Sri Lanka slashes Asia Cup ticket prices to fill empty stadiums
Sri Lanka Cricket slashed ticket prices for the Asia Cup by up to 95 percent on Sunday after costs were hiked 40-fold and matches were played in near-empty stadiums.
Tickets for one-day internationals in crisis-hit Sri Lanka have generally cost around 250 rupees ($0.78) previously.
That was hiked to 10,000 rupees for the Asia Cup, which is being organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board despite largely taking place in Sri Lanka, and fans in the cricket-mad island country have stayed away in droves.
Barely 7,000 home supporters turned out for Sri Lanka's Super Four clash against Bangladesh on Saturday at the 35,000-capacity R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, leaving the hosts facing the embarrassing sight of ranks of empty seats.
In an attempt to lure them, back Sri Lanka Cricket announced a price cut of up to 95 percent Sunday for all remaining Super Four games, including the day's marquee clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, with tickets now costing as little as 500 rupees.
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The stratospheric price hikes had infuriated fans.
Sri Lanka endured months of food, fuel and medicine shortages last year after a foreign exchange crunch, which sparked widespread protests culminating in the ouster of its president.
The 50-over Asia Cup is a precursor to the upcoming ODI World Cup, and most of the matches were moved to Sri Lanka after India refused to tour Pakistan due to political tensions.
«Pakistan have kept the ticket pricing too high and that has kept fans away from the stadiums,» a local Sri Lankan official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
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