Mexico look to clinch World Cup ticket with win against El Salvador

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer

Monday, January 19, 2015    

CATHERINE HALL, St James — Two-time defending champions Mexico could book their place in the FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand later this year with a win over second-placed El Salvador in the CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship Group B game at the Montego Bay Sports Complex at 5:30 pm today.

Mexico have won their previous three games to lead Group B on nine points and another win today would give them an unassailable lead and an automatic spot in New Zealand reserved for the group winners.

Canada, who have lost their last two games, including a shocker against El Salvador on Thursday, will seek to revive their hopes when they take on Cuba in the first game set for 3:00 pm, while Honduras and Haiti face off in the 8:00 pm game.

Mexico will be without captain Victor Guzman, who picked up a second yellow card in their bruising 3-0 win over Honduras, and defender Oscar Bernal, who was sent off for lashing out at a Honduras forward.

Hirving Lozano, who has four goals, and Alejandro Diaz, who has three, will be available, however, and they could torment an El Salvador defence that has given up five goals.

El Salvador have improved with every game played, however, and their 3-2 win over Canada, their first ever at this level, would have lifted their confidence a few more notches.

Jose Villavicencio has been their most consistent scorer with three so far and, along Juan Barahona and Andres Flores, could give El Salvador some attacking options.

As proficient as they have been in attack, Mexico are equally good in defence and except for a third-minute goal against Cuba in their first game over a week ago, they have conceded since.

With Mexico running away with the lead, the battle for the two other spots in the play-offs is wide open with four teams all in with at least mathematical chances.

A loss for El Salvador would be good news for Honduras and Canada, who could pass them with wins.

Even with back-to-back losses Canada should be too strong for Cuba, especially if coach Rob Gale decides to start both Jordan Hamilton and Cyle Larin in attack.

Hamilton scored two goals in their opening 3-1 win over Haiti, was held scoreless by Mexico, then got less than 15 minutes off the bench against El Salvador.

Honduras will start favourites against an inconsistent Haiti, who were expected to beat Cuba but ended 2-2.

Honduras’s Albert Elis is due to get back on the scoresheet after being kept out by Mexico last time, while Haiti’s Jonel Desire has shown he has real quality but little support.

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Mexico look to clinch World Cup ticket with win against El Salvador

Ticket prices killing movies

Bad news for theater owners: High ticket prices were the biggest culprit in the 21 percent year-over-year decline in domestic box office revenues last summer, research and consulting firm PwC reports today based on a survey of 1,044 consumers in October and November. Some 53 percent of the respondents cited the rising admission costs over the last five years as one of the main reasons they stayed away.

“High ticket prices are, by far, the number one reason for dissatisfaction across age demos and by movie-going frequency,”PwC concludes in its report, part of its Consumer Intelligence Series. “Despite advanced technology, better seating, improved concessions and the return of 3D movies, the negative of higher ticket prices is difficult to counter-act.” Indeed, it adds, “3D ranks last among drivers of movie attendance.”

Moviegoers spent an average of $8.08 for a ticket in Q3, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners, up 3.1% from the same period in 2013 and 3.9% vs 2012. (People typically shell out much more in cities and in the evening.)

After pricing, 41 percent said that the movies were not as interesting to them, 30 percent said they want to watch movies on their own schedules, and 29 percent said they’d prefer to spend on different recreational activities.

Consistent with the overall theme, well over half of those surveyed said that lower prices would motivate them to attend more frequently. About 23 percent said that they’d go if the movies were better while 9 percent wanted better prices for food.

You can pretty much forget enticing people with extras such as live entertainment or by offering them a digital copy of the movie. “Most of these movie perks fell flat on consumers, except last-minute ‘cheap’ seats,” PwC says. “Respondents of all ages were interested in getting a break on last-minute seats.”

Perhaps just as worrisome for theaters: 71 percent said that they were “very” or “somewhat” interested in watching new movies at home — and 82 percent said that they’d pay anywhere from $10 to $20 extra to do so.

There were glimmers of hope, though, for studios and theaters. The core movie audience, especially 18-to-34 year olds, is “strong” and can be motivated to attend more frequently, PwC says. Moviegoers generally saw three of the summer’s top 20 movies, although a third of those in their 50s didn’t see any of the best sellers.

“Since lowering ticket prices across the board is likely not a viable strategy” PwC recommends incentives including monthly movie subscriptions, last minute discounts, and — more interesting to studios than theaters — offering opportunities to watch new movies at home.

Even so, exhibitors “need to promote the benefits of the in-theater experience including the ‘night out’ and advanced technology benefits,” PwC says. Seemingly contradicting its findings about consumer sensitivity to pricing, the firm says that Summer 2014 “was an anomaly, given less interesting film options. Focusing on interesting content in relevant genres is key. And don’t underestimate the value of recommendations from family and friends.”

WATCH: How are people not shocked by ‘Girls’ sex scene?

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Ticket prices killing movies

Bill express, sumfest partner for ticket sales

Bill Express has partnered with Reggae Sumfest to create an introductory ticket sales system for the annual premier Jamaican music festival.

