THE IRISH rugby team’s first international game in the new Aviva Stadium – against South Africa on Saturday – is likely to be diminished by a less than full attendance. The reason: a major misjudgment by the management committee of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) in the ticketing strategy for the four match Guinness International Series. The union’s preoccupation with maximising its own revenue has backfired in spectacular fashion, leaving it with much less income and a badly dented public image.
Not alone has the IRFU faced a revolt by its constituent clubs over ticket pricing, it has felt the wrath of an angry public unwilling – and indeed unable – to pay exorbitant prices for tickets that are far more expensive than those for comparable international matches or similar domestic sporting events. All the more galling that the series is being staged in a new €400 million stadium financed to a major extent by taxpayers.
When the IRFU finally acknowledged the “error in its ticketing strategy”, it had little other option. It needed to placate rebelling rugby clubs which stood to lose financially, having failed to sell over-priced tickets to price-sensitive rugby supporters. And it also had to try to persuade the public, however belatedly, that it respected their concerns and shared some of their pain. What remains unclear, however, is how the union could ever have adopted such an aggressive pricing strategy against the background of the worst economic crisis in recent history, with unemployment rising and wages falling, and where even the least price-sensitive consumers are reluctant to spend money if they suspect they are being ripped off.
Despite protestations to the contrary, the IRFU revealed itself to be out of touch with the public mood and with the game’s own supporters. Match tickets were originally only sold as a four game package at a cost of €340-€425. But few attend international games unaccompanied and many supporters come from outside Dublin which potentially means the additional cost of an overnight stay. Scant regard was shown for either clubs or supporters, particularly the young, where the price of schoolboy tickets trebled.
After such a spectacular own goal, the challenge facing the IRFU is to demonstrate that it has learned lessons by adopting a more realistic and flexible approach to future ticket pricing. This is critically important at a time when it needs maximum public support in its battle with the Government over free-to-air television.