Record Crowd Expected For Sydney's Origin II Blockbuster At ANZ Stadium

Sydney’s Origin II blockbuster’s on Wednesday night "will be the highest grossing Origin match in history," worth an estimated A$30M ($28M) to the National Rugby League, ANZ Stadium and the state of New South Wales, according to David Riccio. Unlike in Queensland, where officials "were faced with the embarrassing prospect of being unable to sellout Suncorp Stadium ahead of Origin I," the home ground of NSW, ANZ Stadium, "is nearing a sellout." A post-Olympics record crowd of more than 84,000 fans are "expected." Six days out from the Blues "highly-anticipated tilt" at ending the Maroons eight-year Origin reign, only 2,000 tickets remain for the clash. Hotels surrounding the stadium and flights into Sydney next week "have been booked out by an influx of sport lovers travelling from interstate." As of Wednesday, 5,000 Maroons supporters "had arranged travel and accommodation ahead of the match" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 6/12).