Fans can produce their own tickets for Wales’ Dove Men Series clashes with Australia, after a Welsh Rugby Union trial of a new ‘print-at-home’ ticketing system was dubbed a resounding success.
Around 10,000 fans have used the new system in the past fortnight – via www.wru.co.uk/tickets – to purchase tickets for Welsh victories over Argentina and Tonga at the Millennium Stadium, with the convenience of being able to buy online and print a bar coded ‘paper ticket’ right up until 10 minutes before kick-off proving to be of major appeal.
The attendance figure for the final clash of the series, against the Wallabies, is fast approaching the Millennium Stadium’s 74,500 capacity. There are less than 9,000 tickets now left, primarily in the £60 price category, and the strong walk-up crowd expected for the clash is now expected to be boosted by the use of the print-at-home system, which removes the need for fans to queue up for tickets.
The ‘print-at-home’ ticket utilises a new bar code scanning system which has been in regular practice at the Millennium Stadium over the course of a number of recent events.
Every match ticket carries a unique bar code, which will greatly increase security at the Millennium Stadium and help combat black market ticket sales. Fans are now able to purchase their tickets online and use their home printers to produce a ‘paper ticket’.
These tickets carry the barcode which is used to gain admission, in a similar way to what is common practice for airline travel and for many theatres and cinemas.
The unique advantage for fans is that they will not be charged for post and packaging and, for those fans used to buying tickets online less than four days in advance of match-day, there will be no need to queue to collect your ticket in person.
“The ‘print-at-home’ ticket could become the future for Millennium Stadium events,” said Millennium Stadium Manager Mark Williams, who is keen to remind fans purchasing online not to forget to actually print their ticket (identifiable most simply by the presence of a barcode) so it can be scanned at the turnstile.
“We have used the system at recent, smaller events and we are now ready to roll it out for the Australia game.
“There is a simple online credit card payment which fans are now more than used to and that is ultimately it; everything you do next is within your own control.
“Print off your ticket at your leisure and simply present it at the turnstile; the only note of caution is that obviously the barcode is individual and unique and it will only admit one person.
“So, as with any ticket, you need to look after your ‘print-at-home’ version and ensure that it doesn’t get passed on to anyone else.
“The other thing to remember is that, a form of identification should be presented alongside your ‘print-at-home’ ticket to avoid any potential problems.
“This should also help us combat black market ticket sales. The message to fans wishing to come and watch Wales play at the Millennium Stadium is; getting hold of a much sought after ticket has never been easier.”
Wales’ opening Dove Men Series clash with South Africa was played out in front of a 66,000-strong crowd at the Millennium Stadium and the new ‘print-at-home’ ticket system has already boosted sales for the Tonga and Argentina fixtures.
“The final game of the Dove Men Series is against Australia and, whilst demand remains high, our message is that there are still a limited amount of tickets available,” added Williams.
