Ottawa Fury FC has released their home game ticket pricing for their 2014 season debut and it is a price that many soccer fans should be happy with.
The team is joining the North American Soccer League for the 2014 season which begins in April. Fans can get their hands on a ticket for just $13.44 per game, plus HST and CRF.
There will be 16 Fury FC home games and season tickets range from $215.04 to $374.34 which are nearest the centre line.
Youth below the age of 16 will get access to discounted seats for as little as $10.45 per game.
Fury FC president John Pugh says that it was important to ensure that ticket prices could be available to everyone.
“The main thing for us is that ticket prices would be affordable and accessible," he says. "We are bringing pro soccer to Ottawa for the first time and we want to make sure price is certainly not a barrier to people coming out and attending a soccer game and having a good time.”
There will also be special seating and ticket prices for Fury FC support groups, which are working together to create that special environment at the games.
Jonathan Bagg, of Stony Monday Riot, a group which promotes soccer in Ottawa says he supports the new ticket prices.
“We are comfortable with the ticket pricing. Compared to other pro sports in the city, it seems like a good price.”
The Fury FC tickets are cheaper than FC Edmonton’s, which charged $22 for general admission and $350 for a season pass.
The NASL Spring Season runs from April 5 to June 7 and the team will play their first three games on the road.
Pugh says he believes that fans will love the atmosphere and overall experience when they come to the stadium.
“We want them to have a great time,” says Pugh. “I think there are some great examples in North America–Seattle, Kansas City, Portland, Vancouver and Montreal – of a great game day experience when fans come to a soccer game.”
Bagg says he is looking forward to a good sporting atmosphere and is eager to see a full stadium.
“We are expecting a high level of competitive soccer. We are expecting to be a part of what happens at the stadium, being owners of what we do and being a part of the whole game environment as a support group,” he says.
Lansdowne Park is not scheduled to open until June 2014 so Carleton University will host the first five home games of the Spring Season at Keith Harris Stadium.
The stadium seats just over 3,000 people. Pugh says that they have been given the opportunity to bring in bleacher seating behind both of the goals to increase the capacity of the stadium to more than 5,000.
“Playing at Carleton may work in our favour to begin with because it’s going to be a very intimate kind of location,” Pugh says.
Fury FC will move into the new Lansdowne Park stadium when the fall season begins in mid-July where they will play their remaining home games.
Pugh says that it is an exciting time and they are well on their way to building their squad of 25 with the announcement of signing Nicki Paterson and Oliver Minatel earlier this month.
“We are very happy with the players we have signed and it’s going to be very exciting. It’s getting closer and closer and we look forward to having professional soccer in Ottawa very shortly.”