San Mamés ticket prices go bonkers for crucial Sporting clash
Athletic Club fans face eye-watering costs between €120-605 for their decisive Champions League fixture, while Portuguese supporters are banned from attending.
Athletic Bilbao’s crucial Champions League showdown with Sporting Lisbon will hit supporters in the wallet, with ticket prices reaching astronomical levels for the potentially historic fixture.
Ticket madness at San Mamés
With Ernesto Valverde’s men returning triumphant from Bergamo, all eyes now turn to their decisive European clash against Sporting. The ticket prices, though? Absolute daylight robbery:
- North and South stands: Starting from €120
- Main stand: Up to €385
- Presidential box with exclusive service: A wallet-emptying €605
These prices are proper steep even for a fixture of this magnitude, but the club clearly understands the historic significance of the occasion.
Portuguese fans locked out
The situation gets even more interesting as Sporting supporters have been completely barred from attending. UEFA slapped the Portuguese club with a ban in December following pyrotechnic violations by their fans.
Sporting has warned its supporters through social media that even if they purchase tickets independently, they may be denied entry to the stadium in accordance with local authorities and legislation.
Record attendance on the cards
With no away supporters and the massive stakes involved, San Mamés is expected to be absolutely heaving. The current attendance record stands at 52,114 from last season’s Europa League quarter-final against Rangers, but that figure could be topped if enough locals are willing to part with their hard-earned.
Historic opportunity
Athletic’s victory against Atalanta has positioned them to potentially reach the knockout stages of the Champions League proper for the first time ever. This represents a significant breakthrough for the Basque outfit.
In their two previous appearances in the modern group stage format (1999 and 2014), they failed to progress. Their best European Cup performance dates back to the 1956-57 season when they reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Manchester United.
For a club with Athletic’s proud traditions, this represents a golden opportunity to create a new European milestone – if supporters can stomach those ticket prices, that is!