Fijian Drua fans are gearing up for an electrifying Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific opening match at home, with chief executive Mark Evans predicting a crowd of more than 10,000 for their clash against the Brumbies.
The Swire Shipping-sponsored team will host the Australian side for the first time in Suva on Saturday.
Evans is buoyant about the Drua’s growing popularity and the surge in online ticket sales.
“I was a little unsure about the Brumbies and how they’d go but at the moment, I think we would be over 10,000,” he said.
He pointed to the increasing dominance of online ticket purchases as a key indicator of the Drua’s rising fanbase.
“Year on year the number of people that purchase tickets online goes up in terms of percentage, so I think that is a pretty good indicator of how we are doing.”
While celebrating the success of the online platform, Evans stressed the Drua’s commitment to accessibility for all fans.
“You can still buy tickets at Jack’s, the Sports Council in Suva and Lautoka. So, you’ve got to make it easy whether you’re a cash buyer, buying online with cards, or if you just rock up on the day.
“We understand that people are still comfortable with that option, you have to give people choices,” he explained.
Evans hinted that current ticket sales are tracking around “10 and a half thousand,” adding, “we’ll see. Sometimes you get a late surge, and sometimes you get the opposite, but it doesn’t usually vary too much. Ten and a half thousand is where I think we’re going to land, something like that”.
He also stated that in usual fashion, the stadium grandstand seats are usually purchased first by fans.
“If you look at the occupancy rate, say one per cent of each category gets sold, the seats go first. If all four categories – silver, platinum, gold, bronze – are sold out, that would be very good, whereas if the embankment is pretty full but a few areas still have space, that’s how it works out in Suva. Lautoka is slightly different.”
Last year, the Drua for the first-time, sold-out tickets during the match against the Hurricanes at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
The national stadium has a capacity of 15,000. Tomorrow’s match will kick off at 3.30pm.
