[PICTURES/VIDEOS] Crowd Watch: Will PCB's affordable tickets strategy boost crowd attendance for Pakistan-England 3-Test match series 2024?

[FearlessRoar]

The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, with the first and second Test matches to be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium (MCS) from 7 to 19 October. The third Test match will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (RCS) from 24 to 28 October.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced exciting ticket prices for the upcoming Test matches. To encourage fans to attend, entry to the General enclosures (Hanif Muhammad and Mushtaq Ahmed) will be free on the opening day of both Test matches in Multan. Additionally, premium enclosures (Miran Baksh, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, and Yasir Arafat) will also be free for the first day of the Rawalpindi Test.

For the Multan Tests, ticket prices start from PKR 50 for General enclosures on days two to four, increasing to PKR 100 on the fifth day. First-class enclosures will cost PKR 100 for the first four days and PKR 200 on the final day. Premium enclosures will be priced at PKR 200 for days one to four and PKR 300 on day five. VIP enclosures and PCB Gallery tickets will be available for PKR 300 and PKR 2,000, respectively, with the gallery ticket including lunch.

The ticket prices for the Rawalpindi Test are similarly attractive, with free entry to premium enclosures on day one. From day two onwards, premium enclosure tickets will cost PKR 200, increasing to PKR 300 for the remaining days.

Will this PCB strategy, featuring highly affordable ticket prices, be successful in drawing maximum crowd attendance to the stadiums?

 

[SportsWarrior]

At those prices they may not even recover ticket counter and online system expenses. Why not just make it free? Say 10k people attend over five days with a ticket price of 200, that will be total 20 lakh PKR which is around 7k USD. Three to four employees, online presence and the system charges will mostly take most of the revenue

 

[Cricket Warrior]

It's not just about the ticket prices. Nobody would prefer to watch this horrible performance of Pakistan in the scorching heat. Interest in cricket is dying here so unless they make entry free people still won’t go to watch any match.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

No. Test cricket in Pakistan died the day Pakistan lost 2-0 at home to Bangladesh

 

[Devadwal]

Ticket price start from 50 PKR ( 15 INR) .this is very very cheap so better to gave them free.

 

[BouncerGuy]

PCB tried the FREE-ENTRY method as well but it failed. people are not gonna come and watch cricket where 2 teams are just batting and batting and there is no real thrill.

Test cricket is a dying format for Pakistan fans.

 

[shokz1408]

No on 2 accounts, one Pakistan has been performing so badly a lot of people have lost interest. And secondly test cricket in Pakistan is not well attended generally.

 

[Major]

People willl show up in multan and pindi.

Only issue is that its going to be a bore fest. From this point on wards the crowd might start decreasing because in a pakistani test match there isnt much to do. There is no entertainment going on. Its like you aqre sitting in jail and being made forcefully to watch a game of cricket instead of having a fun environment of enjoyment.

They can go around increasing the stands and make the stadium bigger, but if fans cañt reallymingle and have fun, than watching crixket will become a bire fest, which it already is

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Had said it before and will say it again - People will not bother even if they get paid to come and watch.

Why would they come out to watch a team that gets hammered left, right and centre by all the teams that too at home.

 

[PakFan2010]

The schedule should have been sorted months ago.

Lots of England fans have decided not to travel.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Almost empty stands on Day 1 of the 1st Test between Pakistan and England

 

[FearlessRoar]

Gus Atkinson fan spotted in the stands

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Will Dosti Yaari vibes rekindle at Multan?

 

[Asad T]

Mike Atherton: There are probably more security staff at the stadium than people in the crowd

loll

 

[BouncerGuy]

Is anyone from Multan interested in watching this game?

 

[PakFan2010]

When you arrange venues at the last minute, what do you expect.

England's test venues are sorted 9 months before.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

The schedule should have been sorted months ago.

Lots of England fans have decided not to travel.

Exactly so.
I had friends who had planned to travel, watch the cricket and then explore Pakistan —the remarkably amateurish approach of the PCB resulted in them not travelling.

 

[Master Blaster]

Not many would want to go to stadium to watch lifeless 50s and 100s being scored on lifeless pitches. Tests and ODIs are dead in Pakistan.
Just play T20s and T10s.

 

[Buffet]

Mike Atherton: There are probably more security staff at the stadium than people in the crowd

loll

Really funny comment.

 

[BouncerGuy]

The crowd is still not in.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Even if it was free, crowd is not interested atm

https://twitter.com/x/status/1846073515146924131

 

[FearlessRoar]

The magic of Pakistan cricket

https://twitter.com/x/status/1847216052167467243

 

[BouncerGuy]

Rawalpindi definitely attracts more people.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Pakistan Spinner Sajid Khan Addresses Media After Day 1 of the Third Test Between Pakistan and England:

"In Multan, the fans supported us well. We didn’t perform well in the last couple of series, and now we want to win this series to bring happiness to Pakistan cricket fans. We thank the crowd in Rawalpindi, and I hope they will come to support us for the remaining days as well."

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Since the post was removed, PCB refuses to sell tickets for the Imran Khan enclosure according to the English fans who were told that tickets for the enclosure were SOLD OUT, when in fact the stands were empty.

The fear of one man, jeez.

 

[Kianig89]

Rawalpindi definitely attracts more people.

Stadium is located at a very busy area touching twin cities ,another reason for good attendance

 

[FearlessRoar]

Hope they saw the ICC ODI World Cup 1992 trophy