Tempers flared and verbal brickbats were thrown. For Dublin and Mayo fans, the race for tickets to Saturday’s replay was as tense and for many unfulfilling as it was for the players. Those who failed to secure tickets were left frustrated and at times angered by the process but 82,300 will once again bear witness on Saturday to see the eventual winner of the long running battle between the sides.
The logistics of organising a replay at six days notice are immense but the planning that goes in beforehand ensures they do work.
The first calls started coming in to John O’Neill, the man who runs Tickets.ie, the GAA’s ticketing partner within seconds of the final whistle on Sunday.
First batch
Once pricing and allocation of tickets that would not be going on general sale were finalised the first batch of tickets went on sale just before 8pm on Sunday night, a mere three hours after the crowds started to leave the stadium.
“The level of demand was unlike anything we had seen before,” said O’Neill. “Almost 2,000 tickets were snapped up in the first minute, even though it is unusual to have the tickets on sale so quickly.”
The pricing of tickets for a replay is an area the GAA has handled well in recent years, despite the fact that fans appear willing to pay more rather than less.
Stand tickets that were €40 on Sunday were reduced by one quarter to €30 for the replay and a similar number of €5 tickets for children have been made available.
Sold out
“After the first batch of tickets sold out online on Sunday night we released a second tranche at 11am and the final batch at 1pm which sold out completely in 50 minutes,” said O’Neill.
This included the hundreds of Supervalu and Centra stores around the country who see retail tickets exclusively as part of their sponsorship agreement with the GAA.
There was online frustration for those who had either queued or tried online and fell foul of the laws of supply and demand. The same happens all the time when ‘must see’ concerts go on sale but a sell out in the GAA is normally reserved for the All Ireland Finals or of late, a Dublin Football semi final. Those who suggested other ticket outlets, who charge a hefty premium that Tickets.ie does not, would be better equipped to handle the demand have clearly never felt the frustration that applies everywhere that supply and demand are out of kilter.
Season tickets
Season tickets for both counties take out a little over 6,000 from the pool of tickets available, while long term and corporate box seats also reduce the amount available.
Both counties receive an allocation for distribution through clubs or by whatever means they see as appropriate.
Much of the frustration in Dublin yesterday centred on the sale of tickets at Dublin GAA’s Dorset Street Ticket office with reports of batches of up to 14 tickets at a time being sold. For some these would be genuine groups but the rapid appearance of tickets on Done Deal at inflated prices suggests that this means was targeted by touts.
There were many suggestions last night that places be reserved for those who got tickets for the original game, or that a personal number system be introduced so that credit for going to matches earlier in the season can be used against reserved tickets. In a short window and for the occasional time it arises such an investment would be large for the potential return.
Genuine Fans
The way ticket allocations work for the final with the bulk of tickets going through clubs is the fairest way to reward those who might be termed as the ‘most genuine’ fans, those who coach the kids teams, who make the ham sandwiches for visitors and who play themselves at every level.
It makes sense that a Dublin semi final in the future should follow similar distribution and while this will upset those fans who want the event but not the club, that would be a lesser evil than the genuine frustration that many are felling this morning having been deprived of a chance to see Saturday’s game having been there through the wet and windy days of winter.
“73,240 individuals were looking to buy tickets yesterday,” said O’Neill. “Even at an average ticket purchase of two per person that would have meant Croke Park could have filled twice without any question.”
“72 per cent of the visitors were from Dublin with 25 per cent spread across the rest of Ireland and 3 per cent from the UK.”
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