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Irish Independent
11 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Huge demand for NFL tickets sees 600,000 join queue for Steelers-Vikings at Croke Park
Tickets went on sale at 12pm on Tuesday and there were hundreds of thousands of people in the queue within minutes. Ahead of the sale getting under way, an online waiting room was opened at 11am, with users then 'allocated a random place in the queue' at 12pm, according to the Ticketmaster website. A notice at the top of the page reads: 'We are currently experiencing a high volume of traffic. Please sit tight, you will be directed to the site as soon as possible.' Many fans have been left frustrated by the length of the queue, with more than 600,000 people currently in the Ticketmaster queue and estimated wait times of 'more than an hour'. Fans from the US are expected to travel for the game, along with fans from European countries where the NFL is popular, including the UK and Germany. In May, the Minnesota Vikings were confirmed as the Pittsburgh Steelers' opponents, with kick-off set for 2.30pm on Sunday, September 28. The Steelers first visited Croke Park in 1997 for a pre-season game against the Chicago Bears, with around 30,000 fans in attendance. The Rooney family, who have owned the Steelers since the team was formed in 1933, have Irish roots traced back to Newry, Co Down. The team has marketing rights for Ireland as part of the NFL's Global Markets Programme. Prices for the game were confirmed last week, ranging from the lowest category in the Upper Davin Stand at €85 up to €295 for the most expensive option in the central Lower Hogan and Cusack Stands. Though Croke Park normally has a maximum capacity of 82,300, a reduced capacity of around 76,000 spectators has been confirmed for the NFL game. Hill 16 and the Nally Terrace, normally standing areas, will have seating for the game. Hill 16 tickets did not go on sale today and will be made available at a later date, giving fans another opportunity to secure tickets. For those unable to see the game live, more details on fan zone-style activities around Dublin are expected to be revealed in the coming months.
Al Etihad
31-03-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
49ers and two NFL clubs evince interest in UAE to expand global fanbase
31 Mar 2025 23:07 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)American Football or National Football League (NFL) is seeking to expand to the Middle East in recent months with the UAE identified as the most likely destination to host a regular season game. And three teams have shown interest in putting that pipeline dream into reality with commercial NFL on Monday announced the expansion of its Global Markets Programme, adding four new NFL teams and two new markets – Greece and the as the announcement was made, the San Francisco 49ers revealed that they have claimed stake and won the rights for marketing in the emirates along with two other clubs, the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders. The latter is among the quartet of new teams to join the bandwagon in pursuit of commercial success; the other teams being the Baltimore Ravens, the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles programme extension details come as the NFL seeks to go the way of initiatives in other prominent American sports – NBA basketball pre-season games in Abu Dhabi and a Baseball United league in Dubai. In total, 29 clubs will participate in the global programme across 21 international markets – up from 25 clubs across 19 markets in 2024 – as the NFL continues to prioritise global 49ers are a good example of NFL teams cashing in on the momentum. Since acquiring rights in the UK and Mexico in the programme's inaugural year, the organisation has grown its fanbase in each market by at least 50%, becoming a top-two NFL club in both countries. Over 34,000 people have attended 49ers events and created a community filled with interactions. The franchise is ranked as a top-five club in eight countries worldwide.'Expanding into the UAE is a major milestone for the NFL. We're excited to team up with our world-class commercial partners, local community leaders, and the NFL in this next international expansion,' said Brent Schoeb, 49ers' chief revenue and marketing a period of research and learning, the 49ers plan to invest in Arabic digital and social platforms, in-person fan events, and community impact programmes teaching youth flag football, which makes its debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los December, the NFL has expressed that the possibility of playing a regular-season game in Abu Dhabi is being considered as part of attempts to stage matches outside America. The NFL has committed to playing seven games this season in destinations such as Mexico, the UK and Spain, while two more games will be added in 2026."We don't know the timing … but what I will say is that's a market where there's strong interest in our game, strong interest in growing our game on a year-round basis. I think that's why you see three clubs raising their hands with interest there,' said Peter O'Reilly, the league's executive vice president, to the NFL website. 'It's a market we'll continue to explore. We've done some exploratory trips there to understand the viability of the potential for a regular-season game in the market. We have more work to do there in terms of what that looks like over this next stretch. But obviously an important market and one that has hosted significant events in other sports in recent years, whether that's the NBA or global soccer. There are learnings there, but we really do it as we try to do all these markets in the right, thoughtful, cadence way."
