With two big draws in sport the week after next in rugby and soccer, don’t expect to come away from either with much change if you are in the market for the best seats in Aviva Stadium.
Ireland play against the world number one side and biggest name in rugby, New Zealand on November 13th and, in soccer, face Portugal two days before that on November 11th in a World Cup qualifier.
The cost of an Upper Stand ticket for the match against the All Blacks is €125 with a premium level ticket €165.
Category A, B and C tickets for the game against Portugal cost €65, €45 and €35 respectively, while premium tickets for the World Cup qualifier cost €120. The game is a sell out. For the New Zealand game Category 2, 3 and 4 tickets are priced at €115, €110 and €105 and will go on sale from noon on Thursday through Ticketmaster.
When Ireland last played against the All Blacks in Dublin back in 2018, there was an unprecedented demand as the match came after Joe Schmidt’s side had beaten them for the first time in Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016.
Two years ago, that allowed the IRFU set record ticket prices for the November game in Aviva. A premium ticket to watch, what were then the top two ranked teams in world rugby, was €137 with Category 1 and 2 seats both exceeding the €100 mark for the first time at €112 and €102 respectively.
Before meeting Ireland next month, the All Blacks face Wales in the Principality Stadium this weekend. Tickets range in price from £40 (€47.50) for a Category E ticket to £95 (€113) for a Category A ticket.
This year's All-Ireland final stand tickets for both hurling and football were set at €90. That price has remained since final ticket prices went up by €10 in 2019. Then in defending the decision to increase the price, GAA president John Horan said it was the first time the cost had been changed since 2011 when it went up by the same price of €10 for the final.
In contrast to the All Blacks match a stand ticket for Ireland’s match against Japan is €45 less and set at €80, while it costs €85 to watch the game against Argentina from the Aviva Stadium stands. Two tickets to watch all three matches from the upper levels would cost €580.
Defenders of the ticket prices compare international rugby matches with the cost of attending stadium concerts. A modern international match, although 40 minutes each way, lasts for about two hours, not unlike many of the music events staged in Aviva and Croke Park
Ed Sheeran is scheduled to play around the country next April and kicks off in Croke Park on April 23rd before playing Cork's Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Limerick's Thomond Park and Boucher Road playing fields in Belfast. Tickets for Croke Park are set at €81 and €91.
Duran Duran are playing next summer in St Annes' Park in Dublin with tickets costing €59.90, while best seat tickets for Nathan Carter in Galway's Leisureland are €33.20.
Comparing like with like and the All Blacks are the best team in the world, Bruce Springsteen’s concert in 2016 in Croke Park sold out in two hours. Prices started at €65.45 for seats, €98.50 for standing places and up to €131 for other areas, in addition to a service charge.
