Priced out of tickets to watch their teams at the World Cup, fans opt for cheaper matches

LOS ANGELES, California: Mr Juan Velosa is neither from the Ivory Coast nor Curacao, but come Jun 25, he'll be in the stands at the Philadelphia Stadium watching both nations go head to head at the World Cup.

Born in Bogota but based in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr Velosa had been hoping to watch his beloved Colombia in action.

“I realised I wasn't able to attend any Colombia games pretty early on because, as soon as they announced the prices and the locations, I knew it was going to be completely out of reach for me,” he told CNA.

Factor in the cost of travelling to Mexico or Miami, and it would have been simply too big an expense.

But when he checked prices for all the games out of curiosity about a month ago, he found a bargain.

“When I saw that some of the games were priced at a level that was accessible, I started checking all the cities that I could realistically travel to. More than anything, I just wanted to go to the cheapest game,” said Mr Velosa.

That game was the Ivory Coast versus Curacao.

“I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to say I went to a World Cup and experienced what a World Cup game is like for myself,” said Mr Velosa, who purchased a ticket for US$270.

“Last year, I attended the Club World Cup in Philadelphia as well, and that was one of my favourite experiences of all time. So I'm hoping this will be just as rewarding.”

High ticket prices are no surprise as this is the first World Cup in the US since 1994, University of Colorado Boulder assistant professor Ovunc Yilmaz told CNA. 

"Given the scale of demand in the US, Canada, and Mexico, high prices were always very likely," he added.

For this World Cup, dynamic pricing is being used for the first time. It means ticket prices may vary