James Conway
THEY came, they saw, they conquered – 330,997 fans have passed through the turnstiles at Stadium Australia in July witnessing records broken both on the pitch and in the stands.
It began with the series 12 years in the making – the British & Irish Lions clinching their first series win in 15 years, downing the Wallabies in the decider on 6 July in front of a reconfigured ground record crowd of 83,702. From one decider to another, Queensland claimed an eighth straight Origin series win in front of 83,813 fans on 17 July – breaking the previous ground record crowd. Then the world’s biggest football team Manchester United visited our shores for the first time since 1999, securing their first win under new manager David Moyes with a 5-1 win over the A-League All Stars in front of 83,127 fans on 20 July.
Here’s how #theBIGjuly looks:
- Sat 6 July: Wallabies v British & Irish Lions (83,702 – *reconfigured ground record crowd)
- Sat 13 July: NSW Waratahs v Queensland Reds (26,037)
- Sun 14 July: Canterbury Bulldogs v Melbourne Storm (16,406)
- Wed 17 July: State of Origin III (83,813 – *reconfigured ground record crowd)
- Sat 20 July: Foxtel A-League All Stars v Manchester United – 83,127
- Mon 22 July: South Sydney Rabbitohs v St George Illawarra Dragons – 14-571
- Fri 26 July: Canterbury Bulldogs v Parramatta Eels – 23,341
Sydney’s former Olympic venue played host to one of the biggest weeks in sport since the 2000 Olympics – a week that featured two footy blockbusters that attracted 166,940 fans through the gates, lured 40,000 visitors to the city and pumped $31 million into the NSW economy.
The deciding State of Origin game between NSW and Queensland on Wednesday 17 July was followed hot on the heels by the Manchester United v A-League All Stars classic on Saturday 20 July with both games also breaking TV ratings records.
The back-to-back blockbusters were two of five monster games attracting sell-out crowds of more than 80,000 to Stadium Australia in the past two months.
The crowds were:
- June 5: STATE of ORIGIN I – 80,380
- June 18: AUSTRALIA v IRAQ World Cup qualifier – 80,523
- July 6: AUSTRALIA v BRITISH & IRISH LIONS deciding Test – 83,702
- July 17: STATE OF ORIGIN III The Decider – 83,813
- July 20: MANCHESTER UNITED v A-LEAGUE ALL STARS – 83,127
The total crowd for this amazing run of events was 411,545.
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