Record Rs 7.5m ticket sales for India-Pakistan Series

PCB Media Release – October 28, 2004

Ticketing – Pakistan v India Series 2003-04

General Points
The detailed accounts of the ticketing for the Pakistan v India series (March-April 2004) are attached. The following general points are noteworthy:

1. For the first time in PCB’s History, tickets were issued through a computer – bar system which had the advantage of:
   a. Eliminating entry through forged tickets.
   b. Sales on internet enabling ticket sales in foreign exchange, again for the first time.
   c. A complete up-dated picture of the total sale of tickets. The computer also kept an account of every marked seat on sale and a block account of the general enclosures (where there are no marked seats).
2. To discourage VIP culture, no complimentary tickets were printed as part of a policy approved by the President and Prime Minister. Thus no complimentary tickets were issued to VIPs who were encouraged to purchase tickets on the market. In fact, a decision was taken by PCB to hold-back a limited quota of seats in order to meet eleventh hour demand from VIPs for the purchase of tickets.
3. As distinct from issuing complimentary tickets or passes, the following categories were invited to the Chairman’s boxes as honoured guests of the PCB:
   a. The Chief Guest for the occasion (President, Prime Minister, Governor or Chief Minister).
   b. Federal/Provincial Ministers/Nazims who have directly interacted with PCB on cricketing issues as PCB’s administrative and organizational partners. These included Ministers/Secretaries of Sports, Interior, Home Affairs, Information, Works etc.
   c. Foreign guests e.g. Indians dignitaries such as Mrs. Dina Wadia, Priyanka Gandhi, Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian Board Members, Selectors, former Test players, ICC President Ehsan Mani, ACC Members.
   d. Former PCB Chairmen and Pakistan’s Test icons (Fazal Mahmood, Imtiaz Ahmad and Hanif Muhammad).
   e. Main sponsors.
   f. Editors of major newspapers.
   g. Heads of humanitarian organizations like Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi (who was a guest of honour in Karachi).
   h. Advisory Panel Members.
4. A second category of spectators who were allocated free seats (but not invited to Chairman’s Boxes) were:
   a. Sponsors to whom a certain number of free seats had been committed through contracts.
   b. Handicapped children.
   c. Cricket administrators, umpires, Test players. (Due to extreme pressure Test players had been allotted middle level tickets instead of best quality).
   d. PCB’s administrative partners, e.g. city administration, WAPDA, police, security agencies, telecom etc.
   e. Home and foreign players’ families and friends (according to Standard Operating Procedure).
   f. The PCB Officials (according to Standard Operating Procedure).
5. The initial visa quota for Indian cricket fans agreed between the two Governments was 8000. As the series progressed with thrilling matches, welcoming crowds and well administered arrangements, the actual number of visas given to Indian visitors was 20,000. The bulk of these additional Indian visitors arrived for the last two ODI’s at Lahore some of whom arrived in chartered corporate jets. It became incumbent on the PCB to, somehow, adjust this huge influx of Indian cricket fans with seats.
6. As PCB had only 18 days in which to organize this momentous event (itinerary finally approved on February 19, arrival of team March 9), the entire ticketing process had to be put in place in great haste which led, initially, to some spectator inconvenience.

Specific Issues

7. Given the above background and referring specially to the figures for the sale of tickets, the following points may be noted:
   a. Out of a total 115,716 saleable seats, 95.7% were actually sold and have been accounted for. This figure represents the highest ever income from ticket sales by PCB. The computer bar checks eliminated forged ticket holders and bagsful of attempted forgeries were caught. This bar-check ensured that enclosures did not have over spilling crowds, as in the past.
   b. The remaining ‘unexplained’ 4.3% figure represents an average of 991 seats per stadium. These seats (spread over enclosures at Rs 1500, Rs 1200 and Rs 800 per seat) were allotted to persons in categories at para 4 above who were entitled to free seats. As there were no complimentary tickets printed, these free seats had to be adjusted against franchised seats shown in the computer.
8. Due to a surge of demand for tickets by Indian visitors for the last two ODIs, a large quota of block seats had to be provided to them. The end result was that numerous invitees to Chairman’s boxes were moved to the stands. These tickets were also recorded on a block basis but not individually.
9. To summarize:
   i) 95.7% seats recorded in the computer were sold to the public and fully accounted for.
   ii) The remaining 4.3% were held back to meet eleventh hour contingencies. These held-back tickets that amount to an average of 991 seats per stadium were allotted gratis as block allocations to categories in para 4 e.g. administrative partners, sponsors etc. These gratis seats allocated were not recorded as individual seat sales but as block transfers. These block allocations have been fully accounted for and have been presented for special audit.
   iii) Basically the issue has arisen because no complimentary tickets or passes were issued. In the past, gratis allocations to category “4” persons would have been made through such complimentary tickets/passes. During the Pakistan-India series, category “4” persons were given limited free entry but accounted for against franchised tickets. These category “4” persons are not VIPs but PCB’s administrative partners and contractors.
   iv) PCB is satisfied that these seats were not used for personal gain, special treatment to friends or relatives.
   v) In the current triangular series these gratis block tickets will continue to be allocated to category 4 but will not be shown as franchised tickets that are written off.

Abbas Zaidi
Consultant PR/Media/Protocol

Desc.	1st ODI	2nd ODI	3rd ODI	4th ODI	5th ODI	Net Sales	Per para 4 Sponsors, Contracts, Partners
Administrative partners, Management	955,700	672,000	270,000	1,041,000	940,000	–	3,876,700
Contractual obligations	1,513,200	1,335,600	1,025,700	2,169,100	2,035,150	–	8,078,750
Online sales	4,004,998	1,174,499	288,600	5,428,699	5,035.499	15,932,295	–
Public sales	9,641,800	5,356,952	3,932,576	6,584,976	6,731,626	32,247,930	–
Corporate sales	6,704,926	1,508,076	899,076	5,133,076	5,086,776	19,331,930	–
Total	22,820,624	10,047,127	6,415,952	20,356,851	19,829,051	67,512,155	11,957,450*

*This includes the 4.3% seats held back to meet 11th hour contingencies.

Net sales for ODIs: 67,512,155

Add

1st Test match sales were 1,719,050

2nd Test match sales were 4,237,825

3rd Test match sales were 1,861,125

Total sales for Test matches were 7,818,000

Net Sales for the Series (Test & ODI matches) were 75,330.155

Included in above is an amount of UK£151,651 which represents online sales.