TICKETS sold to Coventry City fans for the Checkatrade Trophy final at Wembley rose overnight to 18,000 – up 3,000 from 5pm yesterday, we can reveal.
Yesterday (Monday) was the first day of selling, with tickets made available exclusively to season ticket holders – who can buy up to six each during the next fortnight.
The club has an initial allocation of nearly 40,000 for the final versus Oxford United or Luton Town on Sunday, April 2. The top tier of Wembley – level 5 – is as of today now also being made available for Coventry City fans, due to the high demand already demonstrated.
Club sources told us this morning 18,000 tickets had been sold prior to 9am today.
The club also says 3,500 people had actually bought tickets as ‘unique clients’ as of earlier this morning, meaning they are on average buying around five Wembley tickets per season ticket.
Despite the Checkatrade Trophy being a minor tournament, ‘cup fever’ has returned after 30 years with the Sky Blues returning to Wembley for the first time since 1987, and for the first time since the new national stadium opened.
The club says 90 per cent of tickets sold so far have been online sales, and are urging that only fans who require ‘wheelchair or ambulant disabled tickets’ go to the Butts Park Arena to buy their tickets.
We reported yesterday hundreds of fans queued for hours, including some disabled fans. The club has urged fans to buy online and by phone, via agent Ticketmaster.
After two weeks, any remaining tickets will be made available to other categories of fans, including those who have ticket stubs from home matches this season.
Qualifying stubs include tickets from this coming Saturday’s crucial relegation battle against Swindon Town. Fans are being urged to turn up and support Russell Slade’s team in the battle for survival, following last weekend’s nail-biting 2-1 victory over Gillingham.
Several season ticket holders told us they had been inundated with requests from fellow fans to purchase tickets for them – including for family members young and old of fans who attend less regularly or not at all.
Some rumours circulated the internet and social media this morning that touting was already under way at inflated prices – well about the face-value ticket prices of between £20 and £60.
The club believes some more cup final tickets – on top of the 39,000 already allocated by the 90,000 capacity Wembley stadium – could come to the club if demand continues to be extremely high – partly depending on how many are sold by the opposition club.
