It is the opening match for both teams in the new Nations Championship competition.
A general view of Ellis Park, that has been rebranded. Picture: Shaun Roy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Ellis Park, home of the Lions and one of South Africa’s most iconic sports stadiums, has unveiled 10bet as its official naming rights partner, marking the start of a five-year agreement.
As part of the rebrand, the venue, which hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, will now be known as 10bet Ellis Park.
The stadium was formerly known as Emirates Airline Park.
Ticket sales
Managing Director at Ellis Park Stadium, Pieter Burger welcomed the new commercial partnership highlighting it as being a new chapter for the internationally renowned venue.
“Ellis Park has always been more than a stadium; it is a place where history is made, where communities gather and where brands become part of unforgettable sporting memories. We are delighted to welcome 10bet into the Ellis Park family as our official naming rights partner.”
The newly branded stadium’s first official match will be Saturday’s Nations Championship opener between the Springboks and England, kicking off at 5.40pm.
With a capacity of around 62,000 when full, SA Rugby hopes to have around 55,000 fans in the stands for the match (91% capacity, as has historically been the case for home Tests against England).
Ticket sales have allegedly been slow, but it has been learned that organisers of Saturday’s Test have reduced the price of some tickets in a push to get more bums on seats.
Tickets are still available in most areas of the stadium, ranging from R650, to R950, to R1750.
High-end tickets are also available for R2350 and R3000.
The previous cheapest ticket for Saturday’s Test was R950. The newly reduced R450 tickets have seemingly been snapped up.
Earlier this week SA Rugby told The Citizen that assertions of a lack of interest in the Test were unfounded and not supported by the actual sales data.
“SA Rugby hopes to get close to the historic average against England in South Africa of 91% of the stadiums’ capacity in a market in which tickets are on sale for four Test matches and two provincial matches against the touring All Blacks,” said a SA Rugby spokesperson.
International matches in region
Besides the Boks’ Test at Ellis Park on Saturday, there are five other high-profile international matches taking place in Gauteng this season.
In Pretoria next weekend, the Boks face Scotland, also in the Nations Championship, while Rassie Erasmus’ team face the All Blacks in two Tests in Joburg later this season, at Ellis Park on 22 August and at FNB Stadium on 5 September.
Additionally, the touring All Blacks, who’ll be in South Africa for a month as part of their Greatest Rivalry tour, will also face provincial sides the Bulls, on 11 August, and the Lions, on 25 August.
The last time the Boks and England squared off at Ellis Park, on 9 June 2018, there were 55,260 fans in the stands – similar to what is anticipated this weekend. The Boks won that match 42-39.
Last season, for the Boks’ shock loss of 38-22 against Australia, there were 51,330 spectators inside Ellis Park.
