Cultural - Real Madrid: my kingdom for a ticket
Tickets for the match between the Segunda B side and Real Madrid went on sale on Friday with a massive turnout expected at the stadium.
Ever since the draw for the Copa del Rey fourth round was made, the entire city of León has had only goal: to acquire a ticket for the match against Real Madrid in the Reino de León stadium on October 26. On local television and radio, in bars and in the street it is the main talking point.
High demand
On Monday, before Cultural had announced ticket prices, a steady flow of people had been arriving at the stadium. “When do tickets go on sale?” asked one man. “And how much are they?” added his son. The question was repeated over and over throughout the day.
Meanwhile, Cultural director general Felipe Llamazares popped into a bar in the historic heart of the city and asked a different question, one that he had posed numerous times in the previous days, before the patrons had the chance to ask him about tickets: “Can I use a plug?”
"Robbing electricity"
“I’ve been doing this since last Friday, robbing electricity left, right and centre,” Llamares said. His mobile is perhaps the most used in León at the present time. “I don’t know, 600 times. Maybe 800?” he replies when asked how many calls he has fielded. And that’s on top of hundreds of text messages. The reason is obvious. “Have you got any spare tickets?”
50 to 70 euros for non-members
On Monday the prices were announced: 25 euros for the upper tier, 35 euros for the lower and 40 for the best seats in the middle tier for season ticket holders. For non-members, the prices rise to 50, 70 and 80 euros. Cultural have added a special offer for the occasion: the chance to buy a season ticket for the rest of the campaign at 115 euros with preferential purchase options for the Madrid game. By Tuesday, the club had 400 new season ticket holders.
Ticket sales
On Friday the queues started to form outside the Reino de León, where the ticket offices were due to open at 10.00 for season ticket holders. They will open to 18.00 and again on Saturday (10.00-15.00 and 19.00-21.00).
For the general public the offices will open on Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00. They will do so again on Monday if necessary but it is likely the game will have sold out by then. The stadium holds 13,800 spectators and demand is booming.
