Fans are being urged to buy tickets today if they want to be guaranteed entry to the Vodafone Warriors’ season-opening NRL clash against Parramatta at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday night.
By the close of business on Thursday, more than 16,500 tickets had been sold, indicating the game was on track to be a rare sell-out.
The only time that has previously happened for the first home game of the season was predictably on March 10, 1995 when the Auckland Warriors made their debut appearance in the competition against Brisbane.
With some seating removed since the end of the 2008 season, the ground’s capacity has been reduced to about 23,200 for Saturday night’s match.
“And as it stands now (late Thursday), we have only about 6500 tickets available,” said Vodafone Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah.
“With the way tickets have been selling, we’d encourage anyone who’s keen to come to buy their tickets now rather than being left disappointed trying to buy on the day.
“If the weather is good, it looks like we’ll be on target to sell out, which would be a fantastic way to start the year. We’d love to see that happen, especially with Steve Price playing his 300th first-grade match.”
All signs suggest a crowd well in excess of 20,000 at least, leaving this game in line to become the second highest season-opening crowd puller in the club’s history. The last time there was a crowd of that size was for the first-round clash against Melbourne in 2000 when records claimed the attendance was 20,546.
In the last three years, the first home games have produced crowds of 10,035 against Melbourne in 2006, 13,587 against Parramatta in 2007 and 15,250 again against Parramatta last year.
• To buy tickets go to www.ticketek.co.nz or call 0800 TICKETEK.
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