Ticketmaster 08705 582 582
WRU Website www.wru.co.uk
In Person WRU Ticket Office, 98 St Mary Street, Cardiff
Welsh rugby fans all over the world will be able to buy tickets for the three home RBS Six Nations matches in the 2004 championship, against Scotland, France and Italy from today; Wednesday 5th November 2003.
In a break with tradition, the Welsh Rugby Union has decided to make tickets for Six Nations matches available to the general public via their internet site, www.wru.co.uk, and the ticket agency Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.co.uk) well in advance of the tournament kick-off.
The system of giving priority to the member clubs and affiliated organisations that make up the WRU has been maintained, although for the first time they have confirmed their allocation for all three games four months ahead of the opening fixture.
“The clubs have played a vital role in acting as our ticket agents for many decades and are to be both thanked and congratulated for their achievements down the years,” explained Steve Lewis, General Manager of the WRU.
‘But in recent seasons we have noticed that some clubs have been unable to sell their full allocation of international match tickets and this has led to late returns and an inevitable drop off in attendance. That made us realise that a thorough review of the system was required in order to ease the pressure on the clubs and maximise our selling potential.
‘While we have reached our full capacity of 74,000 at eight of our 10 Six Nations matches staged at the Millennium Stadium since it opened in 1999, we did have some spare capacity for our 2002 matches against both Italy and Scotland.
‘We had no more than 53,000 for the game against Italy and 68,000 for the Scottish match. It has always been the goal of the WRU to reach full capacity for all major matches and this new move is aimed at achieving that and delivering more money to the grass roots of the game.
‘The change in the format of the Championship, which has condensed it from 10 to seven weeks, means that selling the tickets as early as possible is vital to ensure that fans get more time to buy the tickets they need.
‘Welsh rugby fans are admired throughout the world for their passion and loyalty, as has been so wonderfully demonstrated at the Rugby World Cup in Australia, and we believe that this new system will give many of them better and earlier access to big match tickets.’
As in previous seasons, the 239 member clubs and the affiliated bodies have been offered 40,000 tickets between them for each of the three Championship games. By the time of the new advance order deadlines of 15 October (initial order date) and 31 October (closing date for extra orders), 75% of the tickets had been taken up for the games against France and Scotland and 40% for Italy.
‘In order to reach total capacity at any event it is vital to know how many tickets have been sold and how many tickets you still have to market. In my experience, the decision to buy tickets for major events is taken at an early stage,’ said Millennium Stadium manager Paul Sergeant.
‘We undertook a very close examination of the pattern of ticket sales both via the WRU clubs and to the general public in recent years before devising the new sales strategy.
‘Our current ticket manager, Peter Owens, has a wealth of experience in these matters having dealt with the Welsh rugby clubs at close hand over the past 20 years and has been a key figure in designing and implementing the new system.
‘We want the Welsh team to play before a Millennium Stadium packed full of Welsh fans and we believe this is the best way to achieve that goal.’
Further good news for Welsh fans is that ticket prices at the Millennium Stadium will once again be the lowest in the Championship, despite a £4 rise from 2003.
‘The revenue we receive from our home matches in the RBS Six Nations Championship is vital to the funding of our game at all levels. It is the financial engine of the national game of Wales and we are determined to provide good value for money,’ added Lewis.
‘We are proud of the fact we have been able to keep our prices below those of our competitors, while at the same time providing the best quality facilities to our fans. In fact, our top price will be £1 cheaper than the lowest price at Twickenham this season and we will be providing the cheapest, non-concession seated tickets in the Championship in the UK and Ireland at £18.’
Top price tickets for the 2004 Championship will be:
France – £61.50 (90 euros)
Italy – £58 (85 euros)
Scotland – £55
England – £53
Ireland – £49
Wales – £42
The breakdown of the allocation of tickets for Six Nations games at the Millennium Stadium is as follows:
40,000 Member Clubs and Affiliated Bodies
19,000 Debenture Seats
5,500 Away Team Supporters
3,500 Box Holders and Club Seats
6,000 remainder split between Sponsors, WRU and visiting committee and guests, Media, Club Secretaries and Referees and Former Internationals.
SIX NATIONS TICKET SALES AT THE MILLENNIUM STADIUM
2000
v France 74,000
v Italy 74,000
v Scotland 74,000
2001
v England 74,000
v Ireland 74,000
2002
v France 74,000
v Italy 53,000
v Scotland 68,00
2003
v England 74,000
v Ireland 74,000
WALES HOME FIXTURES IN 2004 RBS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
Wales v Scotland – Saturday, 14 February (Valentine’s Day)
Wales v France – Sunday, 7 March
Wales v Italy – Sunday, 27 March
HOW TO GET YOUR TICKET TO THE RBS SIX NATIONS GAMES
Ticketmaster 08705 582 582
WRU Website www.wru.co.uk
In Person WRU Ticket Office, 98 St Mary Street, Cardiff