Wednesday, January 6, 2010

From May onwards Buy tickets for Games online

The sale of tickets for Commonwealth Games 2010 will open in May and will be accessible on the internet. So you don’t need to suffer the tedium of standing in queues. Not just that, a comprehensive website will let you study availability, rates, events and venues at leisure before making a choice.

The website is expected to be up on an experimental basis by April and sources said it may be fully functional by the end of the month itself. The Commonwealth Games organizing committee (OC) has begun accepting requests of foreign associations looking to block tickets but is confident that with 1.7 million tickets to go around, there is more than enough for everyone.

Would you spend more on an athletics event or concentrate on football and rowing? The OC ticketing web link can help you map out your Games experience along with the logistics or venues and travel.

Tickets purchased over the Net will have to be exchanged for those issued by the OC through designated counters. The committee plans to open several outlets so that all that needs to be done will be to visit a counter and exchange the e-receipts for actual tickets. The data system would have registered the issued tickets and the system is expected to have in built checks to prevent fraud.

The pricing of tickets is expected to be ‘‘affordable’’ with the costliest at Rs 1,000 and the cheaper ones in the Rs 100-200 range. ‘‘We have to keep in mind the paying capacity of the public as also the need to encourage spectators. Hopefully, the world class events will bring in the crowds and also inculcate a taste for sports,’’ said sources.

The ticket message that the OC wants to convey is book early so that you don’t have to face last-minute rush. The committee wants to tap a maximum number of people and so tickets are being offered even before some of the venues will be in state of readiness. ‘‘We will start the ticket sales programme so that agents and outlets are finalized. The venues are operating on a different schedule and are expected to be ready on time for the Games,’’ said an official.

The OC is doing its best to ensure that tickets are not available through unauthorized sources, all the more so as sales are expected to be an important source of revenue. The good news is that not all events will be ticketed. Some, like cycling and marathon, will be free entries and are scheduled to be held at India Gate-Central Vista and the Greater Noida Expressway.

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