Awe, shocks: World Cup is sellers market
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A fan asks for tickets before the round-of-16 match between USA and Belgium on July 6.
PHOTO: AFP
ATLANTA – Twelve hours before kick-off, the requirement to buy tickets in pairs was dropped, leaving the most affordable seat in the building for the World Cup semi-final between Argentina and England listed at US$4,878 (S$6,287) for one 300-level seat.
It is the World Cup, where fans are shrugging off the immense sticker shock and buying the experience.
“Our fallback is going to be Irish Exit, it’s the England pub in Atlanta,” said Sara Hattey, an England transplant who trekked from northern Georgia on July 15 with her husband, a Venmo price threshold and hope against hope demand would cease before kick-off to help them find a way inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Irish Exit was overflowing with English fans by 11.30am, three-plus hours before the match was scheduled to begin. A draught was more fan-friendly at the small street-level pub across from State Farm Stadium, home of the Atlanta Hawks.
Inside Atlanta Stadium, as FIFA dubbed the venue for the 2026 World Cup, a domestic beer and a hot dog went for US$28.
Licensed apparel bearing the venue, year and country of choice started at US$45 and exceeded US$150.
If Hattey’s fortunes turn brighter, it might not come buying seats in tandem. Vivid Seats listed its cheapest pair for US$4,853 per ticket 90 minutes before gametime. REUTERS
