After setting a trio of attendance records during its match at Sky Stadium on Saturday, the Wellington Phoenix are confident of another large – and potentially new record-setting – crowd this Sunday at Eden Park.
The Phoenix’s 3-0 win versus Western United on 22 May drew in a massive crowd of 24,105 fans; the Club’s highest-ever regular season attendance record in New Zealand. This figure topped the Sydney Derby (20,336) to become the highest attended A-League match in the 2020/21 season, while also registering as the single-largest sporting crowd in New Zealand this year.
Wellington Phoenix General Manager David Dome says that following the success of the Wellington match, the Club is planning for an even larger crowd in Auckland on Sunday.
“The match [against Western United] at Sky Stadium was an absolute success for both the Club and the fans who came along to watch; a great turn-out, perfect weather and one of the team’s most complete performances this season,” said Dome.
“We want to replicate this success in Auckland, playing at another excellent venue in Eden Park, in front of fans who haven’t seen us play since February last year – and against another quality opponent in Perth Glory in a must-win match for us.
“We want Aucklanders to get in behind us like Wellington did last week, and come along to cheer on a team that loves playing in Auckland and is unbeaten all-time at Eden Park.”
The Club has also announced it will have integrated ticketing in place for Sunday’s match, which means all travel on trains and buses (including NX1 and NX2) to and from Eden Park will be included with each pre-purchased match ticket.
For both buses and trains, service starts at 1:30pm and runs until end of service with patrons reminded to retain their match ticket in order to utilise the service.
Dome says that integrated ticketing removes a barrier to people being able to attend sporting matches, by providing a reliable travel option to and from the game – and built into the match ticket itself.
“We know that some fans struggle to attend our matches because of difficulties with transport – whether that’s the cost of parking or a lack of transport options – so it’s great to be able to partner with Auckland Transport to help break down some of those barriers.”
Dome says that Auckland has a chance to set new attendance records if fans show up in large numbers on the night.
“We know Auckland and Wellington can be very competitive with one another with sport – so Auckland, here’s your chance to break the three attendance records that Wellington set earlier this month.”
The Wellington Phoenix takes on Distance Derby rivals Perth Glory, at Auckland’s Eden Park on Sunday 30 May from 3.35pm. Due to the crowds expected, people are asked to get to the match early to avoid queues on the day – to assist with this, gates will open from 2pm.
Purchase tickets at: www.ticketek.co.nz/phoenix
For more information on integrated ticketing, go to: https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/events/wellington-phoenix
