This morning, tickets went on sale for the football AFL Preliminary Finals in Australia, and fans were camping out days in advance to score seats.
Friday will bring the highly-anticipated match between Richmond and Collingwood, followed by a game West Coast v. Melbourne on Saturday. The first night, 100,000 fans are expected to attend, and 60,000 the second night.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, fans camped out as early as Saturday night at Ticketek’s outlet. One Collingwood fan told the Herald that the queue for tickets stretched across almost an entire block.
“I am going to be here all night, no shifts,” Collingwood fan Leigh McCulloch said. “My wife will bring supplies down later on. Hand warmers, blankets, beanies. My wife did the shift last week, she came at 4am and she was first. Better to be safe than sorry.
“We don’t mind where we sit. We just get the best we can, we are happy to take anything.”
McCulloch said that he was in the same line the previous weekend, and he expected this weekend’s line to be triple the size. The lines follow Ticketek’s online purchasing system meltdown late last month; fans are hoping that this process is easier.
Melbourne Cricket Club noted that they expect Friday’s game to be at full capacity.
“History says we need visitors in the reserve, even if only a small number, in order to reach capacity for any event other than the grand final,” the MCC wrote on Twitter.
“[Allowing visitor tickets] will be a factor when reaching our decision. The desired outcome is a full house on Friday night and we will put in place the model we think gives us the best chance of achieving that.”
As of last night, Fox Sports AU reported that all tickets have been allocated for, and the 2 p.m. general public sale will not go forward. Fox Sports noted that tickets were destined to sell out – with only 40,000 tickets available to both Tiger and Magpie fan groups with a combination of 140,000 members.
If tickets become available due to unused club or AFL allocations, they will be available this Thursday.
