity football ground at White Hart Lane is being completed. Therefore, Spurs are merely just guests at the infamous football haunt, with promotions company ‘Relevent Sports’ being brought in as hosts. But this has left fans far from happy, with many taking to social media to share their outrage and dismay that the scheduled prices are so high. Some branded the extortionate ticket prices “disgraceful” and a “rip off”, with many suggesting that the excessive ticket prices are a way to help Spurs pay for their multi-million-pound stadium. However, Tottenham Hotspur have been quick to point out that they had absolutely no say in the ticket pricing, and they were not involved in recruiting Relevent Sports as promoters.
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Even the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST) were not consulted about pricing, which is highly unusual as they are often given a reduced rate. Replying to a Tweet regarding the prices for the game on Saturday, the THST said: “We’ve had no input and presuming pricing is set by Relevent Sports, not THFC. Hence no member discount”, which has caused upset for many loyal members of the Spurs community.
At the illustrious stadium, host of a number of rugby and football games, tickets are being sold through Ticketmaster, as requested by Relevent Sports. As soon as the tickets went on sale, pricing was through the roof with prices ranging from £99 to £166. This is a stark contrast from White Hart Lane ticket prices whereby tickets on average were found to be ranging between £32 and £81 for Premier League matches. The fact that a friendly match is priced even higher than a friendly match has left fans distraught and questioning whether they will be able to watch their beloved team play this season. However, last week, promotions company Relevent Sports decided to slash the prices drastically, with prices now starting from £24. Following this, Tottenham Hotspur released a statement on their website:
“In order to generate the best atmosphere possible inside the stadium and create a true fan-friendly experience, Relevent Sports has repriced a number of tickets in the lower bowl of the stadium.
“This means even more tickets have been made available to purchase for this fixture at £24, £35 and £45 – with a large quantity of seats located along the side of the pitch having been reduced by £27 to £45, while anyone under the age of 18 can now buy a seat in these same areas for just £14.”
Although, despite prices being ‘slashed’ and becoming distinctly cheaper, category A tickets are still severely overpriced at £92. Additionally, a large number of fans are still disappointed at tickets being priced from £24 as the match against Serie A champions is a pre-season friendly. In the past, at their former home at White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur’s home friendlies have had significantly cheaper match ticket prices, often being priced as low as £10. Spurs fans are delighted that Relevent Sports have come to their senses and decreased the starting prices, but a large quantity of fans are upset that more £24 tickets were not available in the stadium. As soon as the cheaper tickets were announced, a large majority sold out immediately after they had been lowered by Relevent Sports.
The recent ticketing irritation does not bode well for Tottenham fans. The season hasn’t started yet and fans are not impressed. They fear that the ticket prices for the rest of the season will be sky high, pushing fans away from watching their favourite team play the game. The stadium has 90,000 seats available for fans to fill up for the friendly match, with the aim to fill them all in order to create an adrenaline-pumped environment. If the prices are so high, this will not happen, which becomes a hindrance for Spurs fans as well as the players who thrive on the atmosphere.
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