RLWC26 crowd watch

[yakstorm]

With all the events now on sale for RLWC2026, worthwhile starting a thread to track how the games are selling and to see what lessons organisers have learnt from 2017 (they have definitely learnt some, putting games on sale a lot earlier and also using competitive pricing).

Key for the maps:
- Blue bays (majority is unsold)
- Grey bays (not on sale, maybe sold out but most likely still on hold)
- Black bays (sold out and couldn't be bothered copying & pasting seating map)
- Blue circles (seats still available)
- Grey circles (seats that have been allocated)

For Allianz & Suncorp some of the bays behind the posts at both venues could actually be sold out. I'm not 100% sure as I don't recall them ever being on sale (versus 333 in Suncorp where I saw it completely available)

Season Opener:


Final:

 

[Coastbloke]

This could get ugly. On the other hand, when has an end of year RL International tournament have tix available BEFORE the same years SOO!!

 

[Jim from Oz]

What about the Samoa versus Tonga match? Can you put the updated map up for that please? Thanks!

 

[Perth Red]

Perth ticket prices are very reasonable. Starting at $19 end stands, $59 in upper East stand, $79 lower east stand. Shed not on sale yet.

Last RLWC Perth games got 14k so that's the bar.

 

[yakstorm]

This could get ugly. On the other hand, when has an end of year RL International tournament have tix available BEFORE the same years SOO!!

It could, though I feel a long pre-sale gives us a better chance of filling venues.

Even if they're selling at a glacial pace we're going to be starting from a better position than what we usually are for internationals.

Hopefully organisers also try some things along the way to give sales a boost. For the Perth matches they have the Double Header, Storm v Sea Eagles & any Bears announcements or events to piggyback off and move some seats.

The Kiwis game in Christchurch being one of the first games on sale at the new venue has already seen some movement, whilst they also have a Warriors game next year to sell off the back of.

If organisers are smart, they'll make sure to be at the Titans v Warriors game to hit up the Kiwi contingent on the GC.

 

[eels4lifee]

It is expected that 110,000 interstate and international visitors will come to Queensland for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup matches hosted there. This number is a specific projection for Queensland's host cities and is expected to contribute over $18 million to the state's economy. The total number of international attendees for the entire tournament has not been announced.

• Projected visitors to Queensland: Around 110,000 interstate and international visitors.
• Economic impact: Over $18 million is expected to be injected into Queensland's visitor economy.
• Host cities in Queensland: Matches will be held at Suncorp Stadium, Cbus Super Stadium, and Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Far out some people have no trust here FFS

 

[yakstorm]

It is expected that 110,000 interstate and international visitors will come to Queensland for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup matches hosted there. This number is a specific projection for Queensland's host cities and is expected to contribute over $18 million to the state's economy. The total number of international attendees for the entire tournament has not been announced.

Queensland is only hosting four games this RLWC, with the combined capacity for those games 160,455 (52,500 for Suncorp, 30,000 for CBUS, 25,455 for QCB), so they're saying just under 67% of the grounds will be filled with fans coming from outside of the state.

Whilst I'd love for it to be true, I honestly feel the locals won't leave enough seats for that many people to travel in for the games.

 

[Last Week]

I'd expect the following matches to sell out;

Aus vs NZ, PNG vs Lebanon, PNG vs Samoa, Tonga vs Samoa and the final.

The following could sell out;

Tonga vs Lebanon, Australia vs Cook Islands, and the Australian semi (depending on opponent).

The following should be aiming for 15-20k crowds;

England vs Tonga, England vs Lebanon, Samoa vs France, NZ vs Cook Islands, Australia vs Fiji and NZ vs Fiji.

Between magic round and state of origin, there's no reason why some reasonable promotion can't take place at these events for the major games which should guarantee sellouts.

People that go to magic round and Origin have disposable income and a large portion are devoted enough to travel. Advertise to them. Arrange traveling packages including hotels, flights, throw in some cruises, tours of the barrier reef, Harbour Bridge climbs, etc etc.

It's a shame there's no games in Melbourne as Origin is in Melbourne next year also. No cross promotion there that will really be effective.

There is so much they could do to make it an experience for customers.

 

[Perth Red]

It is expected that 110,000 interstate and international visitors will come to Queensland for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup matches hosted there. This number is a specific projection for Queensland's host cities and is expected to contribute over $18 million to the state's economy. The total number of international attendees for the entire tournament has not been announced.

• Projected visitors to Queensland: Around 110,000 interstate and international visitors.
• Economic impact: Over $18 million is expected to be injected into Queensland's visitor economy.
• Host cities in Queensland: Matches will be held at Suncorp Stadium, Cbus Super Stadium, and Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Far out some people have no trust here FFS

Love it when Govts try to justify sports spending with BS economic forecasts. So according to that 110k people will travel to QLnd and only 50k Qlnders will attend? And thats if every game was sold out!

 

[yakstorm]

What about the Samoa versus Tonga match? Can you put the updated map up for that please? Thanks!

Definitely been some movement along the sideline for this one.

 

[Jim from Oz]

View attachment 108141

Definitely been some movement along the sideline for this one.

Not bad … especially as there's 11 months to go !

 

[yakstorm]

Okay some better seating maps.

RLWC Opener (Sydney):


Samoa v France (Parramatta)

England v Tonga (Perth)

Fiji v Cook Islands (Newcastle)

 

[yakstorm]

Tonga v Lebanon (Parramatta):

England v France (Perth):

Australia v Fiji (Brisbane)


New Zealand v Cook Islands (Christchurch)

 

[yakstorm]

England v Fiji (Wollongong):

New Zealand v Fiji (Gold Coast)

Australia v Cook Islands (Townsville):

Tonga v Samoa (Parramatta):

 

[yakstorm]

Semi Final 1 (Newcastle):


Semi Final 2 (Sydney):

Final (Brisbane):

 

[Coastbloke]

Are the blue dots available/empty seats? Haven’t bought yet, but looking at Allianz opener and Samoa v France. Maybe Cooks v Fiji..

 

[yakstorm]

Are the blue dots available/empty seats? Haven’t bought yet, but looking at Allianz opener and Samoa v France. Maybe Cooks v Fiji..

Yeap the blue dots are what's on sale. Grey is a combination of sold & holds. I will look to try and differentiate them in future updates.

 

[adamkungl]

Final looks to be moving tickets, might have to make a decision on that sooner rather than later

 

[yakstorm]

Updated seating map for the final. Surprisingly they've already put on sale some of the restricted view seats in the lower bowl. Movement has been relatively slow since the last update at the start of December.

 

[yakstorm]

Updated ticket sales maps for some of the key games:

Competition Opener: Australia v New Zealand


Tonga v Samoa

Newcastle Semi Final


World Cup Final