The European Handball Championships will be held in Croatia from January 12 to 28, 2018.
As most of you know by now, the highly anticipated European Handball Championship will take place in Split, Zagreb, Poreč, and Varaždin in January 2018. And as most of you also know by now, the competition will open between Croatia and Serbia in Split as what handball fans across the region are calling the ‘match of the century’.
Tickets for this particular game have been sold out for months, but that’s no surprise - how often does one get to see handball greats Croatia and Serbia face one another for the opening of the competition at Spaladium Arena in Split? This, quite frankly, has been thought as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Tickets for this game flew, without hesitation from handball lovers when it came to the price. While the cheapest tickets cost just HRK 150, better seats could be purchased for HRK 300 when sales were announced. Though this isn’t a low price to pay for a game anyhow, those attending the match will tell you there is no price tag you can put on a sports spectacle like this.
We may have been convinced that there are no longer tickets in sight, but we must not forget about those being sold for outrageous prices on the ‘black market', reports Slobodna Dalmacija on December 28, 2017.
Specifically, one ticket for the opening match of the European Handball Championships between Croatia and Serbia in Split is going for a whopping HRK 2,000! And yes, remember, this is a handball game.
It’s safe to say that the madness has begun for the massive handball spectacle, and to show you just how mad people are going; Hajduk Europa League tickets didn't even sell for that much! For example, when Hajduk played in the prestigious Europa League in the summer, their black market record for a ticket was HRK 1,500.
But let's put our focus back to handball. The ‘black market villain who is charging this unbelievable amount for a handball game has four tickets up for sale, each at the price of HRK 2,000. To put that into perspective, each ticket costs almost as much as the minimum wage in Croatia - which is HRK 2,620. Unfortunately, this match only lasts for an hour and a half, and at least your minimum wage is meant to be stretched across an entire month.
And while one lucky bloke may very well pocket HRK 8,000 from hardcore handball fans whose dying wish is to see Croatia and Serbia open the European Handball Championship, tickets for the Sweden and Iceland game, which is to be played the same day as the ‘match of the year’, are quiet.
In other black market news, eager attendees can find additional sellers hoping to pocket HRK 1,500 per ticket (EUR 200), while a more modest seller is looking for an easy HRK 1,000.
You can find Croatia’s complete schedule at the European Handball Championships here.
