Tickets for this year’s rugby league Ashes go on general sale on Monday with a second stadium touted to sell out.
Confirmation of the return of a rugby league tradition in the form of the Ashes came last month and tickets were made available in a priority window ahead of them going on general sale tomorrow (Monday 14th April).
The three chosen venues were Wembley, Everton’s new Bramley-Moore Docks Stadium and Headingley, dubbed by RL Commercial’s Rhodri Jones as the best venue in Super League.
It was also the smallest of the three venues and as such, sold out over a week ago with tickets for the Leeds venue not even reaching general sale.
Ahead of tomorrow’s general sale window opening, there have been two positive updates – one from the RFL and another from Sky Sports’ Brian Carney, with the former Great Britain and Ireland Ashes star teasing a second sell-out.
Rugby League Ashes set for second sell-out ahead of general sale
Those comments from Carney came live on Sky Sports’ broadcast of the Super League clash between Hull KR and Wigan Warriors, with the Irishman interviewing England head coach Shaun Wane.
Ahead of that interview, and in his preview of the upcoming rugby league Ashes series, Carney stated: “We are told reliably that the second test at Everton’s new ground will sell out this Monday. And in great news, Wembley is selling in record numbers at a pace that has not been seen in decades.”
The RFL have now backed up Carney’s statement with an announcement of their own ahead of the general sale ticket window opening.
In a statement shared by the governing body on Sunday morning, they revealed: “The priority window closes at midnight tonight (Sunday April 13) – with fewer than 1,500 tickets remaining for the Second Test at Everton Stadium.”
As such, it’s all but certain that the second venue at the second Test will sell out, meaning Wembley will be the only ticket to be had, and the sales for them are going well.
The RFL explained: “With more than 85,000 tickets already sold for the series, fans are also advised to move quickly to snap up the best seats for the First Test at Wembley on Saturday October 25.”
RL Commercial’s Rhodri Jones said: “There’s been an explosion of interest since we confirmed the return of the Rugby League Ashes last month, and putting the remaining tickets for the series on general sale is another exciting milestone.
“With the Third Test at AMT Headingley already sold out, our advice to fans is to move quickly to secure seats for either of the first two Tests at Wembley and Everton.
“We’re already well past the aggregate attendance for the last two Ashes series in England, in 2001 and 2003, and advance sales for Wembley are also at record levels, well ahead of where they were for the opening Tests of the 1990 and 1994 series which were the best-attended home Ashes series on record.”
