In the first weekend back for live sport across New Zealand, Ticketmaster have helped the Blues host a sell-out clash against the Hurricanes at Eden Park.

The Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa became the first professional rugby tournament in the world to commence since lockdowns began around the world. New Zealand has led the way with the battle against the pandemic, with no new cases in over three weeks and no active cases, with the government moving to Level 1 and allowing live sport to return in stadiums.

Eden Park’s match-day capacity of 43,000 was reached before the Sunday afternoon game, proving that New Zealand fans are eager to get straight back to live entertainment.

As our first The Journey To Live Fan Survey (results coming soon) demonstrated, while fans’ desire to attend live events remains incredibly strong, fans also expect health and safety precautions and protocols to be in place at venues.

Listening to fan needs, Ticketmaster had in place contingency plans for both a sell-out event and for ticket sales at the gates. Gate staff were set up to obtain accurate customer information for every ticket holder, alongside having NZ Government COVID-19 contact tracing app QR Codes displayed around the venue encouraging patrons to download the app.

Customers were encouraged to purchase digital tickets before event day to ensure they could be kept up to date on venue and access information, resulting in a venue sell-out by 12pm.

The 43,000-strong Eden Park crowd was the biggest for a Blues Super Rugby match in 15 years.

The new Super Rugby tournament will see the five New Zealand Super Rugby teams – the Blues, the Chiefs, the Hurricanes, the Crusaders and the Highlanders – go head-to-head in a home and away series over the next ten weeks.