Record crowd and sponsorship surge as Ballymena United’s TicketCo switch pays off

Through its partnership with TicketCo the club has seen shirt sponsorship revenue rise 128% and season ticket revenue grow 10.2%, despite frozen prices in the Sky Blue’s first full season on the new platform.

Ballymena United are currently in the top half of the table, with a County Antrim Shield semi-final on the cards later this month, and fans have responded with an average attendance of 1,554 across the first four games of the 2026/2027 campaign (up seven per cent from 1,457 last season).

The Boyle Sports Premiership club joined TicketCo on a three-year deal ahead of the current season, consolidating season tickets, instalment plans and player shirt sponsorships onto one easy-to-use platform.

Season tickets went on sale through the system for the first time in June.

The biggest gain has come from shirt sponsorships. Packages that were once sold by phone and on paper can now be bought online by any supporter or local business. Sales are up 222% to record heights, lifting shirt sponsorship revenue to new heights!

Season ticket revenue is up 10.2%, even with prices frozen at 2025/26 levels, as fans continue to back Oran Kearney’s dynamic new look team from the stands!

The rise has been supplemented by take-up of the instalment option, which lets supporters spread the cost into management instalments whilst committing their support for the full campaign.

Fans are coming through the gates, too. A crowd of 2,470 watched the Sky Blues opening home game against Glentoran in August, a record for the fixture and over 20% above the previous high.

With tickets, subscriptions and sponsorships now held in one system, the club also has a single, complete view of its supporter base, to help give the Sky Blues the best possible experience in supporting their team.

Neil Coleman, Director of Marketing and Communications at Ballymena United, said: “We are delighted with how quickly we’ve been able to adopt TicketCo and put it to work across the club.

“From season tickets to sponsorship, it has helped us take real steps forward.

“Putting shirt sponsorships online has opened them up to every supporter and local business, and the response has been fantastic.

“A record crowd for the visit of Glentoran shows the appetite is there. This is hopefully just the start; we are committed to moving the club forward with new ideas and fresh thinking that will help us remain competitive on and off the pitch!”

Daragh Searing, Business Development Manager, TicketCo, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Ballymena United and continue growing our presence across NIFL. It’s great to see a club put the platform to full use from day one, and the impact speaks for itself.”

Off the pitch, the Sky Blues are not standing still as the appointment of Michael Balmer as the club’s new Ticketing Lead this season, supplemented by his enrolment on TicketCo’s exclusive Academy training programme.

Building on the early results, the club is now exploring a rolling 12-month subscription model to make supporting the Sky Blues even easier, and plans to bring more of its sponsorship assets online.

Half-season tickets will also be available to fans for the second half of the season as the Sky Blues continue to go from strength to strength!