River returns as a visitor in the AMBA after seven years, but tickets cost $110,000

Seven years. That's how long River fans have had to wait to set foot in a rival stadium within the AMBA again. The last time was against Banfield, back in 2019, and now history repeats itself: next Sunday, for the seventh round of the Torneo Clausura, River will once again have traveling fans in the stands at Florencio Sola stadium.

The match kicks off at 3:00 PM (Argentina time) and comes with news that goes beyond the result on the field: the Buenos Aires Province Agency for the Prevention of Violence in Sports (Aprevide) confirmed that River supporters will be allowed to attend and cheer on Eduardo "Chacho" Coudet's squad. It's still unclear how many fans will be allowed in, but the mere fact that away fans are being permitted already signals a shift in Argentine soccer, which has spent years restricting access for traveling supporters.

Still, the joy of being able to return to the stadium comes with a catch that's causing plenty of noise among fans: the ticket price. Anyone wanting to see River play at Banfield will have to pay $110,000 for their ticket, a figure that stands out even in a climate where ticket prices have been steadily climbing.

This isn't an isolated case. That same figure, $110,000, is what Platense charged Boca fans when they visited Vicente López. And the list of precedents doesn't stop there: Talleres charged Boca supporters $100,000 for the match on April 2, while Lanús applied the same price for their clash with the Xeneize on March 4. It's starting to feel less like a series of isolated cases and more like an emerging pattern.

The flip side of away fans' return

Seeing rival fan sections back in Argentine stadiums is, without question, good news for local soccer folklore. But the lingering question is just how many people can actually afford that markup to support their team away from home. Ticket prices for visiting fans end up being noticeably higher than what members or supporters of the home team pay, and that creates an imbalance that matters when thinking about a full-scale return of traveling fans to stadiums.

We'll have to see, then, whether Banfield-River becomes just another example of this trend toward expensive tickets, or whether the market gradually starts adjusting those prices so that supporting your team on the road stops being, for many, a near-unaffordable luxury.