There are a number of teams that look like they good go all the way and win the competition.  Barcelona  and Lionel Messi look strong as always, while Manchester United and Real Madrid will fancy their chances if they can get passed each other in the next round.

Wembley Stadium

The 2013 Final will be held at the new Wembley Stadium and will be one of the highlights of the sporting calendar no matter which two teams are competing for the trophy.  The last time Wembley hosted the final of the competition was in 2011 when a dominant Barcelona team beat Manchester United 3-1.  The event is being held there again for a second time in two years to mark the 150^th year of the English FA.

This year’s final will be held on May 23^rd and the demand for tickets for the event is going to be high.  While Wembley has a capacity of 90,000 this figure could be sold out three times over.  In past years the allocation of tickets to fans has been equivalent to 25% of the seating capacity of the ground.  This will mean that 22,500 thousand tickets will be available to supporters of each club with much of the rest going to corporate sponsors.

This of course creates a huge supplemental market for tickets to the event with seats going for many times their face value on online ticket exchanges.  The best way to buy sports tickets for the Champions League 2013 Final is by regularly visiting the Wembley and UEFA websites for information.

The Official Website

The best place to start looking for Bears tickets is at the official website www.chicagobears.com.  It has a full listing of tickets as well as pricing and you can check with the seating chart to find out exactly where your seats will be.  Ticket prices vary considerably with the most expensive tickets being in the Club 1 and Club 2 sections along the half-way line and in the first and second tiers of the stadium.  For the 2012 regular season tickets are priced between $101-410 with a limit of 4 tickets per person.

There are also a number of options to buy Bears season tickets although there is a waiting list and opportunities to buy season tickets are pretty rare.

NFL Ticket Exchange

The NFL Ticket Exchange is a marketplace where fans can sell their unwanted tickets.  It is often the best way to buy Chicago Bears tickets especially for the most in demand games.  The ticket exchange is run by Ticket Master and is a safe way to buy tickets online although the price of tickets can often exceed face value depending on the game.

You can also often find tickets on popular websites such as eBay and Craigslist although buying through these sites comes with a certain amount of risk.  They are not regulated and it is not uncommon for fake tickets to be sold through them.

Executive Suites

A seat in an Executive Suite is perhaps the ultimate way to watch the Bears in action.  Offering spectacular views of the pitch and first class facilities it is the ultimate corporate entertainment package or a special treat for family and friends.  While all executive suites have been sold for this season it is possible to put your name down on a priority list for the 2013.

Individual Tickets

Individual match tickets for Chicago Bears games can be purchased through the Ticketmaster website.  Regular season tickets cost from $101 to $410 depending on the location of the seat.  A maximum of 4 tickets can be purchased per person per game.  If the game is a sell-out you may be able to find tickets on the NFL Ticket Exchange.  This is a program where fans can sell their unwanted tickets and seats and all transactions on it are guaranteed and protected by Ticketmaster.  The price of tickets may be more than the face value depending on the game in question.

Season Tickets at Soldier Field

There are two types of season ticket available for seats at Soldier Field-PSL and non-PSL.  Permanent Seat Licence tickets give the holder the right to tickets for a specific seat.  There is a one-off licencing fee to pay and owners can sell or transfer the licence as they please.  Non-PSL tickets and not transferable and do not require a licensing fee.  These can be applied for by adding your name to the Season Ticket Priority List on the Bears website.

Today the Chicago Bears play at one of the most iconic stadiums in the US the legendary Soldier Field (II) which has been their home since 1971.  While the bears have has their usual season full of ups and downs this year, Chicago Bears tickets are always in demand with each home game selling out quickly.  Here are a couple of facts that you may not know about the Bears:

Most Retired Jerseys in the NFL

Only truly great players have the honour of having the number retired from the roster and the Bears have retired more than any other team.  13 former Bears greats have had their jersey retired including all-time greats such as Dick Butkus, Red Grange, Brian Piccolo and George McAfee.

Leading Fumbler Walter Payton?

While Walter Payton may have made it to the Hall of Fame and had his jersey retired by the Bears he actually leads the list of fumblers at the franchise with 86.  In fact he has twice as many fumbles as any other player on the list although this is solely due to the length of time he spent with the club rather than having butterfingers.

Longest Touchdown Pass

The longest touchdown pass in Bears history was caught by Bo Farrington.  While Bo was only at the franchise for two seasons between 61-63 he earned a place in history with a 98 yard catch.

There have been some great Bears players over the years and the team has one of the longest and proudest histories in the NFL.  Chicago Bears tickets for games at Soldier Field can be bought from the club’s website or from other sources online.

Iconic venues such as Twickenham, Murrayfield and of course the Millennium stadium are all reporting strong ticket sales with the first round of matches guaranteed to be a sell-out.  Following Wales’s success last year interest in the tournament has never been higher and with a World Cup fast approaching teams and players will be looking to make a strong statement in the opening games.

History of the Six Nations Championship

The Championship was first played in 1910 and featured teams from the 5 nations of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France.  Italy joined in 2000 to make up the 6^th nation in the present tournament.  Overall England has won the tournament the most times with 26 outright wins and 10 shared.  Since the inception of the modern format Italy has the dubious honour of having picked up the most wooden spoons for finishing in last position.  The Six Nations has a long and rich history that is justly celebrated in the world of rugby.

As well as the main championship prize there are a number of other side trophies that the teams compete for.  The most prestigious of these is the Triple Crown which is awarded to either Scotland, Wales, Ireland or England if they manage to beat all of the other three teams.  The Calcutta Cup is contested between Scotland and England while the Millennium trophy is contested between England and Ireland.

