Ticket sales on the opening day of the priority window for the return of the Rugby League Ashes this autumn have smashed all previous records for the sport, with more than 60,000 tickets for the series already snapped up.
That included the majority of AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium, the venue for the Third Test of the ABK Beer Rugby League Ashes, selling out in less time than the match will last.
All tickets for three-quarters of the stadium – the North Stand, the South Stand and the East Stand – were bought within 80 minutes of going on sale at midday to the 50,000 Rugby League and sports fans who had pre-registered for the priority purchasing window.
And with only around 1,500 tickets remaining for the Western Terrace at the time of writing, it’s touch and go whether any will still be available when tickets for the series go on general sale on Monday April 14.
All hospitality packages for AMT Headingley have also sold out.
Tickets and hospitality for the First and Second Tests of the ABK Beer Rugby League Ashes at Wembley Stadium and the new Everton Stadium are also selling at an unprecedented rate, with Everton selling out of Category One tickets on day one of the 12-day priority window.
Rhodri Jones, the Managing Director of Rugby League Commercial, said: “These are unprecedented and exciting figures for Rugby League – easily the most tickets that have been sold for any series in a single day.
“It confirms the huge demand to see Shaun Wane’s England team taking on Mal Meninga’s Kangaroos this autumn, in the first Ashes series since 2003.
“We believe our choice of venues has captured the imagination of Rugby League and sports fans in all parts of the country, and even overseas.
“We have set ambitious goals to ensure the series is played in front of the audiences it deserves – and we are already well on course to meet those goals.”
Tickets will remain available only to those who pre-registered until the morning of Monday April 14, when they go on sale at 10am.
