'Debacle': Mariners fans scramble for tickets to A-League grand final (2024)

Fans have scrambled for tickets to the A-League men's grand final between Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory, amid strong demand for the event.

Tickets went on sale to home and away fans at 9am on Monday, but some had trouble getting them.

"People were freaking out. They're hot tickets," Mariners fan and inaugural club sponsor Nick Hagistefanis said.

The grand final will be held at Central Coast Stadium for the first time in the league's history. Its capacity is 20,059.

Mariners fan Erin Morrow was feeling "grim" about tickets on Monday morning.

"I have only one ticket for myself," Mr Morrow said, saying he tried to get more but was blocked.

"I wanted three more for family members. It's been desperation to try to get anything.

"It does my head in. This is clearly a Ticketek issue."

Some people struggled to find the game on the Ticketek website, while others found it more easily on the app.

"It's an absolute debacle," Mr Morrow said.

Tickets appeared to be selling fast, with only single tickets left available on Monday in some parts of the stadium.

An A-Leagues spokesperson said "the ticket allocation in this exclusive pre-sale window has been exhausted".

A Ticketek spokesperson said the ticket sale "proceeded without issue".

"Demand was incredibly high and tickets have sold incredibly strongly," the spokesperson said.

The Ticketek spokesperson encouraged customers "not to use multiple browsers when trying to access tickets", as this "may be flagged by our bot prevention service".

The general public sale will begin at 11am on Tuesday.

"We expect all of these to be snapped up quickly," the A-Leagues spokesperson said.

Tickets were $69 to $119 for adults and $59 to $109 for juniors. Concession tickets were going for $64 to $114.

Family passes for two adults and two juniors were going for $197 to $347.

One fan on social media was concerned that the prices would be "unaffordable for a lot of families" and others agreed.

There was also controversy with tickets for open-air boxes on sale for $475 per person. The cost for these tickets in the semi-final was $110.

The outdoor boxes were usually available without catering, but not for the grand final.

These tickets included "VIP access", attendance at a pre-match function, a "gourmet food and beverage package" and a "souvenir grand final ticket".

Mr Hagistefanis sponsors the Mariners through his business Fruit for All.

He chose not to get the $475 tickets, a price set by the league not the Mariners.

He was able to get tickets for family members to sit together in three sections of the same bay, but only after a protracted effort.

"It was aggravating," he said.

Other Mariners fans were disappointed they could not get the same seats they usually sit in during the regular season.

The Mariners' average crowd was about 7000 in the regular season, but there were plenty getting on the bandwagon for the finals.

The Mariners second-leg semi-final victory over Sydney FC on Saturday was a sell-out.

The Mariners beat Sydney 2-1 on aggregate to progress to the decider.

Melbourne Victory made the grand final, after beating Wellington Phoenix 2-1 on aggregate in their two-legged semi-final.

The Mariners will be competing for back-to-back grand finals, having won last year's decider 6-1 against the much wealthier Melbourne City - who are backed by petrodollars.

The Mariners are owned by Richard Peil, co-founder of Anytime Fitness.

The club will be vying for a treble of trophies on Saturday, having already won the league championship and the AFC Cup this season.

A-Leagues commissioner Nick Garcia congratulated the Mariners and Victory for securing their place in the grand final.

"What a final series we've had so far. Incredible football and record crowds," he said.

"We can't wait for the showpiece event in what we expect will be another sell-out in Gosford."

The grand final kicks off on Saturday at 7.45pm.

Getting to the Game

With a sold-out crowd expected, fans travelling to the match are encouraged to plan their trip and consider all the available travel options ahead of time, Transport NSW states.

Match tickets include travel on trains, metro and light rail.

The closest station to the stadium is Gosford on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line. From Gosford station, the stadium is a short walk away.

Please note that due to planned weekend trackwork, Central Coast & Newcastle Line trains run to and from Strathfield only.

If you are catching the train from Sydney, you will need to change at Strathfield for a Central Coast & Newcastle Line service to Gosford. Allow extra travel time and plan your trip ahead of time.

If you're driving, travel with your group and use nearby local parking. Allow extra travel time as traffic will be heavier than usual as fans travel to and from the match. You can find real-time updates on traffic conditions at livetraffic.com