GENEVA (AP) — More than 1.2 million tickets for soccer’s 2024 European Championship in Germany go on sale next month with seats priced from 30 euros ($32) at group-stage games up to 1,000 euros ($1,072) for the final, UEFA said Tuesday.
The most expensive seats of all the 2.7 million tickets for the 51 games will be in a new high-end “Prime Seats” category that more than doubles the highest prices from Euro 2020.
The prime halfway line spots will go on sale in December at 400 euros ($429) for group-stage games and 2,000 euros ($2,146) for the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on July 14, UEFA said.
Soccer tournaments in Germany are traditionally high-revenue events and the cheapest hospitality package prices next year are about 40% more expensive than at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Tickets being sold from Oct. 3-Oct. 26 are for games on specific dates before the full schedule is known for the month-long tournament in 10 German cities. This first sales phase is “the best chance especially for local fans,” said UEFA, which runs sales through its website.
A second phase also involving fans of specific teams starts two days after the Dec. 2 tournament draw in Hamburg when 21 of the eventual 24-nation lineup will be known. The last three teams qualify in March through playoffs and UEFA will retain tickets for those fans.
UEFA said more than 80% of the 2.7 million tickets available for the 51 games will go to fans of the 24 teams and the general public.
A total of 380,000 seats will be sold in the lowest-price category in the stadium ends behind the goals with 270,000 priced at 30 euros ($32) for group-stage games, UEFA said.
The 30 euros ($32) bracket was available for Euro 2020 in only three host venues — Baku, Azerbaijan; Budapest, Hungary; Bucharest, Romania — of the 11 countries which staged that tournament in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. They cost 50 euros ($53) elsewhere.
UEFA also has retained the "category 1" class which offered the most expensive seats at Euro 2020 — 185 euros ($198) before the quarterfinals at most cities and 945 euros ($1,015) for the final at Wembley Stadium in London. At the 2024 final, the category 1 price is 1,000 euros ($1,072).
UEFA said it also makes 7% of the tournament capacity available to broadcasters and sponsors, 4% to the hospitality program and 4% to German sports and public authorities. UEFA retains 3% for itself, member federations and its guests.
The hospitality program is priced higher than at the 2022 World Cup, where packages in Qatar started at $950.
In Germany, the prices start at 1,250 euros ($1,340) in a program UEFA has outsourced to a company created by the agencies Sportfive and Dentsu. At Euro 2020, hospitality prices started at 780 euros ($837).
All ticket holders in Germany get free public transport from 6 a.m. on gameday until 6 p.m. the next day in the host city and region. Rail operator Deutsche Bahn is a tournament sponsor.
Games are being played in Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart.
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