Belying expectations that the relocated Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament would be a washout, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has sold about 70 per cent of the tickets in the eight venues at which the 56-match Twenty20 tournament will be played.
According to a top CSA executive, the remaining tickets for IPL matches, mostly those priced between Rand 25 and Rand 75 (Rs 125 and Rs 375), are likely to be sold out in the next two weeks.
The tickets for inaugural ceremony and the first two matches — between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings — have been sold out.
The matches will be played in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, East London, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Kimberley.
IPL, the 34-day tournament that begins on April 18 in Cape Town, is expected to generate Rs 40 crore to Rs 45 crore in ticket sales, significantly higher than most analysts’ expectations after the tournament was shifted from India, owing to security concerns. The amount, however, is around half the ticket sales that the first edition of the IPL generated last year.
The revenue from ticket sales of IPL in South Africa will be divided between the eight teams. IPL will pay a flat fee towards booking each stadium, a source in IPL confirmed. CSA, however, will not take a share of the gate money.
IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has already announced that the stadium tickets for the IPL will be priced low to enable wider audience.
Most of the IPL tickets have been sold online through a specialised website, www.computicket.com.
