Tickets Selling Fast For 2008/09 Heineken Cup Final

In the space of little over a month, fans from across Europe have bought tickets for next year’s Murrayfield showpiece at record speed, even outstripping advance sales for the Heineken Cup’s record attendance in 2007 when 81,076 watched London Wasps beat Leicester Tigers 25-9 at Twickenham Stadium.

The 2008/09 Heineken Cup final will return to the Scottish capital on May 23-24 for the second time.

The first occasion was in 2005, when more than 51,000 spectators packed into Murrayfield to see Toulouse beat Stade Francais Paris 18-12 after extra-time.

ERC Chairman Jean-Pierre Lux said: “We are delighted to have already sold more than 10,000 tickets for Edinburgh 2009.

“This level of sales some four months out from the start of the tournament clearly demonstrates that the Heineken Cup final is becoming more and more of a ‘must-see’ event for rugby fans across Europe.

“The all-French final in Edinburgh in 2005 was a nail-biting affair that still lingers in the memory, just as the electric atmosphere at the 13th final last month, when Munster beat Toulouse in front of a packed Millennium Stadium, will do for those lucky enough to have been there.”

The 14th Heineken Cup final next year at the 67,778-capacity Murrayfield Stadium will see attendances at the finals break through the 750,000 barrier.

Tickets for next season’s final went on general sale on May 21. Tournament organisers ERC retain 15,000 tickets to be divided between the two finalists clubs following the Heineken Cup semi-finals.

Edinburgh 2009 tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.co.uk (tel: 0844 847 1530 or 00442086165111) and from Scottish Rugby, via www.scottishrugby.org and tel: 0131 346 5100, or in person from Scottish Rugby’s Ticket Centre at Murrayfield.

Tickets are priced at Stg£25, £40 and £60, with concessions tickets at £12.50, £20 and £30 available for under-18s, and are subject to booking fees.