By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Fans in the island of Lefkada who wanted to attend the Greek Basket League game between the local Doxa and PAOK were in for an unpleasant surprise.
Despite the fact that Greece has been under financial crisis for years and going to a match has become a nothing less than a luxury for countless sports fans, the ticket prices for the game in question began at…. €25 (!). That is around €15 more than the minimum that someone has to usually pay for a ticket in a Euroleague game of Olympiacos or Panathinaikos.
To give you an example: In last season’s game between Olympiacos and Real Madrid for the Euroleague Top 16, ticket prices began at €10. In the 2016 playoffs match of Panathinaikos vs Baskonia the lowest that someone had to pay to enter OAKA arena was €15.
Actually, asking for a seat at the Doxa Lefkadas – PAOK game is almost as expensive as… being present at a Euroleague Final Four match. Yes. It is.
A Final Four ticket price is around €100 and, of course, it includes entrance rights to the two semifinal matches, the third – place game and the grand Final. That’s four games in total.
All these makes you wonder how much will the people in the club from Lefkada require as attendance fee when the time comes for the games of their team against Panathinaikos or Olympiacos. The two Greek powerhouses that are compiled with much more attractive rosters which include some superstars of the European basketball scene.
Should we expect…. let’s say €40 as a minimum price? Or is that number too small?
No wonder that the crowd in the Lefkada gym was… scarce, to say the least.