The Stormers could have sold 240,000 tickets for Boks versus All Blacks clash in Cape Town

Richie Mo’unga of New Zealand tackles his Springbok opponent Damian de Allende during the Rugby World Cup 2023 final between New Zealand and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on 28 October 2023. (Photo: Yoan Valat / EPA-EFE)

By Craig Ray

23 Aug 2024

There was massive oversubscription for the Springboks versus All Blacks clash at DHL Stadium, but the Stormers have kept some tickets back for sale. CEO Johan le Roux explains how the ticketing system will reward loyal supporters.

Years ago, when El Bulli restaurant in the small coastal town of Roses on Spain’s Costa Brava coast was ranked and regarded as the best and most cutting-edge eating establishment on the planet, the demand for seats was unprecedented.

El Bulli opened for six months of the year, only did a dinner service and could accommodate only 8,000 guests over the season. But that didn’t slow demand. Their online booking system had to process between 400,000–500,000 requests for those 8,000 seats annually.

What does this have to do with sport and rugby in particular? Well, there is similarly unprecedented demand to see the Springboks versus the All Blacks in South Africa in 2024.

The available tickets for the two Tests – at Ellis Park on 31 August and DHL Stadium on 7 September – that went on sale more than two months ago were snapped up in minutes.

Naturally and understandably, there has been unhappiness among loyal and even less-loyal rugby fans who were not able to secure seats for the premium matches.

The Stormers have held back some tickets for the All Black Test that are linked to buying season tickets for the 2024/2025 campaign.

It’s a complex system, which is impossible to please everybody. The concept of “fairness” is entirely dependent on which perspective you approach it from.

“The economics for a Test, especially a premium Test, works very differently. A category ‘A’ ticket for the All Blacks Test will cost R3,500, which is more than our season tickets, which gives you 16 games (URC, EPCR and Currie Cup),” Stormers chief executive Johan le Roux told Daily Maverick.

Springboks vs All Blacks Springbok Steven Kitshoff in action during the Rugby World Cup 2023 final between New Zealand and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on 28 October 2023. (Photo: Teresa Suarez / EPA-EFE)

Springboks vs All Blacks Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in action during the Rugby World Cup 2023 final between New Zealand and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on 28 October 2023. (Photo: Teresa Suarez / EPA-EFE)

Massive commercial value

For rugby unions in a tough economic climate, plum Tests against Ireland or the All Blacks hold massive commercial value and can be the difference between solvency or bankruptcy.

The South Africa Rugby Union (Saru) “allocates” Tests to its various unions in return for a “fee” which is weighted against the prestige of the contest.

Saru put a collective fee of R85-million on the six home Tests that the Springboks will play in 2024.

Six Nations champions Ireland played twice on their tour. They met the Boks at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and Kings Park in Durban and the Bulls and Sharks had to pay Saru R15-million each.

The All Black Tests will be at a premium of R20-million each for the Lions and Western Province.

A system of registering for tickets through the online platform Ticketmaster, and then entering a ballot, was used to filter out bots that large ticket on-selling companies use to snap up sought-after seats and then sell them on at a massive profit.

But even so, registering and entering the ballot does not guarantee a seat.

The reality is similar to El Bulli – demand outstripped supply by multiple factors. Le Roux takes up the story with regards to the second clash in Cape Town.

“We have a big stadium, and once every few years we will have an opportunity to monetise a big Test,” Le Roux told Daily Maverick. “We definitely had the ability to push the prices a lot further than we did.

“The concept of ‘fair’ in the case of premium tickets is a tricky one. The pricing is not fair to the guy who can’t afford it.

“The event was four times oversubscribed. After we removed bots and duplicates, we were left with 60,000 what we consider legitimate entries into the ballot. And when you consider each of those users could have bought four tickets, we could have sold 240,000 tickets for the match.

“There was some criticism that we didn’t give preferential access to loyal fans. The reality is that under the previous system, it was almost impossible for us to establish who those fans are and how many times they visit. With Ticketmaster it will be much easier.”

How so?

Springboks vs All Blacks The All Blacks in action in the ruck against South Africa during the Rugby World Cup 2023 final between New Zealand and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on 28 October 2023. (Photo: Christophe Petit Tesson / EPA-EFE)

Springboks vs All Blacks Richie Mo’unga of New Zealand tackles his Springbok opponent Damian de Allende during the Rugby World Cup 2023 final between New Zealand and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on 28 October 2023. (Photo: Yoan Valat / EPA-EFE)

Well, firstly the Stormers take the view that they are a “club” and not a franchise. It’s a subtle but important distinction, because the idea of a club is that it has members, who are active participants, and not only passive observers.

It will not only allow different tiers of membership to suit budgets but will also consider factors such as the willingness to engage with offerings from the club, including evenings with Stormers players or attending captain’s practice.

And along with membership and a demonstration of loyalty will come easier access to premium events such as an All Black Test. Ticketmaster is the first platform that the Stormers have used that will assist in building a crucial database of its fans’ activity across the season.

“We also had access to who bought tickets on the previous system (by TicketPro), but never knew what happened to those tickets, meaning were they used and if so, by whom.

“With this new system, if you as the season-ticket holder are unable to make the game, there is the ability to share your ticket digitally with a friend or family,” Le Roux said.

“It’s as easy as sharing their name, surname and email address; it takes 10 seconds and will have the ticket securely transferred to them. The email is fully digital, so it is transferred from your Ticketmaster app to your friend’s Ticketmaster app.

“This system also has the option for you to load your ticket back into the sales base – the inventory if you like – if you are unable to make the game. It means it can go back on sale because we don’t want empty seats.

“Essentially if you buy a season ticket but can only make half the games, you can sell back the other half. It means the fan is in a way, in competition with us [Stormers], but there is more value.”

And the benefits will include preferred access to Test tickets.

“The idea is that different membership tiers will guarantee you access to premium Test tickets,” Le Roux explained.

“If you’re a loyal fan and we can see you have come to, for instance, five matches during the course of a season, we will be able to put you into an early sales window for Test tickets, or URC semifinal and final tickets.

“It’s a way for us to reward loyal fans and season-ticket holders in future. We would rather sell a premium event ticket to someone loyal as opposed to someone who never comes to games.

“So, our drive for this match was more than simply capturing value through ticket prices; we had the idea that we reward the loyal fans, both current and new season ticket holders, with access to the Test.

“As we go forward and build the season-ticket and loyalty base, the number of tickets for premium events going to the general public will be reflected in the ballot.” DM

Categories:

Sport

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

Sport

Massive commercial value

How so?