The NRL is basking in the glory of another big year for attendances with crowds breaking the three million mark for just the second time in the game’s history.
And the numbers could get even better with the NRL anticipating sellout crowds at every game this weekend when the finals series kicks off with four games in three states and two countries.
The New Zealand Warriors sold out their initial allocation of tickets for Friday night’s Mt Smart Stadium clash with Parramatta within two hours yesterday.
They are now working on acquiring any remaining tickets from corporate clients and tourist operators which they will redistribute to fans, but only several hundred at most could become available.
The Manly-South Sydney match is likely to sell out tomorrow with only a couple of hundred tickets available while there are still 4,000 seats remaining for North Queensland’s clash with the Bulldogs in Townsville on Saturday night.
There are still over 5,000 tickets up for grabs for Sunday’s grand final rematch between Brisbane and minor premiers Melbourne at Olympic Park, Storm officials confident of a strong walk-up crowd.
This year 3,024,193 fans attended the 25 rounds of the regular season at an average of 15,751 per game, up 220,351 on 2006.
The numbers were obviously boosted by the Gold Coast’s re-introduction to the competition, but only in 1995 when there were 20 teams in the competition have more fans come through the turnstiles.
“The four weeks of the finals will produce a whole new chapter but it’s certainly worth taking a moment to congratulate the clubs, players and fans who have made the year such a success to this point,” NRL chief executive David Gallop said.
“The race for the finals again went to the last round, reminding everyone just how close the competition has been week in and week out over the past 25 rounds.”
Seven clubs – Brisbane, Souths, Melbourne, Penrith, Canberra, North Queensland and the Warriors all had increased crowds in 2007 with the Warriors showing the biggest growth with a 49.8 per cent increase on last season.
The Gold Coast embraced the Titans with an average home crowd of 21,489 in 2007, which was second highest behind the Broncos).
The best home crowd average of past Gold Coast teams was 9,468 in 1992.
Total participation in clubs and schools increased almost nine per cent on last year’s national figure, taking the total to over 400,000 participants for the first time.
Having attracted the most fans to their games, the Broncos also ranked No.1 in merchandise sales followed by the Titans and St George Illawarra.
By Steve Jancetic – © 2007 AAP
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