The inaugural Sydney Sevens is on track to hang the "house full" sign at Allianz Stadium early next month after Australia’s leg of the World Sevens series "was shifted to the city" by the Australian Rugby Union from the Gold Coast last year. The Gold Coast event "struggled to pull crowds for years" but in a matter of months Sydneysiders "swarmed on tickets to the two-day event on February 6-7, and a total crowd of more than 70,000 is forecast." Approximately 2,000 seats are left for sale -- making the season’s first footy event a rival to the Big Bash League "for the tag of the summer’s hottest ticket in Sydney" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 1/24). ... More than 1 million fans attended BBL matches over the course of the tournament, while more than 1 million people on average tuned in to each of Network Ten's match broadcasts. The average attendance for BBL matches across the regular season was 28,248, up 22% from last year's BBL season. The highlight was the crowd of 80,883 that filled the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the match between the Stars and Renegades on Jan. 2 (BBL).
