Johannesburg: More than 200,000 tickets for the World Cup 2003 will go on sale in South Africa at 9:00 am (07:00 GMT) on Monday (July 15) morning, the organisers said on Wednesday.
In total some 300,000 tickets for the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament will be available to South Africa's general public. "Given the limitations imposed on us by the nature of this event, we believe that this number is reasonable," said Ali Bacher, the event's director. "There will obviously be a rush for these ticket packages," he said. On Monday a total of 222,000 tickets sold in packages - ranging from 30 Rand to 225 Rand a game depending on the venues - will be available and a further 70,000 follow- the-team tickets to certain games will become available on December 2. Fans will be able to buy tickets at the stadiums hosting the tournament, on the Internet and through a call centre. Tickets for the second round of matches and the knockout stages will be available later. An additional 50,000 tickets will be distributed to bona fide cricketers in disadvantaged communities as part of the organisers' commitment to popularise the game. Preferential bookings - accommodating season ticket holders, suite holders and debenture holders - have already secured South Africans 360,000 of the total 856,000 tickets. Revenue from preferential bookings stands at about 20-million Rand and total revenue is now estimated to reach 30 to 35-million Rand. Bacher said the capacity of South Africa's cricket stadiums was limited, unlike soccer and rugby stadiums. "Whereas other sports' stadiums can accommodate 50 or 60,000 spectators, the average capacity at our six Test grounds is 21,222, and 9,113 for the six other venues hosting ICC World Cup matches," he said. The tournament will begin in Cape Town in February 2003 and will entail 54 games at 15 venues in three countries - South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Some 800,000 spectators are expected at the grounds while organisers claim a global audience in excess of one billion will view the tournament on television.
Extras:
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Thatscricket Special: World Cup 2003
Tags: cricket, more than 200, 000 tickets, world cup 2003, go on sale, south africa, organisers, international council, icc tournament, general public, limitations imposed, nature of event, ali bacher, event's director, packages, rand, game, fans, stadiums, internet, call centre, second round matches, knockout stages, cricketers, disadvantaged communities, commitment, popularise, preferential bookings, suite holders, debenture, revenue, preferential bookings, capacity, soccer, rugby, cape town, zimbabwe, kenya, spectators.
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