Roosters CEO Joe Kelly has defended the rise in ticket prices for Friday night's blockbuster with South Sydney, revealing the tiered system the club have employed for home games.
After two sold-out crowds at the revamped Allianz Stadium between the two local rivals at the back-end of 2022, the Tricolours have taken the controversial stance of upping the cost of admission for the Round 3 fixture.
For last weekend's match against the Warriors, adult tickets in the away supporters' section were priced at $40 - but fast-forward less than a week and Bunnies fans will be forced to fork out $90 to sit in the same section.
Speaking on SEN Radio, Kelly explained the system in place this year for high-profile home games.
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“We’ve got three tiers this year and it’ll all depend on who we play each and every year," he said.
"Our tiering of matches this year are Anzac Day [against the Dragons] our highest category, followed by our Souths game and then the rest of the games are all of equal stature.
“As you can see it’s based on supply and demand, as it is around the world when it comes to sporting events, you’ll see dynamic pricing broadly applied by many sporting organisations.”
One of the proudest and richest clubs in rugby league history, the Roosters are the only club who will host games at the brand-new multi-million dollar stadium at Moore Park.
But with the region split between the two arch-rivals, the decision to price some families out of attending has left a sour taste in the mouth of many Rabbitohs fans.
“Those tickets start from $90 for an adult but from that sort of highlight number that’s been used, Rabbitohs members were given a 10 per cent discount on that,” Kelly said.
“It was the case where a number of Rabbitohs members thought the price was too high, so we offered another tiering which is category four pricing, which is behind the goal...they’re $110 for the family.
“At the end of the day, the essence of our sport is that we are a live form of entertainment, we want to see bums on seats, we want to see our members out here supporting our team.”
