Late ticket sales boost hope for Aston Villa's Graham Taylor tribute game
Villa hope a late flurry of sales will boost the attendance at Saturday’s Graham Taylor Memorial Match with Watford after it emerged less than 6,000 tickets have so far been sold for the fixture.
The game in honour of Taylor, who managed both clubs, is Villa’s final pre-season fixture before the Championship campaign.
It was originally due to be hosted by Watford but was switched to Villa Park last month due to work taking place on the Vicarage Road pitch.
Villa confirmed on Monday they had so far sold 5,296 tickets but expect that number to increase before the weekend, while a large walk-up crowd is also expected. Tickets are priced at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and £5 under-16s. The club’s pre-season trip to Germany yesterday ended in frustration when a friendly with Arminia Bielefeld was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
The club has also confirmed that fans who travelled to Germany for Villa's pre-season game against Arminia Bielefeld will be able to claim a free ticket to the Watford game.
The game was called off hours ahead of kick-off due to a waterlogged pitch in what was a heavily affected trip to Continental Europe for the Villans.
Villa chief executive Keith Wyness said: "We wanted to acknowledge our supporters who travelled to Germany and were planning on attending the match on Tuesday evening.
"I'm aware many were either en route or preparing to travel and we wanted to say thanks for their unstinting support of the team.”
Fans who travelled to Europe are required to provide travel documents as proof of their trip to Germany, along with their passport to the Villa Park ticket office before 1pm on Saturday. Each fan will be able to claim a complimentary ticket to the Graham Taylor tribute match.
