There is a special Christmas feel to matchday at Welford Road on Sunday as Leicester Tigers host French visitors Racing 92 in the Heineken Champions Cup. Kick-off is at 1.00pm and you’ll want to check out our guide to the big day below.
Christmas activities include Sant’s grotto in the Junior Tigers Club, snowglobe photo booth, bucking reindeer rodeo, festive DJ and seasonal food and drink options. There’s a carousel and mini ferris wheel for young fans on the plaza and the chanced to pick up a Matt Hampson Foundation calendar.
Half-time entertainment includes The Ultimate Big Boot between two teams as well as an extra addition for some 12 Days of Christmas winners. A season ticket holder will win the price of their ticket in a TigersLotto draw and we’ll also announce the winner of the Lumbers Player of the Month award. Look out, too, for a Christmas game involving piles of presents!
Click here for our full guide to Christmas activities with the Tigers.
Match tickets for Sunday are still available, with a ‘Kids for a Quid’ offer for this game. Book in person at Welford Road, phone 0116 319 8888 (option 2) or online.
There is a print-at-home option for tickets bought online. Or there is a Collection Point on the plaza outside the Holland & Barrett Stand if you are picking up pre-paid match tickets on your way to the game.
Official matchday bus services run by Centrebus operate on routes from Market Bosworth, Market Harborough and Oakham, arriving at Welford Road half an hour ahead of kick-off. For full details, including timetable and pick-up points, click here.
There is also a free shuttle bus from the city centre so you can fit in some Christmas shopping around matchday too. This service will also operate next Saturday afternoon when Tigers host Harlequins. Click here for full details.
Pre-booked car parking goes off-sale at the Tigers ticket office two days before a match. Parking is still available to purchase on a first-come first-served basis at the King Power Stadium, home of Leicester City FC, which is just a few minutes’ walk away from Welford Road. Cost is £6 per car, to be paid at the barrier.
Team news from both camps is announced at noon on Friday on the Tigers website and official social media pages. Look out, too, for the online match preview on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers ticket office and club store are open all day Saturday and from 9.00am on matchday.
The Junior Tigers Club, with activities for young supporters and an opportunity to run out in front of a big crowd as a matchday mascot or Tiger Cub, is open for two hours ahead of kick-off in the Final Whistle area of the Holland & Barrett Stand, with a player appearance in the build-up to kick-off. JTC membership is free to under-16s and you can sign up your youngster now by clicking here.
If you want to know how the young fan in your family can run out on the Welford Road turf on matchday, check the JTC pages of the club website using the link above.
Turnstiles, bars and food kiosks open at 11.30am.
Bag searches are in place at the turnstiles. Supporters are encouraged not to bring bags to the stadium but, if you do, please allow extra time to get through your turnstile and into your place ahead of kick-off. In accordance with stadium regulations, banned items include bottles, cans, large golf-type umbrellas and any bags that will not fit beneath a seat. More information is available on boards at all turnstiles.
Food options inside the stadium include pie-and-pint offer in the Holland & Barrett concourse, Mattioli Woods Stand and Breedon Stand; and Domino’s Pizza in the Holland & Barrett Stand upper and lower. Chips are available in Holland & Barrett Stand lower and Robin Hood Stand. There are children’s food offers, too, at the Junior Tigers Club food unit in Final Whistle.
You can save time at the bars by using Swipestation to pre-order drinks. Sign up to the Swipestation app, add your card details and you can place your order at any time – even before you leave home! When you get to the stadium, use your phone to print off the receipt at your nearest SwipeStation unit and simply present it to bar staff. You don’t even need wi-fi connectivity once you are at Welford Road.
SwipeStation units are available in the Final Whistle Bar, the Champions Bar in the Robin Hood Stand and fast lanes in the Breedon Stand and Mattioli Woods Stand.
If you use the Tigers app, click on ‘Matchday Food and Drink’ to download the SwipeStation app for iOS and Android devices.
Fans can hear from inside the Tigers camp with a player Q&A in Final Whistle at 11.45pm with members of the first-team squad.
Ahead off kick-off, look out for the matchday mascots and the Tigers cubs who have the honour of running in a try on the Welford Road pitch before the big game.
We’ll also be joined by the Tigers flagshakers and Guard of Honour as the teams prepare to run out. To find out how your group can join us this season, contact the Group Sales team at Tigers by phoning 0116 319 8888.
Supporters can use the ‘Big Screen’ function on the official Tigers app to submit photos of their matchday and a selection will be added to the gallery on the stadium screens. We’ll pick some of our favourites for a gallery in the matchday programme too.
Sunday’s 100-page match programme features a spotlight on visitors Racing 92, everything you need to know about the Champions Cup, the Junior Tigers Club pages, Fanzone, Tiger Hunt photos and news from inside Welford Road. Pick up your copy around the stadium, price £3.
If you are attending the game, don't forget to click 'Going' on the Tigers Facebook page.
After the match, there is live music in Final Whistle with resident band Rock Bottom, the Christmas activities will continue on the plaza and the main Club Store will remain open as well as the ticket office at the Aylestone Road end.
If you are unable to join us at Welford Road for any home game, you can follow the action throughout the day on the club website and social media, and there is full text commentary using the Matchday Live function on the app.
