Three games have sold out at Eden Park - two All Blacks matches and the final. Photo / Getty Images
Three games have sold out at Eden Park - two All Blacks matches and the final. Photo / Getty Images
Eden Park is close to selling out for all its Rugby World Cup pool games as ticket sales begin to pick up.
More than $4 million of tickets have sold in the past week, with sales high among Australians buoyed by the Wallabies' victory against the All Blacks on Saturday.
Rugby NZ 2011 chief Martin Snedden said organisers were now confident of meeting their goal of $268.5 million in sales, which is 85 per cent of the total tickets available.
With nine days until the cup tournament starts, sales have raised $242.3 million, meaning 170,000 seats are still available.
"There will be more than 50,000 at each Eden Park pool match," Mr Snedden said. "Hamilton has been amazing, and Napier has two games nearly sold out."
He said the public presumed that ticket sales dropped off when the tournament started, but this was not the case.
"If you look at the Sydney Olympics, 20 per cent of tickets were sold in the four weeks before ... and during the games."
Three games have sold out - two All Blacks matches and the final - and the opening match between New Zealand and Tonga is also expected to get a capacity crowd of 60,000 at Eden Park.
There are 4000 tickets remaining for the match, which Mr Snedden said would be a fiery start to the tournament, with each team trading haka after a 20-minute opening ceremony.
International Rugby Board chief Mike Miller urged New Zealanders to buy tickets before matchdays arrived, or many would miss out.
"You may find there aren't any tickets available for the match you want to go to or at the price you want," he said.
"You're not getting the Rugby World Cup back here for a long time."
He told the Herald that compared with previous hosts New Zealand was "right on schedule" in its preparations.
Mr Snedden said the growth in sales and the near-completion of all Rugby World Cup infrastructure meant "the stress is dropping away and the excitement is building".
Mr Miller toured The Cloud on Queens Wharf for the first time yesterday, and described it as a "fantastic structure ... with a great view".
