Munster chiefs allay supporters’ ticket fears

MUNSTER rugby officials have moved to reassure members of the province’s supporters club regarding ticket allocations at the new Thomond Park.

The Munster Rugby Supporters Club Committee issued a statement yesterday referring to the aim, cited at a meeting in February 2006, to grow “the Supporters Club to over 10,000 full members — all with season tickets and Heineken Cup home tickets . . . the Supporters Club was advised that in the redeveloped Thomond Park, there should be capacity for supporters club members to achieve that objective.”

Yesterday’s statement adds, however, that the number of tickets to be made available to full members of the Supporters Club in the new Thomond Park “cannot still be confirmed for some weeks, as all allocations have not yet been finalised.

“We have been informed, however, that the number of full members will not be able to increase to enable all associate members to be offered full membership.”

The statement caused anxiety among associate members yesterday, but Munster Rugby chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald stressed that there was nothing untoward in the delay in ticket allocations.

“The supporters’ club had a wish list which included the 10,000-strong membership,” says Fitzgerald, “But there’s a numerical issue, pure and simple. There are existing commitments regarding ticket allocations — we have commitments to clubs in the province and under tournament rules we have to make a certain number of tickets available to visiting clubs.

“In the case of a Magners League game at the new stadium, for instance, 6,000 tickets would go to the clubs and another 6,000 would go to the supporters of the visiting team. That leaves just over 12,000 tickets, so obviously you can’t allocate 10,000 of those tickets before the game.

“The 10,000-member target is an aspiration we support, but the ticket issue isn’t something that’s achievable in the short term. There’s nothing untoward, it’s a completely transparent process.”