I will be in London on January 18 and would love to attend a Premiership match. I will be staying in South Kensington and see that the three EPL clubs playing on that day are Chelsea, West Ham, and Totenham. Are any of these clubs close to South Kensington? Also, how close would I be to Millwall or Wimbledon (doubtful I would watch a Dons match with no atmosphere at Selhurt)? Of the three Prem clubs mentioned my top choice would be Chelsea, but seeing that it is a London derby (against the Addicks) do you think tickets would be available? To get tickets is it best to try online, scalp tickets, or go through some broker?
My experience... Two years ago I was in London over Christmas/New Years and I caught a Tottenham v. Newcastle game at White Hart Lane. I took the "the tube" to Seven Sisters station and then transferred to overground rail for the one stop trip to White Hart Lane. It was quite easy to follow the crowd from the train station to the grounds. London Transport home page is here: http://www.londontransport.co.uk/tfl/ I called the club's box office directly to buy tickets for this fixture but I've also bought tickets through TicketMaster UK (http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk) for other games that I've gone to. We had decent seats along the side in the upper deck. You might want to pick up The Rough Guide to English Football (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...103-4804279-7528614?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) which has tons of info on how to get to each team's grounds, where to eat nearby, and a full history of the clubs. Enjoy! Jarrett
The EPL matches might be sold out. It looks like, of the London clubs, only Charlton are at home. Arsenal, Fulham and Watford, all London-area clubs, are at home the next day, though, January 19. Just a thought, but why not try Brentford? They are a friendly neighborhood club. Also, Leyon Orient are at home that day. They are in Div. 3 and are also a friendly neighborhood club. Both clubs have home matches on the 18th. I can vouch for the Rough Guide and also see the Football Fans Guide, published by CollinsWillow, I think. Also, check out the Internet Football Ground Guide for good directions to all the grounds discussed. http://www.footballgroundguide.co.uk/ Have a good time! Frank Garrison
I'm not from London, but if money is an issue, then Stamford Bridge may not be the place to go. I've heard that its the most expensive park in England to attend.
That, and its full of Chelsea fans. I'd try to go to Spurs. In fact I went to White Hart Lane a few years back and got a great seat from a scalper (tout) outside the ground for about £30. They're playing some decent football this season and WHL is a good place to see a match. I'd recommend West Ham, but its just too depressing @ Upton Park this season.
I have a question about touts... In the US, ticket re-selling is legal in some states (for example, in Texas, you can stand outside the stadium and get ridiculous prices) and in other states they have some regulations (like you cannot re-sell the ticket within 500 feet of the stadium) and in other states it is completely illegal to sell the ticket for higher than face value. My question is this. Is ticket re-selling legal in England? If I buy a ticket off a tout in the street am I violating any laws? Just a matter curiousity... Jarrett
Hmm - Im not quite sure about the specific legality of re-selling tickets. But I know that it is something that police and clubs try to prevent. Security, not finance is the main motive for that though. Many clubs fear that black market tickets will end up in the hands of away fans - thus causing trouble. I know when I've bought tickets for over face value at grounds, its always been a hush-hush operation. Nothing blatent like you mentioned about Texas. Im sure someone else can be more specific about this.
So are there actual businesses in London that re-sell tickets or is all "man on the street" type of transactions? In Texas, where re-selling is legal, there are several shops you can walk into and they can get you tickets for anything you want through their computer network of re-sellers (for the right fee of course). I tend to stick with the shops instead of individual touts because with a business at least you have some form of recourse should you not get what you were expecting. Jarrett
Yep - there are ticket agencies that routinely re-sell Premiership tickets. I've gone that route for matches too.
There are commercial resellers in London. In initial inquries (I am seeing 5 matches in five days in late Feb/early March) I was quoted extraordinarily high prices for EPL and even some Div. 1 matches, upwards of $200. Here are some other ways to get tickets: 1. Ring the club directly. If you are a visitor or from another country, like the USA, some clubs will go out of their way to get you a ticket. Perhaps there is some small supporters club from the States which can help. 2. Peruse supporter message boards and other online communities and explain your quagmire. I did that for tickets to the matches (to Liverpool, Arsenal, NCFC and AVFC) I wanted to see and was surprised that supporters went out of their way to locate me and my friends some tickets. 3. For some of these matches, they may not sell out so you can get tickets from the club when they go on sale to the general public. It is my understanding that scalping is definitely illegal in the UK. I also hear that for the big clubs, like Arsenal, ManU, Leeds (I will NOT put THFC in that category) that counterfeiting is also a problem. Only after exhausting those options would I contact a ticket tout. They sell "packages" (usually in conjunction with a donut and a cup of tea, purportedly to sidestep the scalping laws) and have a strong internet presence. I have NO idea how reliable they are or whether you would, indeed, have any recourse against them. Any commercial enterprise which is engaged in an activity which is, in spirit, illegal, is likely not one to strictly follow consumer protection or other laws and is likely to be difficult to track down or get restitution from in the event you become dissatisfied, particularly if you are a "one-shot" customer. Just my .02, though, others' viewpoints may be different.
there's a booth in picadilly station that sells tickets to west end shows. i have bought tickets to premier league matches there. by the way, i don't think you'll find wimbledon at selhurst park.
Wimbledon are at Selhurst for the time being, its just that they play in front of about 300 people. If I were you I'd go to the clubs direct, e.g www.spurs.co.uk and try to find the booking office online and arrange to pick the tickets on the day (but get there early so you don't miss some of the game while queuing.)
Don't bother going to Selhurst Park. I went in March (with Captain Splarg, actually) and it's a pain in the ass to get to. Your biggest problem will be finding someone who actually knows where it is!