Champions League final: UEFA reduces ticket prices for showpiece football match
By Tom McGowan, CNN
February 8, 2013 -- Updated 1323 GMT (2123 HKT)
The European Champions League final was last held at London's Wembley Stadium in 2011.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- UEFA reduces tickets prices for the 2013 European Champions League final
- The cheapest ticket for the match at London's Wembley Stadium will cost £60
- Reduction of 25% compared to last year's final at Munich Allianz Arena
- The cheapest available ticket when the final was last held at Wembley in 2011 cost £150
(CNN) -- It's official. To watch the 2013 European Champions League final -- arguably one of the most prestigious matches in world football -- will be not much more expensive than watching some top-flight English Premier League games.
With Europe in the grip of an economic downturn, European governing body UEFA has cut prices by 25% for its cheapest ticket for the May 25 final.
The cheapest ticket for the match at London's Wembley Stadium will cost £60 -- roughly $94 -- compared to £75 in 2012., though fans based in the United Kingdom will also have to pay an £8 administration fee.
Not cheap by any means, but only £6 more expensive than the price fans of English champions Manchester City had to pay when they watched their team take on London-based Arsenal last month at the Emirates Stadium
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Of the 59,000 Wembley seats on sale to the public for the biggest game in European club football, 20% will be sold at the cheapest "Category 4" price.
The other three ticket categories available to punters increase in price from £140 to £330.
The capacity of Wembley Stadium for the match will be 86,000, with each team receiving 25,000 seats and the remaining 9,000 going on sale to fans around the world.
According to UEFA's website, the remaining 27,000 tickets will be "allocated to the local organising committee, national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality program."
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The price of football tickets in the British capital has been a source of contention in recent months.
Soccer vs Gridiron
City fans were outraged with the price they were charged to watch their team's match at the Emirates Stadium, especially given Aston Villa supporters will pay just over half that sum -- £35.50 -- when their club heads to north London on February 23 for a Premier League fixture.
The price of the 2013 Champios League final is a drastic reduction from 2011, the last time the event was held at Wembley.
Then the cheapest tickets cost £150 for the final between Barcelona and Manchester United, with UEFA president Michel Platini forced later to apologize for his organization's pricing strategy.
The Champions League final, which was held at Munich's Allianz Arena in 2012, looks a steal compared to ticket prices for last weekend's Super Bowl.
Gridiron fanatics who wished to purchase tickets for the New Orleans showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers had to pay between $850 and $1250 for face-value tickets.
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