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Big Red Business: Road trip to Ireland still a go

It may take all the luck of the Irish -- and then some -- to re-energize ticket sales for the Nebraska-Illinois football game scheduled for August 2021 in Dublin, Ireland.

When the Aer Lingus Football Classic between the two Big Ten rivals was announced last fall, Nebraska fans did what they do best: They scooped up tickets along with travel packages that ranged from $2,935 per person to nearly $5,000.

Of the more than 2,000 reservations booked in that early surge, most went to Nebraska fans, according to published reports on the latest sales numbers from early this year.

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Then came the pandemic, and travel plans and everything else was put on hold. As for the demand for tickets ….well, not much has happened publicly on the fan front, according to several ticket brokers and athletic department officials at Nebraska and Illinois.

The worldwide COVID-19 crisis prompted the cancellation of this year’s inaugural Aer Lingus Classic between Notre Dame and Navy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. That game, which resulted in more than 40,000 fans changing their travel plans, was rescheduled to be played in Annapolis, but was canceled again because of the pandemic.

Next up on the Emerald Isle’s football schedule is the Aug. 28, 2021 game between the Cornhuskers and Fighting Illini.

Supporters hope the return of Big Ten football this fall, and a trustworthy vaccine to combat COVID-19 will encourage travel and tourism and rejuvenate ticket sales. After all, a lot can happen in the ensuing 11 months before kickoff.

“Game plans are moving forward,” said John Anthony, president and chief executive officer of Dallas-based Anthony Travel, the official travel partner for the game. “We are on calls every single week with partners in Ireland, and everyone is hopeful.”

“Obviously, we have not been selling travel packages at the same pace as pre-COVID,” said Anthony, “but we hope with the resumption of football people will be ready to start dreaming and planning again soon.

Anthony did not provide sales numbers, but the travel company continues to heavily promote the football game on its website, as does Nebraska and Illinois.

A fresh marketing campaign will come out soon, Anthony said. “We are sensitive to the current situation around tourism and economic challenges,” he said, “so we are working closely with Tourism Ireland on a phased marketing approach later this year and leading up to the game.

Anthony Travel, which is currently the only outlet for purchasing tickets, has recently adjusted some of its policies to give fans thinking about traveling to Ireland some breathing room and confidence.

*A freeze on the travel package cancellation fee of $250 has been extended until further notice. “Our goal is to eliminate any cancellation fee due to the pandemic, but we are still working with our Irish suppliers to secure those terms,” Anthony said. New policies could be announced in the next 30 days, he added.

*The company said the deadline for fans to lock in a travel package is Nov. 5, Anthony said. Previously the deadline was Aug. 19th.

“I think it’s smart of Anthony Travel to extend the deadlines because there are a lot of people experiencing unexpected financial hardship and future uncertainty right now,” said Jessica Freedman, with Ticket Express, an Omaha-based ticket broker.

Football tickets can only be purchased as part of the travel packages and corporate hospitality events through Feb. 14, 2021. After that, remaining tickets will be sold without requiring tour packages through the Nebraska and Illinois ticket offices, and perhaps through brokers and other traditional outlets.

Package plan

While the pandemic has upended nearly every facet of life, some Nebraska fans are moving forward with Ireland travel plans.

Freedman, of Ticket Express, said he completed a football package several weeks ago with a group that chose a three-day Dublin tour.

“We originally put down the $250 per person deposit and picked our tickets with the promise that we would choose a package later,” Freedman said. “We made our final decision on the package within the last three weeks and now have our payment schedule.”

She said the group “is super excited...They also believe that we’ll have a vaccine by then, so they felt more confident moving forward.”

From Irish green to a sea of red 

The approximately 40,000 fans who had planned on attending the Notre Dame-Navy game in August was being billed as the largest migration of Americans to a single sporting event in another country.

Now, the Nebraska-Illinois game may have that distinction.

Following the cancellation in June of the game in Dublin, Anthony Travel promised full refunds to its customers who booked sightseeing and travel packages. The agency was also working with airlines on plane ticket refunds for customers who booked through the company. Those who purchased plane tickets from someone other than Anthony Travel were urged to contact the airline or their travel agent directly.

The Notre Dame-Navy game was supposed to be the first of five-planned college games in Ireland. ESPN’s College Game Day crew was also due to broadcast from Dublin.

The cancellation cost the Irish economy about 80 million euros, according to game organizers in Dublin. But looking ahead, they expect the 2021 game to provide a “significant boost for the Irish tourism and hospitality sector,” according to news reports in Ireland.

“College football is one of the greatest spectacles in world sports, and we had been thoroughly looking forward to welcoming Navy and Notre Dame here this summer…,” a game official said.

As the visiting team, Nebraska is scheduled to receive a guaranteed $250,000 for playing in Ireland, while Illinois is supposed to receive more than $1.25 million. The money would cover travel expenses and more for both schools.

Aviva Stadium seats about 50,000, and both Nebraska and Illinois received the same 10,000 seat allotments for the game.

For information on travel packages, go to www.huskers2ireland.com.

Steve Rosen writes about the business of sports for Husker Online. Questions, comments, story ideas? Reach Steve at huskeronline.com.

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