Patrons who want to purchase Reggae Sumfest tickets will now have easy access at more than 100 Bill Express outlets islandwide, marked by the Reggae Sumfest stickers, including Western Union agents, post offices and Jamaica Public Service (JPS) locations across the country.

All patrons have to do is bring their ID to any of the participating locations, say what ticket they need and what night, and they will receive coupons that they can redeem for the actual ticket at a booth on the Reggae Sumfest grounds.

GraceKennedy Money Services has developed a reputation for providing quick and efficient financial transactions over the years, and Bill Express is the premier choice for bill payment solutions representing over 40 companies in Jamaica, and a network of more than 300 locations islandwide.

Business Development Manager, Steven Livingston, said he was thrilled to deliver a new service that allows ease of access for patrons who are anticipating another momentous staging of the prominent reggae festival.

“Reggae Sumfest has brought to patrons some of the world’s most renowned talents in the entertainment industry, backed by world class standards in production and delivery. This standard is parallel to what the Bill Express brand represents,” said Livingston.”We thought it only fitting that we partner with Reggae Sumfest to extend top-notch delivery of a convenient and seamless ticketing solution to our patrons.”

View the original article here

Bill express, sumfest partner for ticket sales

Bill express, sumfest partner for ticket sales

Bill Express has partnered with Reggae Sumfest to create an introductory ticket sales system for the annual premier Jamaican music festival.

Patrons who want to purchase Reggae Sumfest tickets will now have easy access at more than 100 Bill Express outlets islandwide, marked by the Reggae Sumfest stickers, including Western Union agents, post offices and Jamaica Public Service (JPS) locations across the country.

All patrons have to do is bring their ID to any of the participating locations, say what ticket they need and what night, and they will receive coupons that they can redeem for the actual ticket at a booth on the Reggae Sumfest grounds.

GraceKennedy Money Services has developed a reputation for providing quick and efficient financial transactions over the years, and Bill Express is the premier choice for bill payment solutions representing over 40 companies in Jamaica, and a network of more than 300 locations islandwide.

Business Development Manager, Steven Livingston, said he was thrilled to deliver a new service that allows ease of access for patrons who are anticipating another momentous staging of the prominent reggae festival.

“Reggae Sumfest has brought to patrons some of the world’s most renowned talents in the entertainment industry, backed by world class standards in production and delivery. This standard is parallel to what the Bill Express brand represents,” said Livingston.”We thought it only fitting that we partner with Reggae Sumfest to extend top-notch delivery of a convenient and seamless ticketing solution to our patrons.”

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Bill express, sumfest partner for ticket sales

FIFA sets 2014 World Cup ticket prices in Brazil

Sport

Saturday, July 20, 2013

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Fans will pay a standard $90 for tickets to see World Cup matches in Brazil next year, $10 more than in 2010 in South Africa.Announcing ticket rates yesterday, FIFA said $15 seats will be available to Brazilian students, people over 60 and members of social programmes. In 2010, South African residents could pay $20.Host nation residents will have access to at least 400,000 discounted tickets from the publicly available total of about three million.International fans must pay from $440 to $990, in three category bands, to see the July 13 final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.FIFA said prices start at $220 for the opening match in Sao Paulo on June 12. Top category seats will cost $495.At the other 47 group-stage matches, seats costs $90 in the cheapest Category 3 band. Category 1 tickets will cost $175.Tickets will be sold globally from August 20 on fifa.com. The first sales phase ends October 10, and a random draw will allocate seats for oversubscribed matches.A second sales phase opens December 8, after the 32-team draw is made and the match schedule confirmed.FIFA said buyers can request a maximum of four seats per match, and for a maximum of seven matches.FIFA said an additional 450,000 tickets have been reserved for a corporate client programme, which FIFA licensed to MATCH Hospitality for $120 million.The total number of available tickets will not be finalised until the 12 stadiums are completed, FIFA said.

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FIFA sets 2014 World Cup ticket prices in Brazil

FIFA sets 2014 World Cup ticket prices in Brazil

Sport

Saturday, July 20, 2013

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Fans will pay a standard $90 for tickets to see World Cup matches in Brazil next year, $10 more than in 2010 in South Africa.Announcing ticket rates yesterday, FIFA said $15 seats will be available to Brazilian students, people over 60 and members of social programmes. In 2010, South African residents could pay $20.Host nation residents will have access to at least 400,000 discounted tickets from the publicly available total of about three million.International fans must pay from $440 to $990, in three category bands, to see the July 13 final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.FIFA said prices start at $220 for the opening match in Sao Paulo on June 12. Top category seats will cost $495.At the other 47 group-stage matches, seats costs $90 in the cheapest Category 3 band. Category 1 tickets will cost $175.Tickets will be sold globally from August 20 on fifa.com. The first sales phase ends October 10, and a random draw will allocate seats for oversubscribed matches.A second sales phase opens December 8, after the 32-team draw is made and the match schedule confirmed.FIFA said buyers can request a maximum of four seats per match, and for a maximum of seven matches.FIFA said an additional 450,000 tickets have been reserved for a corporate client programme, which FIFA licensed to MATCH Hospitality for $120 million.The total number of available tickets will not be finalised until the 12 stadiums are completed, FIFA said.

View the original article here

FIFA sets 2014 World Cup ticket prices in Brazil