Ticket sales for tonight's football match between the Wellington Phoenix and English Premier League club West Ham United picked up yesterday, but organisers hope to sell another 4000 before the game kicks off.
Phoenix general manager David Dome said 17,000 tickets had sold in Auckland by 5pm yesterday and he hoped 21,000 would be sold by this evening. A crowd of more than 20,000 will need to head to the Eden Park game for the Phoenix club, which underwrote and promoted the match, to break even.
A photo tweeted by the English club yesterday showed West Ham manager Sam "Big Sam" Allardyce swapping one of the London side's famous claret and blue jerseys for an All Blacks one from Blues coach Sir John Kirwan. Another tweet showed West Ham's New Zealand defender Winston Reid being presented with a Blues jersey at Eden Park.
Game on
When: 7.30pm
Where: Eden Park
What: Wellington Phoenix v West Ham United
Players to watch: Kiwi-born West Ham defender Winston Wiremu Reid signed with the English team after he played for New Zealand in the 2010 World Cup. English striker Andy Carroll became a permanent fixture in the West Ham team in June last year, at a cost of £15 million ($30 million).
