The FAI has slashed the price of its 10 year tickets for the best premium seats in the Aviva stadium with its new Club Ireland package costing €4,933, around 15 per cent of what the same tickets cost when they were marketed under the original Vantage Club banner.
That scheme failed to bring in anything like the hoped for revenue, caused knock-on problems in relation to the sale on a match by match basis of seats and gave rise to a still unresolved legal battle with ISG, the firm originally hired to market the packages. In an effort to make the new ones more attractive a string of additional benefits including chances to meet the management team, to play at the stadium and discounts on merchandise have been included.
The new tickets are part of an intensive campaign by the association to capitalise on its strongest line up of home games in several years. After the forthcoming friendly against Oman and the opening home Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar, Martin O’Neill’s team will take on Poland, England and Scotland over the course of the coming season.
The association is also strongly pushing its less expensive season tickets for the campaign and says that 8,486 have been sold to date, well ahead of the corresponding figure for this point in previous years.
The details were revealed at the association's AGM today in Athlone where delegates were told by chief executive John Delaney that the organisation's finances were in good shape after a write down of some €11 million was secured on its stadium related debt.
The annual accounts show that the debt has also been restructured so as to make the next few years’ repayments more manageable but the sums involved are still extremely challenging with just over €20 million, or 40 per cent of the organisation’s total debt, due to be repaid in the next two to five years.
Delaney’s new five year contract, worth €1.8 million also got a mention in his speech but neither it or the finances prompted any questions from the floor.
It was reported in The Sun yesterday, meanwhile, that Denis O'Brien is contributing €910,000 per annum to the association's wage bill for the Irish management team with O'Neill receiving a salary of €1 million and Roy Keane getting €300,000 a year.
