CAPE TOWN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Organisers of the 2003 World Cup announced details of the tournament’s ticket pricing on Saturday, a year to the day before the opening match is due to take place.
Tickets will be sold over the internet, through a dedicated telephone call centre and at the individual venues, organisers said.
Dr Ali Bacher, executive director of the tournament’s organising committee, said the economic realities in different geographic areas in South Africa had played a part in determining ticket prices for each venue.
``We believe that the prices are very reasonable for the South African market,‘’ said Bacher.
``A great deal of thought went into this whole process. Some people might have thought it justified to go high on these prices because this is a World Cup, after all, but we took cognizance of the SA market and its economic realities.‘’
Tickets, which will go on sale from July 15 this year, will initially be available as part of two packages.
The Stadium Package ticket covers all games at a particular venue while the Follow The Team Package covers all six games played by a particular team during the tournament’s preliminary stage.
TEAM PACKAGE
The Follow The Team Package for all six of South Africa’s pool games ranges between 830 and 965 rand (between $72.37 and $84.14) while the same package to cover England’s preliminary matches will cost 755 rand.
``With the devaluing of the rand, it was suggested that we peg the overseas prices at, say, an exchange rate of 7.50 rand to the dollar because, at the current rate of around 12 rand to the dollar, the UK cricket supporter can buy a Wanderers package - in pounds - at a ridiculously low price,‘’ Bacher said.
``We gave it consideration but decided the principle would be wrong to have different pricing policies for the South African market and the overseas market.‘’
Total seating capacity for the tournament is expected to be around 920,000 and Bacher said he was confident of an aggregate attendance of at least 800,000.
He also said that 50,000 tickets would be taken out of the system and given on a carefully allocated basis to cricketers from South Africa’s previously disadvantaged areas.
Tickets for individual matches will only go on sale from December 1 this year, he said.
The 2003 World Cup will staged in South Africa from February 9 to March 23, with matches also being played in Zimbabwe and Kenya.