Semi Final ticket prices

[El Diablo]

The stadium is far from full at the minute:
https://www1.ticketmaster.ie/european-r ... rcatid=225
There are still large swathes of seats in the upper west and east still unsold. According to the seat map 501/502/503 in the North east upper corner are about 60%/70% empty at the minute! Strangely sections 509 to 521 at the Lansdowne Road end there is not a single seat available which is very strange.
Have EPRC dropped the ball with the ticket pricing? If people are paying €60 or €70+ they want a decent seat. They dont mind sitting in cr@p seats for €30/€40. By this time before the QF it was almost full.
Last year I paid €50 per ticket for the Clermont semi in Lyon and I was in the lower tier, half way back between the try line and the 22. This included the booking fee of only €2 per ticket. The equivalent ticket for Saturday is €70 + €6 bkg fee. Here are the ticket categories from last year:
CAT 1: € 63.00
CAT 2: € 48.00
CAT 3:€ 38.00
CAT 4:€ 28.00
CAT 5: €18.00
Like for like tickets, the price increase from last year is between 40% and 45% not including the much higher booking fee.

[El Diablo]

Prices for the Munster/Racing semi Final are priced between €18 and €58. The €58 tickets compare directly with the €80 tickets in The Aviva. That's 37% more expensive than the Bordeaux game.

https://www.ticketmaster.fr/en/manifest ... ienprofond

[Scott]

Have EPRC dropped the ball with the ticket pricing? If people are paying €60 or €70+ they want a decent seat. They dont mind sitting in cr@p seats for €30/€40. By this time before the QF it was almost full.

Was looking at all the tickets remaining and thinking the same. What is there approx 5k seats unsold. 70e plus booking fee for one ticket in a shite location goes a long way to explain it. Be a real shame if we could not sell out a semi final. But EPRC not offering family tickets would prevent a lot from going I think. Hopefully it's a sell out for the teams sake but wouldn't mind EPRC were left 5k tickets.

[curates_egg]

Like for like tickets, the price increase from last year is between 40% and 45% not including the much higher booking fee.

They are not like for like tickets though.

Tickets to standard Leinster league games are the most expensive I have come across in any of the 5 European countries in which I have watched games (by far in most cases) - I'm a regular in only Dublin and France.
For a covered seat in either of the stands (upper) around the same part of the pitch you describe, you end up paying over 60 Euro (for standard Pro14 games). (I bring my dad to the RDS whenever I am home. He needs a covered seat, so I have little choice about where we sit.)
Those of you who are season ticket holders don't realise or care about it normally - at least that is my experience when trying to raise this issue via various fora...but inflated pricing for knock-out games is a direct consequence.

It is totally natural for the EPRC to apply a relative mark-up for a semi-final.
The tickets in Lyon last year (where I was too, in similar seats to you) were considerably more expensive than you would have paid for a quarter final in Clermont.
I would imagine the mark-up is around the same this year: I'm sure the EPRC have some method of calculating the price they think they can charge, based on the standard prices charged by the home(neutral) club involved.
Apart from this, Dublin is now (again) an extremely expensive place to live (https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index/europe), and far more expensive than Bordeaux (for example), so it is totally normal that there would be a relative price difference.

I can understand why season ticket holders are NOW disgruntled by this all of a sudden. But this is simply a consequence of Leinster rugby being allowed to get away with a ridiculous match-day ticket pricing policy, amongst others, by a supporters club that has no real need to pull the club up on it.

Edit: on the CPI point, average rents in Bordeaux are over 50% less than Dublin, average net salary 33% less, cinema (the most comparable price I can find) is about 25% less: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/c ... Comparison
And don't even bother comparing with Clermont.
Long story longer, the EPRC is - at best - only partially to blame. Rip-off Dublin and rip-off Leinster are at least as much to blame.

[El Diablo]

Like for like tickets, the price increase from last year is between 40% and 45% not including the much higher booking fee.

Those of you who are season ticket holders don't realise or care about it normally - at least that is my experience when trying to raise this issue via various fora...but inflated pricing for knock-out games is a direct consequence.


I can understand why season ticket holders are NOW disgruntled by this all of a sudden. But this is simply a consequence of Leinster rugby being allowed to get away with a ridiculous match-day ticket pricing policy, amongst others, by a supporters club that has no real need to pull the club up on it.

