Rollers gross P1.7m from Chiefs tie
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Wednesday March 4, 2015 18:00
The match attracted arguably the biggest crowd for a club match, other than the annual Kabelano Cup.
The National Stadium was at near capacity despite the exorbitant ticket prices where the cheapest seat cost P75 while the most expensive was P500.
There was public outcry regarding the pricing of tickets for the game, but Rollers management insisted that the high pricing was due to the fact that the club had to spend a lot preparing for the match.
Initially, the club had expected to spend around P700, 000, which included accommodation and transport for the Soweto giants.
Tickets for the middle grand stand were sold at P500 while the other two grand stands were selling for P200.
By Saturday before the game, the tickets for the grand stands were sold out as well as for northern stands, which were selling at P75.
There were few tickets still available for the southern stands as well as the eastern stand, which is popularly known as Panda.
“I do not have the exact figures, but we had printed 18, 000 tickets as you know that the stadium capacity is around 22, 000.
“About 17, 500 tickets had been distributed,” club spokesperson, Bafana Pheto told Mmegi Sport yesterday.
He said they have managed to make around P1.7 million from the game.
“We managed to make some profit because our expenses for the game were around P900, 000.
“We spent a lot of money on security because we did not want to leave anything to chance regarding the safety of those who attended the game,” he said.
Rollers lost the match 1-0, bowing out of the competition with a 3-1 aggregate.
Meanwhile, Botswana Premier League (BPL) Chief Executive Officer, Bennett Mamelodi has shot down allegations of favouring Rollers and BDF XI. There were some complaints that the two teams were being given special treatment after their engagement in the CAF competitions last weekend. Both teams requested that their midweek games be postponed saying fatigue was taking its toll following their weekend matches.
Their request was granted by the BPL and BDF XI will now play on Friday against Motlakase Power Dynamos in Serowe.
Rollers travel to Maun for a date with Sankoyo Bush Bucks on Saturday.
There were allegations that the BPL was now doing the two teams a favour while ‘they forced’ Mochudi Centre Chiefs to play their midweek game after arriving from DRC last season after their match against TP Mazembe.
“Firstly, people are being irresponsible. They know the right channels of communication at the BPL.
“Matters are dealt with case by case and if any team were to formally request for postponement of their game through writing like Rollers and BDF XI did, I see no reason why we could not have heeded to their request,” Mamelodi argued.
He said it would have been unfair for BDF XI to play on Wednesday and then travel to Serowe for their Friday fixture. “Again, how does postponing those games put Rollers or BDF XI at an advantage?” he asked.