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Thread: All Blacks sell out NFL stadium

  1. #1
    Champion UNCLE BOOG's Avatar
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    All Blacks sell out NFL stadium

    The USA Eagles’ historic match against the New Zealand All Blacks at Soldier Field, sponsored by AIG, is officially sold out, USA Rugby announced Friday.

    Tickets for the Nov. 1 match at the 61,500-seat home of the National Football League’s Chicago Bears were first released to registered fans June 13 through a unique pre-sale opportunity. By the general on-sale date, June 16, 20,000 tickets had been sold.

    The highest attendance ever for an international rugby union match in the United States – 20,181 – was recorded at a match between the Eagles and Ireland at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, June 7, 2013. The Eagles’ match against the New Zealand Maori All Blacks at PPL Park in Philadelphia, Pa., last November set the record for a largest sell-out crowd with 18,500 tickets sold.

    A record crowd in the stands will also be dwarfed by the number of viewers watching the live broadcast on NBC. Universal Sports Network will host a pre-game show at 2 p.m. CT before NBC begins its live telecast at 2:30 p.m. The official match kick-off time is 3 p.m., but fans are encouraged to get to their seats early to hear Jim Cornelison and SOL3 MIO sing the national anthems of the United States and New Zealand, respectively, and to see the world famous haka performed.

    “This sellout crowd speaks to the growing popularity of rugby in the U.S.,” said Gary Quinn, vice president of programming & planning for NBC Sports Group. “More than 61,000 passionate fans at a historic venue like Soldier Field will paint a fantastic picture for the audience at home watching this game on NBC next Saturday.”

    “It’s been a while since we’ve hosted the All Blacks and I think you can tell with this sell out,” USA Rugby Chief Executive Officer Nigel Melville said. “The USA is growing as a rugby nation both on and off the field; I know the atmosphere in Soldier Field will be electric. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the global game of rugby to American sports fans at an iconic football stadium in Chicago and across the country via a live NBC broadcast.”

    Select merchandise is already available for sale on Shop USA Rugby, with a wider assortment of gear set to be sold in the stadium.

    Fans without tickets can still experience rugby fever in Chicago during the week of the match. A Rookie Rugby Festival, organized by AIG, the Illinois Youth Rugby Association, and USA Rugby, will be held in Jackson Park Saturday, Oct. 25. More than 30,000 kids in Chicago have been introduced to the flag version of the sport with AIG’s Rugby in a Box initiative, and they will demonstrate what they have learned with each other.

    “We are thrilled, albeit not surprised, by the official sell-out,” AIG Global Head of Sponsorship Daniel Glantz said. “As an Official Partner of both the USA and New Zealand sides we are excited for this milestone for the sport of rugby here in the U.S.”

    Rookie Eagle, the Eagles’ mascot, will take a tour of Chicago Wednesday, Oct. 29. The famous Chicago Bean and the Willis Tower Skydeck are just two of Rookie’s afternoon destinations, with a mouth-watering finale scheduled.

    Union Station will be the scene of the VIP rugby event of the year in USA Rugby Trust’s USA vs. All Blacks Gala. Select Eagles and All Blacks stars will be in attendance, as will more than 700 attendees. While registration for the Gala is closed, interested donors will have the opportunity to bid on a selection of memorabilia during the auction.

    On match day, the #USAvAllBlacks Fan Fest will help kick off the festivities in Soldier Field’s Stadium Green. Fans can interact with rugby activities from AIG, Heathrow Express, World Rugby Shop, and Smith & Forge Hard Cider, while Astellas Pharma US, Inc., and Men’s Health Network will provide free health screenings.

    For more information on events and game-day activities, visit the official event website.

    New Zealand is playing an international match in the United States for the first time since 1980. The game in San Diego drew a reported 14,000 fans, who witnessed a New Zealand win. The All Blacks are the current Web Ellis Cup Trophy holders following a Rugby World Cup win on home soil in 2011.

    “We are really pleased that American sports fans have responded so strongly to this very special opportunity to see their national side take on the All Blacks,” said Steve Tew, chief executive of New Zealand Rugby. “This is a great result for USA Rugby, as well as New Zealand Rugby’s key sponsors, Principal Partner adidas and Major Global Sponsor AIG, who have all worked very hard to help make this test a success.

    “Right from the outset we thought this match would be a great fit for a city which is so passionate about sport, so to see this historic test match now sold out is great news. This will be a really special week in Chicago and we are very much looking forward to arriving on Sunday.”

    Both the Eagles and All Blacks have announced their November Tour rosters. USA Rugby reached an agreement with Premiership Rugby to release U.S.-eligible players for the match in Chicago, which is not in the IRB’s end-of-year-test window.

    Follow live match updates from kickoff at Soldier Field on Twitter with @USARugby and the #USAvAllBlacks hashtag. Submit a video for the #AnswerTheChallenge campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and be entered to win two tickets to the match and touch line access to the All Blacks’ cultural challenge, the haka.

    The Legacy Agency has acted as USA Rugby’s exclusive commercial agent for the match.

    http://usarugby.org/mens-eagles-news...blacks-matchup

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    Immortal Contributor The InnFORCEr's Avatar
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    A friend from NZ was on the flight with the team and they went through the plane signing everyone's stuff, photos etc, sounded like a pretty awesome flight, if you were a kiwi that is

    They were called Team New Zealand by one journo and that didn't go down to well!!

