Wembley attendance goal for Ashes revealed after strong start to sales

Organisers of this year’s Ashes have set the challenge of beating the crowd that was in attendance for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup semi-finals when international rugby league returns to Wembley.

This year’s three-match series between England and Australia will open in the capital. It is the first time an international rugby league game will be staged there for over a decade.

That day, 67,545 people watched a double-header as Australia beat Fiji and New Zealand defeated England in a dramatic late finale at Wembley.

RL Commercial are hopeful Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will sell out well in advance of the Ashes series beginning in late-October. AMT Headingley Stadium will almost certainly sell out in the coming weeks.

And when asked what the ticketing goal for Wembley was, RL Commercial CEO Rhodri Jones said: “We’ve worked the economics out. The first target is to break that 50,000 barrier.

“It means the lower bowl and that middle tier is full. Back in the 2013 World Cup there were over 60,000 in for that double header so that’s a natural target to overcome.

“Everton is a 50,000-seater stadium and our ambition is to sell that out. Headingley, we expect to sell out the quickest. There’s a bit of method in the madness.

“If we expect Headingley to go first, it pushes people towards Wembley. If we got to 80,000, that would be terrific.”

Tickets went on sale on Monday morning for England members with a priority link. A second window for sales opens later this week.

RFL officials are hopeful of significant numbers purchasing tickets as soon as they go on sale. Around 40,000 members of the public signed up for the advance link and registered their interest: and every one of those people were entitled to buy as many as 14 tickets.

READ NEXT: New Zealand Warriors star set for Super League move with suitors revealed