The Hong Kong public and local rugby clubs stand to lose out on tickets for next year's Rugby World Cup (RWC) Sevens from March 21-23.
Tickets for the 1997 RWC Sevens have been priced at $1,000 for the three days - almost double the $550 cost of a adult ticket for this year's Hong Kong Sevens.
But while the price of the tickets will not be a deterrent for local fans seeking to attend the International Rugby Board-sanctioned World Cup, what will be an obstacle is the availability of tickets.
The only winner in this battle for tickets will be Wembley, the managers of the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium. With the price of a ticket increased almost two-fold, Wembley stands to double its profit for hiring out the stadium and is expected to pocket around $8 million.
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) has still not been informed by Rugby World Cup Ltd, which will allocate the tickets, as to what the territory's share will be.
But it is known that the Union is unlikely to get the same allocation as in past years at the Hong Kong Sevens - which was 60 per cent for local sale and 40 per cent being sold overseas through sponsors and travel agents.
At a recent press conference, RWC Ltd director Marcel Martin revealed that the split was likely to be 50-50. This would immediately see Hong Kong lose out on the number of tickets available for local fans.