A bit harsh to have a pop at the volunteers who make up the SC committee. I'm sure if there was a clamour from fans over this they would raise it.
At the very least we loyal fans are entitled to an explanation as to why 1 semi final is 35 to 40% more expensive than the other.
From the lack of reaction here the majority aren't too bothered. The Celtic Tiger is back obviously but the result of this attitude is large pockets of empty seats tomorrow which wont help our cause.

[molloyjh]

Like for like tickets, the price increase from last year is between 40% and 45% not including the much higher booking fee.

Those of you who are season ticket holders don't realise or care about it normally - at least that is my experience when trying to raise this issue via various fora...but inflated pricing for knock-out games is a direct consequence.


I can understand why season ticket holders are NOW disgruntled by this all of a sudden. But this is simply a consequence of Leinster rugby being allowed to get away with a ridiculous match-day ticket pricing policy, amongst others, by a supporters club that has no real need to pull the club up on it.

A bit harsh to have a pop at the volunteers who make up the SC committee. I'm sure if there was a clamour from fans over this they would raise it.
At the very least we loyal fans are entitled to an explanation as to why 1 semi final is 35 to 40% more expensive than the other.
From the lack of reaction here the majority aren't too bothered. The Celtic Tiger is back obviously but the result of this attitude is large pockets of empty seats tomorrow which wont help our cause.

If I had to guess at reasons why, you'd be looking at things like the facilities being immeasurably better, the lack of travel required for the vast majority of fans, the view of the action being far better, the economic situation in each case (e.g. the rent for the Aviva etc). There's numerous reasons for the difference in price.

[curates_egg]

A bit harsh to have a pop at the volunteers who make up the SC committee. I'm sure if there was a clamour from fans over this they would raise it.

That's probably fair. I am just frustrated that this has been ignored, regardless of with whom I raised it.
It is a more systemic problem than EPCR overcharging for one game, which is - in itself - a symptom of that problem.
My opinion is that the utter gouging of non-season ticket holders for matchday tickets is suppressing attendance at all Leinster home games. Apart from the direct impact it has on me, this is a serious problem.

[Flash Gordon]

Like for like tickets, the price increase from last year is between 40% and 45% not including the much higher booking fee.

Those of you who are season ticket holders don't realise or care about it normally - at least that is my experience when trying to raise this issue via various fora...but inflated pricing for knock-out games is a direct consequence.


I can understand why season ticket holders are NOW disgruntled by this all of a sudden. But this is simply a consequence of Leinster rugby being allowed to get away with a ridiculous match-day ticket pricing policy, amongst others, by a supporters club that has no real need to pull the club up on it.

A bit harsh to have a pop at the volunteers who make up the SC committee. I'm sure if there was a clamour from fans over this they would raise it.
At the very least we loyal fans are entitled to an explanation as to why 1 semi final is 35 to 40% more expensive than the other.
From the lack of reaction here the majority aren't too bothered. The Celtic Tiger is back obviously but the result of this attitude is large pockets of empty seats tomorrow which wont help our cause.

It's harsh to have a go at them in this context as the event is an ERC event. However, it's legitimate to raise the concern with them over general ticket pricing which is very very high. We've a season ticket price rise this season too.

[curates_egg]

A bit harsh to have a pop at the volunteers who make up the SC committee. I'm sure if there was a clamour from fans over this they would raise it.
At the very least we loyal fans are entitled to an explanation as to why 1 semi final is 35 to 40% more expensive than the other.
From the lack of reaction here the majority aren't too bothered. The Celtic Tiger is back obviously but the result of this attitude is large pockets of empty seats tomorrow which wont help our cause.

It's harsh to have a go at them in this context as the event is an ERC event. However, it's legitimate to raise the concern with them over general ticket pricing which is very very high. We've a season ticket price rise this season too.

As you can see, I was referring to the general pricing policy of Leinster, where concerns raised have been ignored.
However, I would argue that this (over-) pricing policy provided the basis for the pricing applied by EPCR to this game.

