Tranmere Rovers update on ticket sales for Newcastle United cup match 11 hours before kick-off

League Two club Tranmere Rovers were picked out of the hat against Newcastle United in the League Cup second round.

The game will be shown on Sky Sports tonight and has a 7.45pm kick-off on Wednesday 24 August (Highlights of the second round matches are on ITV4 at 10.30pm and ITV1 at Midnight, whilst the third round draw will be on Sky Sports following our match).

For those Newcastle United fans though hoping to get to the game, Tranmere Rovers had a decision to make.

When the draw was made, some Tranmere Rovers fans wondered if Newcastle fans would be given The Kop, the usual Tranmere end behind the goal, which holds around 5,000. The Tranmere supporters thinking their club might give Newcastle that bigger allocation, to try and boost gate receipts.

However, in their official announcement last week detailing when their fans could buy tickets, Tranmere Rovers said that after ‘supporter feedback’, they’d decided to only offer Newcastle fans the normal away allocation.

United fans given the much smaller Cowshed Stand, where away supporters are usually housed, a 2,200 allocation rather than the 5,000+ if NUFC allowed to have the home end.

Tranmere Rovers pricing tickets at £15 adults and reductions for concessions.

Newcastle United sold the final tickets of their 2,200 allocation last Thursday, selling out inside 48 hours after the loyalty points requirement gradually dropped.

The Tranmere Rovers Trust (who represents fans at boardroom level) have given an update this morning (8.40am) regarding tickets sales for the Newcastle match.

They report that in total, 10,878 tickets have now been sold for the game, including the 2,200 to Newcastle fans.

The Tranmere Rovers Trust giving this breakdown of the as yet unsold tickets:

‘Just 75 tickets left in Beb Paddock, 90 Town Paddock, 400 JK, 1800 mainly upper Kop and 900 Mainstand. Buy online or club shop just £15/10 should be a great atmosphere under the lights. All visitors welcome.’

For perspective, Tranmere Rovers have played two League Two matches at home so far this season and 6,111 were there to see them lose 2-1 to Stevenage, then 5,414 paid to watch a 3-0 win over Gillingham.

So with 11 hours until the League Cup match is played, the Tranmere Rovers Trust detail still some 3,300 tickets short of Prenton Park having a 14,000+ capacity.

Around 1,800 of those as yet unsold tickets are in The Kop, the home end where Newcastle United fans could potentially have been housed. I think that with the 2,200 allocation selling out quickly, Newcastle supporters would have comfortably filled the 5,000+ capacity Kop end, especially when / if tickets had been made available to all NUFC fans via general sale.

Guessing there will be ‘one or two’ Newcastle fans ending up in the home end regardless…