Tennis fans who want to experience the Australian Open in ultimate luxury are forking out tens of thousands of dollars for an exclusive ticket.
The new ‘Club 1905’ pass – named in honour of the tournament’s inaugural year – is the only premium experience that does not list a ticket price online, with interested parties instead told to ‘enquire for pricing’.
Those with a ‘Club 1905’ pass can watch the tennis from some of the best seats at Rod Laver Arena every day of the entire tournament, and can even gift the ticket to different people each day, news.com.au has confirmed. It does not need to be used by the same person.
While Tennis Australia told news.com.au “prices vary” and would not disclose a price range, one woman who was gifted the experience last Thursday said the membership cost $32,240 for one person.
You don’t have to be famous for Club 1905, with the membership open to members of the general public who are willing to spend big.
The experience is listed on Ticketmaster as including a three course meal curated by fine dining chefs Martin Benn and Vicki Wild in the new Club 1905 restaurant, a five-hour beverage package, and the best available Rod Laver Arena lower bowl seats in Section 8 to 12.
There are two sessions a day and Amira Essam told news.com.au you could essentially go to both (that’s two three-course meals) for 15 days.
Ms Essam, who had never been to the Australian Open previously, said the exclusive passes meant skipping the lines into Melbourne Park, being able to “meet super famous people” and seats in the front row of Rod Laver Arena “next to the players’ families”.
She told news.com.au her favourite part of the experience was the “phenomenal” service.
“It was an out of the world experience, from the minute you set foot onto the grounds the service was amicable (and) the staff were incredibly nice and attentive,” she said.
When not in the fancy restaurant or in premium seats watching the tennis action, Club 1905 ticketholders also have access to an exclusive outdoor bar and lounge.
The ticket is described as a “passport to unparalleled luxury”.
Other premium experiences at the Australian Open, categorised as ‘AO Reserve’, include the ‘On-Court presented by Piper-Heidsieck’ seats starting from $16,050 per person for the men’s semi-finals on Friday.
As the name suggests, the ticket includes on-court seats, as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of Rod Laver Arena, a six-hour beverage package, and a private omakase dining experience by chef Shimpei Raikuni from Sushi Room.
The ‘Champions Rooftop’ ticket, priced from $2000 per person for the semi-finals, will secure you Rod Laver Arena mid-lower baseline seats in Section 9, 10 or 11.
For the women’s and men’s finals the starting price skyrockets to $10,000.
This experience also includes access to the Champions Rooftop on the Rod Laver Arena balcony for live theatre cooking stations and roving canapés presented by Cambio de Tercio, a three-hour beverage package, and a visit from Pat Rafter, Mark Philippoussis or Alicia Molik.
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