The Problem With Irish Rugby Ticket Prices
By Emma O’Sullivan, Sports Editor
The atmosphere of some of the Irish Autumn Nations Series games in November 2024 became a heated topic of conversation amongst Irish rugby fans and journalists alike. The game against New Zealand drew particular criticism, as noise levels didn’t quite live up to the expectations of a Friday night in the Aviva. The popular consensus was that ticket prices were the root cause of this issue. In fact, ticket prices may not just be killing the atmosphere at Ireland rugby matches (as the match had been a sellout), but more and more people are being priced out of being able to watch the game they love. With the Six Nations tournament kicking off shortly, Ireland are set to play only two of five games at home in Dublin, leaving huge pressure not only on the players to perform but also the crowds.
In an article published by the Irish Times in November 2024, a potential price hike on tickets for the Six Nations games seemed to be on the cards, with the IRFU claiming to match their price inflation with other sporting events and concerts in Ireland. All four Autumn Nations Series matches were sellouts, despite the criticism regarding ticket prices, as well as match times for non-Dublin fans. Talk of ticket prices - at least for home games - has gone quiet in the lead up to this year’s Six Nations campaign. However, the problem hasn’t gone away, and will certainly crop up again at some point in the near future, so let’s have a look at what issues the fans are facing.
Ireland will play two home games against England and France this spring. As Gerry Thornley explained on the “Off The Ball” podcast in December 2024, the IRFU use Aviva ticket sales as a way to fund the professional game in Ireland, meaning there’s a lot of pressure this year to continue to bring the money in despite having one less Six Nations game in the Aviva, in comparison with last year. Not only that, but Ireland has one of the smallest stadiums in terms of capacity compared to their rivals, lending further importance to the income from ticket sales. However, these issues do not take away from the fact that fans are ultimately being priced out, a trend which will continue for the foreseeable future. Thornley claimed a ‘Dublin-based corporate crowd’, who are given sponsored tickets, are the reason for a lack of atmosphere and noise at matches, attending as a means of socialising without much care for the game itself. Not only that, but Thornley also spoke on the issue of less fans attending who live outside of Dublin, suggesting lower ticket prices as a solution to the problem. Lower ticket prices would certainly help, as he explained that ticket accessibility for ‘real fans’ would allow the Aviva to hold a crowd who were more invested both ‘financially and emotionally’.
In October 2024, a study published found that hotels in the D4 area up their prices by 30% around the weekends of Autumn Internationals and Six Nations games, showing that the ticket prices aren’t the sole cause of the difficulty of attendance for non-Dublin fans. Tickets are also never sold directly to the public – they are sold through clubs and provincial branches, which can have both good and bad outcomes when it comes to ticket touting, etc. The system is clearly far from perfect, and improvements can be made. However, ticket price reductions in the near future seem unlikely, and potential increases will have consequences for fans as well as the atmosphere within the stadium. For now though, all focus will continue to be on the Irish team looking to win the Six Nations title for a third year running.
https://x.com/offtheball/status/1866933472251744724?s=61&t=h_ciJrk_MH6qAiPWGADiKA
