RL COMMERCIAL are confident of selling out Everton Stadium after the venue was confirmed to be hosting the second match of this autumn’s Ashes series.
The ground is only due to fully open later this year and the clash between England and Australia will be the first non-football game staged there.
Organisers believe they can fill the 52,888-capacity stadium as well as the significantly smaller AMT Headingley, which will host the third and final match in front of a maximum 19,500.
That’s after opening the Ashes at the 90,000-capacity Wembley.
“For Wembley, the first target is to break the 50,000 barrier, which means the lower bowl and middle tier are full,” said RL Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones.
“Back in the 2013 World Cup there were just over 60,000 in the stadium for that double header (67,545 for the semi-finals), so that’s a natural target for us to overcome.
“Our ambition is to sell Everton out, absolutely 100 percent. And Headingley we expect to sell out the quickest with a reduced capacity of 19,500.
“There is method in the madness – if Headingley goes first, it then pushes people towards Everton and Wembley.
“Wembley has the biggest flexibility in terms of being able to go up to 90,000. If we could get 80-odd thousand, we’d be delighted.”
Jones has also revealed the role that Warrington Wolves owner and concert promoter Simon Moran has played in securing the series, and how he will now help to market it.
“Simon has been in the background, helping us with venues – he’s got good connections with Wembley through is Oasis and Coldplay activities – and we’ve used him and his team around ticket pricing,” said Jones.
“We’ve taken some business advice from his team on the ticket modelling. He wants this to be a massive success and he’s happy to have given us some of his time to help make this a success.
“They (Moran’s company, SJM) will help us with how we market the games, in London in particular.
“Since I’ve been at RL Commercial it’s the first time a club owner has come (to us) like that. I liken it a bit to Wigan and Warrington going to Vegas.
“He’s an amazing person to spend time with. His brain works differently. He’s an expert in his field, so why wouldn’t we tap into that to make it a success?”
READ: Why Wembley, Everton and Headingley were chosen as Ashes venues