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    more good rugby news!

    man, that is massive, and such a positively written piece!

    there's gold in them thar hills!

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    Veteran beige's Avatar
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    And this the same week that the NFL sold out Wembley... the world's gone cuckoo!

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    Veteran Sheikh's Avatar
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    So a soccer match has to sell out Twickenham to even things up?

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    Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

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    Champion UNCLE BOOG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sheikh View Post
    So a soccer match has to sell out Twickenham to even things up?
    no, a Pommy soccer match held at Eden Park!

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    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    Must be a lot of scaffolding work in Chicago.

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    Imagine how good the yanks would be if they took rugby seriously

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    Wests Scarborough 1st Grade juggernaut has played finals rugby each and every year since its inception and continues this remarkable feat yet again this season and unbelievably it's still rolling on and as an added little circle jerk for the masses Wests actually hold the record for the current longest unbroken finals record.

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    Champion UNCLE BOOG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by westies man View Post
    Imagine how good the yanks would be if they took rugby seriously
    would we ever be allowed to tailgate at NIB?!

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    Immortal Contributor The InnFORCEr's Avatar
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    Have you forgotten which nanny state you live in. How many laws would that break. Not to mention how much fun would be had by everyone, so much so that there wouldn't be enough fun police in Perth to charge everyone

    Here is a classic example from The West today

    High-class hotel denied 24-hour liquor licence

    Exclusive Tayissa BaroneOctober 29, 2014, 2:30 am

    The owners of a redeveloped hotel at the Old Treasury site wanted a 24-hour licence - the second in WA - for its bars and restaurants to service a "high-class" and "sophisticated" clientele.

    But the application to be the second WA venue licensed to serve alcohol around the clock after Crown Perth was rejected by the Director of Liquor Licensing because it could contribute to alcohol-related harm and violence in the CBD. Owners of the Old Treasury buildings declined to comment on the decision.

    In its application, The Treasury hotel detailed the clientele it hoped to attract through sophistication and a "pricing structure" that would also discourage those who wanted to overindulge.

    It would not allow its ambience, particularly its accommodation, to be jeopardised by raucous behaviour caused by alcohol or anything else.

    The $500 million redevelopment, due to open next year, has a 48-room six-star hotel at the site of the 135-year-old heritage-listed Treasury Buildings at the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street.

    It wanted two restaurants and bars to operate 24 hours, including its glass rooftop restaurant.

    The hotel agreed there was some local crime but said it would not increase from its "high-class nature" and "target patronage . . . being professional members of the CBD and wealthy tourists and businesspeople from overseas". But the executive director of Public Health, who said the application failed to acknowledge the potential for harm, and WA Police opposed the application.

    The Director of Liquor Licensing granted an extended trading permit for the hotel's venues to operate until 2am Monday to Saturday and until midnight on Sundays.

    He said the venue would be a positive contribution to Perth's facilities but a 24-hour licence was not in the public interest.

    https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/...iquor-licence/

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    Last edited by The InnFORCEr; 29-10-14 at 09:38.
    80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?

    Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!

    Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!

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    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    The All Blacks have slipped into Chicago virtually unnoticed for their historic clash with the United States.

    The world's most successful rugby team has not proven newsworthy in Chicago with none of the city's main media outlets featuring them today, less than six days out from their game against the US Eagles.

    Just three local journalists reportedly turned up to the team's first media opportunity.

    The massive Soldier Field stadium is officially sold out, meaning a crowd of 61,500 will attend the match at the home of the Chicago Bears American football team.

    The city's NFL franchise is dominating the local sports headlines after suffering a humiliating 51-23 road loss to the New England Patriots.

    With the spotlight on the Bears, rugby will have to fight for space as the All Blacks make their first appearance in the United States since 1980, with the sport desperate to make an impact.

    It's the silly season in American sport at the moment. The country is digesting a fascinating World Series baseball tangle between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals, and the NBA basketball season is about to start with the Chicago Bulls facing three games before rugby's big match in the city.

    The city's national ice hockey franchise, the Chicago Blackhawks, also face three games that will be considered more important than the rugby.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/a...hicago-arrival

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  12. #12
    (a.k.a. Mr Pinkbits) Stone Cold's Avatar
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    That's a fantastic crowd and will no doubt be a massive money spinner for the All Blacks. Maybe the Wallabies should look at a game or two over there to gather some coin...

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    coz Stone Cold says so

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    Champion UNCLE BOOG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jargan83 View Post
    none of the city's main media outlets featuring them today, less than six days out from their game against the US Eagles.
    no different from the West, Channel 7, 9 and 10 reporting of the Force!
    I think the ticket sales alone should be some indication of public interest. Hopefully it can sprout some knock on conversations. I for one hope the All Blacks turn it on, big time. I want to see Clever get sliced in half at the break down, see Smith conjur up some of his magical foot work, etc etc. Get the Yanks all riled up with excitement til their foaming at the mouth for more!

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  14. #14
    Senior Player Timbo's Avatar
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    Rugby is a University game in the US - obviously ranking well below NFL - but there nonetheless.

    There will also be a fair ex-pat attendance - my son is heading up from NY with his Kiwi girlfriend and 6 other Oz/NZ folk who work in NY.

    Should be good to see the crowd.

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    'God invented beer to prevent Props from taking over the world'



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    Legend Contributor Alison's Avatar
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    This made me laugh
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