Amy Hunt\u2019s 100m gold medal<\/a>. But to most observers the 23,000-capacity venue looked barely half-full. The timing is also more than a little awkward given that London\u2019s bid team for the World\u00a0Athletics \u00adChampionships in 2029 is due to make its final presentation on \u00adFriday.<\/p>\nFor the start of the competition, \u00adcategory A tickets in the main stand cost \u00a3110, with cate\u00adgory\u00a0B \u00adtickets coming in at \u00a390. However, those seats have been better filled than the cheaper seats for \u00a360 (\u00adcategory C) and \u00a340 (category\u00a0D).<\/p>\n
\u201cCrazy prices,\u201d Hunt\u2019s agent, Nick Harwell, wrote after her brilliant victory on Monday \u00adevening. \u201cSuch a shame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cram, the BBC\u2019s main athletics commentator and a former world 1500m champion, also acknowledged the low figures on Monday night. \u201cA\u00a0little disappointing in terms of spectators, I have to say that,\u201d he said. \u201cParticularly down the back straight there. There\u2019s not very many people at all in those stands.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Birmingham city centre there is also little sign that this \u00adprestigious event is taking place, and the empty seats in the \u00a360 and \u00a340 areas have led some to question whether Birmingham 2026 had done enough to attract casual supporters. Fans are being charged \u00a322.50 to use the park\u2011and\u2011ride scheme \u2013 although there is a cheaper \u00a317.50 park\u2011and\u2011walk option which is a 45\u2011minute stroll away.<\/p>\n
Jenny Meadows, who coaches Hodgkinson, acknowledged the issues in a post on X: \u201cHearing from fans re high ticket prices, parking issues and even people not knowing it was taking place,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\nTicket prices, transport problems and timings have been pinpointed as some of the reasons for so many empty seats at the Alexander Stadium.<\/span> Photograph: Mike Egerton\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA Birmingham 2026 spokesperson defended the ticket prices and said 50% of tickets were priced at \u00a330 and lower with adult tickets starting at \u00a310. \u201cBirmingham 2026 is delighted with ticket sales for the Championships, which have far surpassed our targets,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFriday, Saturday and Sunday evening sessions are \u00adapproaching sellout, with several other \u00adsessions close to capacity. There are still opportunities to be part of the championships at incredibly good value, including the \u2018Mondo\u2019 \u00a36.31 children\u2019s ticket for Friday morning \u2013 named in honour of [the pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis\u2019s] world record \u2013 while a family of four can attend for as little as \u00a330.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the athletics commentator Sonja McLaughlan spoke for many when she posted on X about the prices, which will go up to a top price of \u00a3150 for the last three days of competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually a bit shocked at type of prices being charged,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s a shame for the athletes who deserve better. The sport has this precious window without football, free-to-air television exposure and it looks flat with such a sparse crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response to her post, some questioned why the empty seats were not\u00a0being given away free to youngsters in athletics clubs and other sports clubs. Another fan said: \u201c\u00adPerhaps the worst prices I\u2019ve seen at a \u00adsporting event. Not even \u00adCheltenham \u00adcompetes with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some have also raised questions about the late finishes \u2013 the last events finish after 9.50pm \u2013 and the \u00adsuita\u00adbility for families of having to walk a mile to the nearest train station or get\u00a0a bus back to a park\u2011and\u2011ride scheme. It also did not help either that, on Monday night, junction 10-11 of the M6, near the \u00adAlexander\u00a0\u00adStadium, was closed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keely Hodgkinson\u2019s coach, and the BBC commentator Steve Cram have led a chorus of concern about high ticket prices causing low \u00adattendances at the European \u00adAthletics Championships in Birmingham. Fans have also criticised the high food prices at the Alexander Stadium, with a barbecue pork roll costing \u00a318.50, a bratwurst hot dog \u00a315, and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":257231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6802],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-257230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-athetics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}