1200 RESERVED SEATS SOLD

Southland Times, Issue 23287, 25 August 1937, Page 4

1200 RESERVED SEATS SOLD

Match Against South Africa FIRST BUYERS ARRIVE AFTER MIDNIGHT The plans of the reserved seats in. the new and old grandstands at Rugby Park for the Rugbv football match between Southland and South Africa on September 8 were opened to the public yesterday morning. There was not a great rush for seats, although 1200 of the seats priced at 10/- in the new grandstand were sold. These included several hundred seats distributed to the sub-unions for preferential booking. The first of the prospective purchasers arrived outside the Invercargill Sports Depot in Dee street shortly after midnight on Monday, but it was not until after 5 o’clock yesterday morning that numbers of agents and other purchasers began to assemble. By 7.30, when the depot was opened, there were between 30 and 40 persons waiting to get seats. Then those persons who were prepared to take the risk o£ all of the seats being sold before 9 o’clock put in an appearance and were able to buy what they wanted. Fifteen hundred seats in the new grandstand at 10/- each and 650 in the old grandstand at 7/6 each were available for booking. Just a few in the old stand were sold, and about 950 reserved seats remain to be sold. Yesterday the secretary of the Southland Rugby Union (Mr A. J. Hamilton) said that the result of the first day’s booking, considering the game would not be played for a fortnight, was very good. It was expected that a record crowd would attend the game. In 1921 the attendance at the match against the Springboks was estimated at 12,000. This year it was expected that between 15,000 and 18,000 would be present.