[Lar]

For what it is worth I went to see how many tickets were still available for the Bordeaux semi-final tomorrow. The ticketmaster.fr site did not give me a seat plan showing the available seats but in every price category I asked for five seats together and was given options in every category. Whilst theoretically that means there could be as few as twenty seats free I suggest that it means the stadium is nowhere near sold out. Presumably EPCR want a sell out at each venue but if they get close to selling all tickets then that is what will drive pricing policy. Under 80% seats sold then the price is too high (or one of the sides is not well supported) but a total sell out makes the commercial people wonder could they have charged higher prices. I would suggest EPCR will be happy with anything over 90% of seats sold. I suspect that has happened for our match tomorrow.

[El Diablo]

[

It's harsh to have a go at them in this context as the event is an ERC event.

I wouldn't have a problem if the 2 semi finals were close to the same price. However the 35 to 40% price difference is simply a rip off based on our loyalty as a fan base. They know they can screw us and we will take it. Sure they might slap on another 30% next year.

[Angelsea Angst]

Ticket prices may be a little high but this is insignificant in comparison with the additional costs which would be involved if we needed to travel abroad for the match.

[Raydollard]

The rip off Ireland culture is alive and well in all aspects of Irish life. That we have to pay very high prices for rugby mimics the situation in other pursuits here. Value for money is a concept unknown here.

[El Diablo]

Ticket prices may be a little high but this is insignificant in comparison with the additional costs which would be involved if we needed to travel abroad for the match.

The Celtic Tiger is back!! 35 to 40% higher is "insignificant"!! Great country.

[Angelsea Angst]

Ticket prices may be a little high but this is insignificant in comparison with the additional costs which would be involved if we needed to travel abroad for the match.

The Celtic Tiger is back!! 35 to 40% higher is "insignificant"!! Great country.

The game today was certainly worth the entry fee and was good value for money. I agree however that the OLSC should raise the issue of pricing with the EPRC.

[FourMasters]

Ticket prices may be a little high but this is insignificant in comparison with the additional costs which would be involved if we needed to travel abroad for the match.

The Celtic Tiger is back!! 35 to 40% higher is "insignificant"!! Great country.

The game today was certainly worth the entry fee and was good value for money. I agree however that the OLSC should raise the issue of pricing with the EPRC.

I didn't attend today because of the ridiculous price of the "cheap" seats. Coming at similar time as season ticket renewal, I simply couldn't afford shelling out more for a non-essential luxury.
The funny thing is that I felt much better about "missing out" when the game was clearly up in the second half. I always feel I get more value out of close matches versus blow-outs.

[El Diablo]

Another semi final rip off to be expected. Last year I estimated a 40-45% premium between Lyon in 2017 and the Scarlets semi in the Aviva last year. I raised it with the branch and various people and it is impossible to get any justification. It is simply EPRC riding us and we happily cough up year after year. Remember last year the semi was not a sell out because of the prices....disgrace.

[mildlyinterested]

Another semi final rip off to be expected. Last year I estimated a 40-45% premium between Lyon in 2017 and the Scarlets semi in the Aviva last year. I raised it with the branch and various people and it is impossible to get any justification. It is simply EPRC riding us and we happily cough up year after year. Remember last year the semi was not a sell out because of the prices....disgrace.

[Flash Gordon]

Another semi final rip off to be expected. Last year I estimated a 40-45% premium between Lyon in 2017 and the Scarlets semi in the Aviva last year. I raised it with the branch and various people and it is impossible to get any justification. It is simply EPRC riding us and we happily cough up year after year. Remember last year the semi was not a sell out because of the prices....disgrace.

EPRC call so not much the branch aren't the decision makers. Personally I think the supporters clubs involved should write to the sponsors highlighting their displeasure that the fans are being ridden.

[El Diablo]

Another semi final rip off to be expected. Last year I estimated a 40-45% premium between Lyon in 2017 and the Scarlets semi in the Aviva last year. I raised it with the branch and various people and it is impossible to get any justification. It is simply EPRC riding us and we happily cough up year after year. Remember last year the semi was not a sell out because of the prices....disgrace.

EPRC call so not much the branch aren't the decision makers. Personally I think the supporters clubs involved should write to the sponsors highlighting their displeasure that the fans are being ridden.

The branch officials don't care as they wont be paying for their tickets. I have emailed the OLSC this morning but I am not expecting any change this year. It will be harder to compare the 2 semis (sterling) but the message to us loyal Leinster fans will be the same; open your wallets, bend over and take it....and we will happily oblige.