1 day ago
5
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh has defended ticket pricing and accessibility for the Lions-Wallabies Test series after none of the Lions’ five tour fixtures sold out and with the “full house” shingle yet to be hung on Suncorp Stadium for the first Test.
After years of anticipation, the countdown is on for the opening game of the three-Test series between the Wallabies and Lions in Brisbane on Saturday, but seats were still available for the game on Wednesday, and for the second Test in Melbourne and the third in Sydney as well.
The Lions’ five fixtures played in the first 15 days of their tour drew strong crowds, many of which were venue records for rugby, but all venues contained sections of empty seats.
Rugby Australia, who set the ticket pricing in a joint venture with the Lions, has drawn criticism for setting prices too high and making the games inaccessible for some fans.
Ticket prices for the first Test in Brisbane range from $149 to $649 per seat, with the MCG ($99 to $649) and Accor Stadium ($149-$649) Tests having similar pricing structures. Tour game prices were lower.
For context, single tickets for the annual State of Origin series this year cost between $49 and $399, and a ticket for the Sydney show of Oasis’ reunion tour will set buyers back between $129 and $849.
A view from the $379 tickets in section 604 at Accor Stadium.
Given that a Lions tour is a once-in-12-years event, demand for tickets has been strong, and all corporate packages were swiftly sold out, suggesting the market mostly accepted the prices. But fans have also expressed frustration on social media platforms, and late ticket returns from UK tour operators have proven hard to shift.
There were less than 1000 tickets left for the 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday. Waugh is confident the ground will end up full.
“We’re almost there. So naturally, just the way ticketing works, you get some handbacks from different tour groups that are pre-booked, and so you just naturally have some that become available late, which is what we have for this weekend.
“But we’re almost there. Hopefully, we get a good run home and a full stadium.”
Asked if there was a danger of international rugby getting too pricey for the average fan, Waugh said: “It’s important to be accessible. (A Lions tour is) once every 12 years, these are big moments in stadiums that only hold 53,000 or 52,000.
“But it’s important, and we’ve done everything we possibly can to make the game accessible. We’ve taken Test matches to daytime, we’ve put Test matches into regional areas, and we’re doing everything we possibly can to get young boys and girls into the stadiums at an affordable price.”
Waugh was referencing RA’s attempts over the past two years to attract families to Wallabies’ games, including a daytime Bledisloe last year, and an afternoon Test in Newcastle against Fiji earlier in the month, when $30 tickets were available. Similar prices are available for Rugby Championship games.
The MCG is tracking to have 90,000-plus in attendance, with members’ turnout critical to reaching 100,000.
A young Lions fan gets into the action.Credit: AP
Asked if RA, and World Rugby, would look at the Lions tour for lessons about ticket pricing for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, Waugh said they would review everything post-tour, but also pointed to records set in many local markets.
“We’ve got to work with all rugby games coming into our market,” he said. “We’ve been focused on it for some time. If you look at it, Perth was the largest crowd in Perth by over 10,000 for a Force game. Brisbane was 47,000.
“Sydney was the largest rugby crowd we’ve had in Allianz Stadium. It was the biggest crowd we’ve had in Newcastle. And the largest crowd we’ve had in Adelaide. And the largest crowd in Canberra we’ve had for 20 years.”
Loading
Revenue from the Lions tour is also of vital importance to Rugby Australia. It is predicted RA will pocket over $100 million from the tour, which will help wipe the $60 million of debt the organisation took on to survive after COVID.
Amid criticism of the Australian Super team not providing the Lions with stern enough opposition so far on tour, Waugh pointed out there’d been competitive efforts against a stacked Lions squad.
“Clearly, there’s been a lot of commentary around player availability, which we’ve worked through,” he said.
“But to be fair, in 2013 when the Brumbies beat the Lions 14-12, that was the first time an Australian provincial team has beaten the Lions since 1971 when Queensland beat the Lions. Sometimes I feel there’s not a strong appreciation of just the quality that the Lions have brought over here.”
All nine matches of The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia are live & on demand on Stan Sport, with Wallabies Tests in 4K. All Test matches live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now.
Most Viewed in Sport
Loading
