Chiefs fans sporting true colours

Amy Cullen from Trek 'n' Travel gets behind the defending champion Chiefs team. Photo / Christine Cornege

Red, yellow and black merchandise hard to find in city's shops as Super Rugby final fever grips Hamilton

Chiefs fans are struggling to find merchandise, clothing and even red, black and yellow balloons with Hamilton fully in the grip of Super Rugby finals fever.

The Chiefs are hosting the Brumbies at Waikato Stadium tomorrow night - playing in their second home final in two years - and the city is getting behind them by donning their strip.

At night, Victoria Bridge lights up in the team's colours while the Garden Place fountains are also flashing in red, yellow and black.

Chiefs flags adorn Victoria St and the main entrances to the north and south of the city feature Chiefs-themed billboards welcoming visitors.

School pupils around Hamilton are being asked to wear Chiefs colours to class today while businesses throughout the city are also being encouraged to don the tricolours.

But Chiefs goods are in big demand and proving hard to find for some.

Hamilton i-site manager Michelle Williams said a number of businesses were having difficulty finding Chiefs-themed decorations for their workplaces ahead of the match because a lot of the shops stocking them had sold out.

"Things like the right-coloured crepe paper has been hard to find and some businesses I've been talking with are using German flags as Waikato flags because they can't get their hands on anything," she said.

Sandy Turner, general manager of the Hamilton Central Business Association, said she had to order about 600 of the right-coloured balloons from Auckland because of difficulties finding them locally.

Clothing retailers say Chiefs merchandise, cowbells and Waikato-coloured garments were hot property and had been flying off the shelves. Kukri Hamilton retail manager Laura Parkinson said: "People are after whatever they can get their hands on, beanies and socks ... and it's not just here in Hamilton either, we have had orders from Christchurch and even as far north as Whangarei," she said.

A Rebel Sports staff member in central Hamilton said its stores had run out of Chiefs merchandise about two months ago.

Variety and end-of-line store Dave's Emporium said it had had huge interest this week but still had a number of Waikato-related items available including face paints, pom poms and even balloons.

Hamilton deputy mayor Gordon Chesterman said the lack of available goods reflected a huge level of excitement within the city and the fact that retailers only had a week to prepare for the final.

"Of course having the final here in front of a sell-out crowd is absolutely fantastic for the city and people are embracing it."