COVENTRY City are in line for a potential £600,000 windfall from their first appearance at Wembley in 30 years and could potentially get even more tickets than the current 45,000, we can reveal.
As we reported, the club received 6,300 more tickets yesterday for the Checkatrade Trophy Final – also known as the Football League Trophy – on Sunday, April 2 (kick-off 2.30pm) on top of their initial allocation of over 39,000 which sold out yesterday.
The club says the extra 6,300 allocation brought the current total number of tickets for Sky Blues fans to 45,741.
Opponents Oxford United said today they have sold close to 25,000 tickets after ten days of sale.
Oxford took 33,000 fans to Wembley last year versus Barnsley for the same competition. But some of their fans’ groups have publicly called on their fellow supporters to support a national boycott of the tournament this year in protest at the inclusion of Premier League under-23 teams.
Based on a possible attendance of 75,000 on April 2 at the 90,000-capacity stadium, Coventry City sources estimate the club would receive around £510,000 in gate receipts.
EFL (English Football League) and club sources told us each club will get 45 per cent of the net gate receipts, after all matchday costs have been deducted.
Last year’s final raised around £400,000 in gate receipts for each club, the EFL told us, on a 59,000 attendance.
The previous year, each club got around £500,000 in gate receipts, based on a 72,315 crowd of Walsall and Bristol City fans, the tournament record.
There is also a prize for winning the tournament this year of £100,000. The losing finalists will receive £50,000, the EFL told us, which is the semi-final winners’ prize money carried over – so the Sky Blues are guaranteed £50,000 in prize money.
Ticket sales to Sky Blues fans were continuing this morning after around 7,000 were sold yesterday morning when they went on general sale for the first time.
It followed weeks of availability to priority categories of fans only, including season ticket holders and those with home match tickets. Each purchasing fan can buy up to six tickets.
Club sources confirmed this morning to the Coventry Observer that the Sky Blues will request even more tickets should the extra 6,300 sell out.
Although there is no official confirmation from the EFL, EFL sources told us a further allocation to Coventry City beyond the 45,000 is not ruled out. But we were told it would depend on sales at Oxford United, as well as crowd segregation issues.
It was reported 30 years ago that Coventry City took 50,000 to the old Wembley for the 1987 Charity Shield game, double the 25,000 tickets officially released to Sky Blues fans for the historic FA Cup final earlier that year.
Queues formed once again yesterday morning outside the Butts Park Arena ticket office.
The club urges fans to buy tickets online or by phone, rather than queueing at the ticket office, which is predominantly for those needing tickets allocated for disabled supporters.
PRICES:
Category 5: Adult £28, Concession £14, Junior £10
Category 6: Adult £20, Concession £10, Junior £10
Concessions are classed as Over 60s. Juniors are classed as 16s and under.
Tickets are now only available on Level 5 of Wembley.
HOW TO BUY:
Supporters will be able to buy via the following methods:
– Online: eticketing.co.uk/CCFC
– Phone: 0844 453 9134 (Monday – Friday, 8am to 8pm. Saturday/Sunday, 8am to 6pm.)
– In person: Only disabled or ambulant disabled fans should buy in person.
