THE FOOTBALL Association of Ireland has denied reports of a ticketing fiasco relating to sales of their premium level seats. In a statement released yesterday, the association stuck to the line that 6,300 of the 10,000 seats available as part of the Vantage Club scheme have been snapped up between sales and tickets allocated to sponsors.
Exactly how many of those seats have actually been sold to paying customers remains unclear, however, with the FAI as yet unwilling to clarify the number offered to sponsors.
Yesterday’s newspaper report claimed shirt sponsors 3 Mobile will receive as many as 2,000 seats and the number actually sold remains at just over 4,000. It said a proportion of those have been discounted – the original packages were marketed between €12,000 and €32,000 – with supporters also offered soft credit terms.
Over 900 are in the hands of existing customers who signed up for the previous deal (at a fraction of the current cost) in 2004 and 2006 and will not be up for renewal for at least another three years.
The FAI also dismissed claims that ISG, the company charged with marketing and selling the Vantage Club packages until recently, had offered to buy all 10,000 premium seats at the start of the project for the sum of €75 million. “The board of management of the FAI this morning confirms categorically that the board never rejected any such offer and (FAI president) David Blood acknowledged this to be the case,” they stated.
While the exact breakdown of the Vantage Club sales remain a closely guarded secret, it is clear the association will not yield anywhere near what was envisaged. When the scheme was launched, FAI officials hoped to cash in a potential windfall of €190 million. It’s unlikely they will come close to reaching that target.
The association’s borrowing grew by some €50 million last year and, instead of using anticipated profits garnered from the scheme to clear the €74 million repayment due on the Aviva Stadium, chief executive John Delaney has admitted it will now be another 10 years before the association is able to balance the books.
