Canberra Raiders are set to play in front of around double their average crowd as fans snapped up tickets for their National Rugby League (NRL) finals opener.
More than 26,000 fans are expected to pack into Canberra Stadium for the Raiders’ game against the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday, in what is their first finals campaign since 2012. The team’s highest gate for the season to date was around 19,000 for a game against the Parramatta Eels, while attendances are usually between 9,000 and 15,000.
Tickets for the game sold out almost immediately through official vendor Ticketek, and club officials said that the only reason the rugby league ground record of 26,746 set in 2010 will not be broken is because of a slight reduction in the capacity.
“There have been very, very strong ticket sales and we’re looking at what we can do with the Raiders to get more people into the venue,” Andrew Barr, Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister and Raiders fan, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
“We certainly intend to do everything we can to make sure that every Raiders fan that can possibly fit into Canberra Stadium will see the game live.
“It’s one of the most significant sporting events we’ve seen in the city in recent times. We’ve a chance of a new ground record and that would add to a fantastic sporting year for Canberra.”
Share this