By Anthony Foster, Freelance WriterTHE NEW ticket application form required upon the purchase of tickets to enter the Test series against England starting today at Sabina Park is not to keep fans away but to protect the reputation of West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), so says the board's chief marketing executive, Darren Millien.
"The WICB has entered into an agreement with a company in England called New Century Marketing (NCM) where they are selling tickets on our behalf in the U.K. market," Millien said.
The tickets prices are George Headley stand $1,500 for Thursday and Monday, while the remaining days are $2,000. The Air Jamaica stand is $900 for Thursday to Saturday and $700 on the other days; Eastern stand tickets are selling for between $400 and $500 while the roll-away section is between $200 and $300.
As to why this comes into play now, Millien explained: "What has happened in the past is that people would have acquired a large among of tickets and either scalped them or sold them on to tour operators and certain groups at a profit."
"What we decided to do is to institute a new system where by if you are requesting more than four tickets, you fill out the form and indicate what the purpose of the request for exceeding four and, depending on the reason, we either approve or disapprove it," he said.
"We hope they (fans) will understand why we have to do it, we are not doing it because we are putting another burden (on fans), or putting an obstacle, what we are doing is to make sure that the WICB's interest are protected and we are not exposed to any litigation," Millien said.
The form, it asks for the date of the purchase, company's name, individual's name, contact number, ID type and telephone number. One will also have to indicate the stand(s) they want to go in, and most importantly, reason for purchase.