Following last year’s epic Six Nations tickets will be much in demand from rugby fans of all nationalities.  Venues are already reporting strong ticket sales and the best way to buy sports tickets for many of the matches will be through specialist ticket sites on the net.

The Box Office

Every search for tickets should start off at the box office.  While there has been a move to online ticket sales in recent years most franchises still give their supporters the opportunity to get their tickets the old fashioned way by queuing up.  You can be sure that you are going to get what you are paying for and you are never going to be paying over the odds for the tickets you buy.  However there is no chance for a cheap deal on tickets sold.

Ticketmaster

Since opening for business in 1976 Ticketmaster has come to dominate the industry.  Offering a huge range of tickets for sporting and entertainment events it is by far the biggest name in ticket sales around the world.  Offering exceptional customer service it is a name you can trust.  However online tickets tend to sell out rapidly and customer service comes at the price of hefty booking fees and charges.

TicketsNow

TicketsNow is built along the same dedication to customer service as Ticketmaster although it focuses on the secondary ticket market.  It is the place to go for sold out tickets for many sporting events and is a genuine alternative to StubHub.  Again service comes at a price of a large 15% service fee on every ticket sold as well as $15 shipping charges for tickets.

Finding sports tickets online is easier than ever although it does tend to come at a price.  If you can do it the best option is be prepared and buy tickets through official channels as soon as they are released.  Otherwise you are going to end up paying through the nose for them.

GET ME IN!

GET ME IN! is a dedicated online marketplace for tickets for leading sports, music, theatre and comedy events.  It brings together buyers and sellers of all kinds of tickets in an open marketplace where the supply of tickets is determined by supply and demand.  While GET ME IN! doesn’t actually buy or sell tickets it does offer protection to users of the site to ensure that buyers get the tickets they want and sellers get their money.  Their Fanguard system ensures that people can use the site in safety without fear of being ripped off.  GET ME IN! offer a huge range of sports tickets for football, rugby, golf, horse racing, NFL and many other sports.

Viagogo

Founded in 2006 Viagogo is a place to buy and sell tickets for major sporting and music events and festivals.  While offering a similar service to GET ME IN! Viagogo has a number of additional advantages.  It has struck deals with some of the biggest names in the sports world such as Chelsea FC, Manchester Unites and Roland Garros so the site is the only place where fans can trade and re-sell tickets for these teams and venues legally.  The deal was the first of its kind in Europe and the site has now made further deals with rugby clubs in the UK and a number of other football clubs across Europe.  Viagogo offer a guarantee of all deals made on the site to protect both buyers and sellers of tickets.

Official sources

The best way to get tickets is to go straight to the official source.  Your team will have its own dedicated box office to supply tickets to fans as well as a website where ticket can be bought.  As you are buying through an official source tickets will be at face value with maybe a little added on for handling fees or postage.
While this approach is fine for most games for the most in-demand matches tickets are likely to sell out fast.  Priority is generally given to season ticket holders so they get first choice of tickets.  While you can go and actually queue up for a ticket there is generally a limited number on sale and there is no guarantee of getting a ticket this way.

If the Event is a Sell-out

If all the tickets are sold there is no need to panic just yet.  Many venues and team across the country have created “no-scalp zones” close to the venues where fans can sell their unwanted tickets at face-value.  This concept is becoming increasingly popular although not all venues have one just yet.

Online Sources

If you can’t get hold of a ticket through official sources or using a no-scalp zone you may still be able to get a ticket but you are probably going to have to pay more than face value for it.  There are a number of websites that bring people who have tickets to sell for big games and those who want to buy them together.  Prices are determined by supply and demand so the most in-demand tickets are going to have a premium attached to them.  Using sites such as GET ME IN!, StubHub and Viagogo will be more expensive but all transactions on the site are protected and you won’t get ripped off.

The Last Resort

The very last option is to use a ticket tout or scalper outside the venue.  This is most likely going to be the most expensive way to buy sports tickets and may or may not be legal depending on where you are and you have no guarantee of a genuine ticket.

Scalpers

If you go to the venue a few hours before kick-off or first pitch you will doubtless find plenty of shady characters offering tickets for the game. This really should be your last resort as you will end up paying way over the odds for your ticket. While some venues have “no-scalping zones” outside where fans can sell unwanted tickets for face value the practice has yet to become widespread. If you are feeling brave you can leave buying a ticket until the game has started or the very last minute as the ticket becomes virtually worthless to the scalper if no one has bought it by then.

StubHub

StubHub has partnered with MLB to offer fans a safe way to buy and sell their unwanted sports tickets to baseball games. Price of tickets is determined by supply and demand so you can expect to pay considerably more for sold out games. However using sites such as StubHub, GET ME IN! and Ticket Ace is the safe way to buy tickets online as all transactions are guaranteed by the site.

eBay and Craigslist

These two sites can be great sources of tickets for sold out sporting events. Craigslist has listing for most major cities and it is simply a matter of going to the for sale category, clicking on tickets and seeing what is available. When you are using these sites make sure to leave some time for delivery or collection of the tickets.

Forums

Most teams have a dedicated forum and you can often find tickets for even the most in-demand games. Use forums and other social networking sites dedicated to your team regularly and you may be surprised by just how easy it is to get tickets on them
When buying sports tickets through means other than official sites it definitely pays to be careful. While most sellers are genuine there will always be those who are looking to make a fast buck from the unwary.