Free tickets to Champions cup Final!

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I'm not flogging tickets BTW....

Be ****** if you paid

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event...oresponder%20-%20EPCR%20Free%20Tickets%202015

Giving away tickets (£2.00 admin fee)

Max 2. (although easy enough to get around it just go 4 tickets.

Worth it just to see a European final game really.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Jaysus.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I know not a bad way to spend a free Saturday.

Got some Clermont gear from when I was constantly asked if i wanted to swap them with my Leicester gear.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

It had been rumoured that a crowd of only 40,000 was expected. Hardly the appearance EPCR wanted to give for the showcase of the tournament everyone apparently wanted.

To be fair, an all French final is a hard sell and the fact that they've compacted the playoffs so there's only two weeks between rounds compounds that. I hope they consider a 3 week gap to the final next season.

 

[ratsapprentice]

How embarrassing.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

On a related note, the final of the 2014/15 Heineken Cup was supposed to be held in Milan. After the power grab, it was switched to Twickenham because it was foreseen that it would be a guaranteed sell out. Now we're faced with the situation whereby EPCR are effectively giving English rugby fans with free tickets.

Surely tickets to a Milan final would have sold better and if not, if PRL and LNR were so eager to grow the game as they claimed, they'd have had no problem subsidizing Italian fans with free tickets.

Those in charge of this new European rugby revolution have done a dismal job thus far. It was clearly a power grab by people who had no idea how to run the tournament.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

TBH english rugby fans should always be given free tickets.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

TBH english rugby fans should always be given free tickets.

If the same was happening in Ireland, I'd be all over the free tickets!

Look at EPCRs record since taking over:
A split TV deal between two pay TV companies makes it more expensive for fans to follow the tournament.
They criticize ERC for how they ran the tournament, then employ almost all of ERCs staff to run the new competition!
They move the headquarters of the tournament to Switzerland, a nation with no rugby history, at an unnecessary cost.
The farce of the winner of the Challenge Cup not gaining automatic entry to the Champions Cup has rendered that competition obsolete.
Have they figured out how the winner of a notional new 3rd tier competition qualify for the Challenge Cup yet?
In the brave new world they'd have multiple sponsors of their tournaments. So far they've only brought in Heineken at a reduced cost on previous seasons.
Now there's the farce of a half empty stadium for a final so they've to give away free tickets.

Thanks EPCR for the stellar job you're doing!

 

[Feicarsinn]

It's what the fans want. That's why no one is going to the final.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

How embarrassing.

To be fair, an all French final is a hard sell

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Interest in Top 14 is minimal in England/the UK - sure there's fans of it, but for the most part most people aren't interested. It's why BT ditched coverage - just wasn't worth the cash to have 3 people watching it.

Coupled with French fans, traditionally, not travelling abroad in huge numbers, and I can see why sales are so low.
Not a good look for the tournament though. If the 40k figure is right, then the aviva has massively outsold it on several occasions this season (66k double header, 82k at HQ, 84k at Wembley) - you'd expect (and I imagine they'd expect) the final of the Euro comp would reach those levels without having to give away a ton of free tickets.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Coupled with French fans, traditionally, not travelling abroad in huge numbers, and I can see why sales are so low.

The crowd for the Top 14 final next year will be interesting. Due to Euro 2016, Stade de France is unavailable so they've moved it to the Nou Camp in Barcelona.

 

[munstermuffin]

The crowd for the Top 14 final next year will be interesting. Due to Euro 2016, Stade de France is unavailable so they've moved it to the Nou Camp in Barcelona.

I'd have thought this would be a more positive move for most of clubs in South of France.

 

[boozeboozebooze]

Well I'm feeling pretty aggrieved as I bought tickets to this months ago (at quite a pretty penny) and now find out that the seats which I paid a lot of money for are now only worth a £2 admin fee?!

Anyone know if there's anyway to refund/sell on these tickets as I'd much rather buy tickets to the Prem Final and get them free?

It seems crazy that the EPCR thought that we wouldn't notice, they're effectively punishing people who buy in advance and rewarding those who buy last minute (should be the other way around).

 

[91jmay]

I've grabbed a pair of tickets but I feel bad for people who brought them before. 50k tickets sold before this apparently which is ordinary, only 8k from France.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I've grabbed a pair of tickets but I feel bad for people who brought them before. 50k tickets sold before this apparently which is ordinary, only 8k from France.

From the Clermont fans forum, they aren't buying many tickets from their allocation and are taking the freebies instead.

It's a massive ***** up by organizers

 

[lynam1104]

Snoops summery of the whole thing is excellent, this new improved version of european rugby administration is a total cock up. The only thing they've achieved is making the Pro12 a little bit more interesting, something that didn't need an over hall in order to happen .

 

[gaston le gaff]

I'd have thought this would be a more positive move for most of clubs in South of France.

Normally the Stade de France is full for the final, the Nou Camp i think is 98,000 maybe difficult to fill completely but there will be atleast 85,000 plus i think, transport is easy from France TGV or by road Barcalona is only 2/3 hrs away from many places in the south of France and for example TGV is very reasonable 100€ return for us to Paris is you travel out of peak times and thats 1st classs. so i'm sure there will be many who make a weekend of it including myself.
The problem with the Champions final is naming the stadium before the event if it had been Stade de France it would probably be full, for the French its a very expensive weekend travel, hotel, and tickets plus food and a few sherbets comes to a fair old price, plus London is not the cheapest place in the world, maybe they will learn a good lesson and keep at least a choice of Stadiums for the final next season.

 

[Jaguares]

This is too embarrasing for our sport. The venue of the final should be change by Paris or Marseille IMHO

 

[91jmay]

From the Clermont fans forum, they aren't buying many tickets from their allocation and are taking the freebies instead.

It's a massive ***** up by organizers

Right, but freebies only offered because French fans not travelling to support their teams (which is understandable). Should have had a reserve stadium in place like Camp Nou as suggested above.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Right, but freebies only offered because French fans not travelling to support their teams (which is understandable).

Have they made a rod for their own back now though? How many fans are going to shell out for tickets to future finals months in advance when they now know EPCR have history of giving tickets away? They might as well wait and see how desperate EPCR get just like this year. I'd be pretty ****** off if I forked out for a couple of tickets only to find half the spectators there with me paid nothing.