Brasilerio club Corinthians "could establish a new record" for revenue through ticket sales in a season after facing Ponte Preta at the Parque São Jorge stadium Wednesday night, according to João Pontes of IG.com.br. This season, the club has played 31 home matches and collected R$30.8M ($15.3M) in ticket sales. The Brasileiro record for a season already belongs to Corinthians when in '10 they hosted 31 matches and collected R$31.6M in ticket sales. That team "had stars" like Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos. If the club continues with its season average of collecting R$994,000 ($492,250) per match, the record was expected to be broken against Ponte Preta. It is "worth mentioning" that the team still has another six home games in the Brasileiro after Wednesday's game. One of the reasons that explains the large revenue "is the price of tickets, which is the highest in the Campeonato Paulista, Copa Libertadores and Campeonato Brasileiro." Besides the high ticket prices, the average attendance for the 31 home games this season has been 24,000. The Fiel Torcedor program launched in '09 "is the main reason" for Corinthians' success when it comes to ticket sales. The program currently has close to 100,000 members and besides offering the fans discounts on tickets ranging from 15-35%, they can also buy their tickets online instead of having to wait in line at the stadium. (IG.com.br, 9/12).
