Travel guide & fan zone information: Rangers gearing up for Europa League final in Seville with help from West Ham fans

Rangers are gearing up for next week’s Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville with 100,000 fans from across the globe plotting trips to the Andalusian capital.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will bid to complete a hat-trick of wins over German opposition in the competition this season and clinch contential silverware for the first time in 50 years.

The Bundesliga outfit, who defeated Premier League side West Ham United 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, leaving the Londoners’ licking their wounds after missing out on an all-British final showdown.

However, several West Ham supporters have rallied together to assist Rangers fans in arranging travel to Spain amid a dramatic hike in flight and accomodation prices.

A large number of Hammers’ fans had already pre-booked to make the trip abroad prior to their last-four defeat, but their response has been impressive in lending desperate Gers supporters a helping hand in finding the best cost-effective routes to Sevilla.

Not only have they actively sought out Light Blues fans on social media to offer name changes on flights at no added expense, but others have transferred tickets across at face value.

One Rangers fan even suggested the Ibrox club arrange a pre-season friendly this summer as a way of showing their appreication.

Rangers are expected to have a ticket allocation of just 9,500 inside the 42,000 capacity Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadion, with plenty more set to soak up the sunshine and watch the game in surrounding bars and restaurants.

Fans left without tickets for the match but are travelling to Seville could watch the action from a fan zone in the city. Unconfirmed reports suggest it may be held at the Plaza de Espana.

Supporters who will NOT travel abroad are awaiting news from the club, Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council on whether a fanzone can take place in the city, with Ibrox stadium the obvious option.

With just over a week to go before the May 18 showpiece, Gers fans have been splashing out financially to book travel by air, rail, road and even hot-air balloons!

Bettingexpert takes a detailed look (via Booking.com) at how much it is going to cost supporters to stay in Seville, factoring in flights from both Glasgow or Edinburgh, AirBnb and hotel prices...

It will cost roughly £2,228.59 to stay in Seville during the final, if fans are flying in from Glasgow, while jetting in from Edinburgh comes out slightly cheaper with an overall cost of roughly £2,092.85.

AIRBNB AND HOTEL FARES SKYROCKET AROUND EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL DATE

Seville are hosting a major final for just the third time in the city’s history and, as a result, hotel and flight fares have seen a sharp increase on the day of the final.

Fares on May 18 rocketed up by 169.98% (using May 17 as base) for AirBnb listings and 103.74% for bookings.com listings.

Checking in on May 17 looks to be a better ‘value-for-money’ option as detailed below:

FLIGHT FARES SEE A SHARP INCREASE

There is marked increase in flight prices from both cities on May 18 - 65.19% from Glasgow (using May 17 as base) and 81.31% from Edinburgh.

The different flight prices are illustrated below:

PLAN LONGER TRIP IF YOU WANT BETTER VALUE FOR MONEY

While the Europa League final is of course the priority for football fans, if you want to gain more value for money, it’s better to arrive a couple of days earlier than the final, and leave a day or two after.