REDS IN BANGKOK, BUT AT WHAT COST?

The Red Army, the sporting variety and not the political one, will descend on South East Asia in July when Liverpool Football Club plays matches in Bangkok and Singapore.
Ticketing details are set to be announced at a press conference next Tuesday. The tour is being organized by Strategic Sports Investment, part of The Profitable Group. That name alone will tell you this tour will have to make money.
Last month the Hong Kong Football Association rejected Liverpool's financial demands to play in a tournament there. The English club was reportedly asking for a US$ 1.5 million appearance fee, exclusive television rights and half the advertising revenues, as well as air fares and hotel accommodation.
Ticket prices for football matches in Bangkok are cheap. Prices for games involving the Thailand national team start as low as 100 baht (US$ 3) and even matches involving foreign clubs attract prices of around 800 baht for the best tickets. But I think this tour will be different, and I would not be surprised to see prices much, much higher.
This tour, as I said, is being run by an investment fund and they'll be looking to make as much money as possible. I genuinely think we might see prices starting at the US$ 15 for a seat in the gods, rising to anything up to US$100 for front row seats. I think there would be enough people willing to pay that sort of money, even in the current economic climate, to sell out the 55,000 capacity Rajamangala Stadium in July 22.