October’s Sydney Derby, the first of the new Hyundai A-League season, has already sold 5000 tickets which is currently more than both this weekend’s NRL finals at Allianz Stadium combined.
The Sydney Derby at Allianz between home side Sydney FC and their cross-town rivals Western Sydney Wanderers FC takes place in round two of the new season on October 18, over a month away.
Yet as of Monday, that figure was higher than the number of tickets so far sold for both of this weekend’s sudden-death NRL finals combined at the same venue.
It’s just another indication of the incredible drawing power of the Sydney Derby, the surging popularity of the Hyundai A-League as well as the growing fan-base of the two rival clubs in the Harbour City.
The good news comes just days before the Hyundai A-League national ticket on-sale, launched this Friday.
Meanwhile, Wanderers fans could find themselves back at Allianz Stadium not long after the derby with reports a possible ACL final home leg could be played at the home of their fierce rivals.
Wanderers are almost certain to be forced to move the home leg of the final away from Parramatta to a bigger venue if they qualify.
Parramatta Stadium will host the second leg of the semi-final against FC Seoul on October 1 with the first leg tomorrow night in Seoul.
Should Wanderers get past the Korean side they will face either Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal over two legs on October 25 and November 1.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that the FFA are believed to have approached both ANZ and Allianz Stadiums to host the first leg on October 25, should the Wanderers get passed FC Seoul in the semis.
While ANZ is believed to be the preferred option, they are facing significant challenges to play there with the Monster Jam event at the Olympic venue just a week earlier.
It’s understood the infrastructure for that even will take days to assemble then take down and is sure to have an effect on the quality of the surface.
