Aviva Premiership: Wasps sell 17,000 tickets for Ricoh Arena debut
Monday 1 December 2014 15:38, UK
Wasps have announced ticket sales of more than 17,000 for their clash with London Irish, their first match at the Ricoh Arena on December 21.
The club are relocating 70 miles north to Coventry after leaving Adams Park in Wycombe, where they have played home games since 2002.
Wasps, whose biggest home attendance so far this season is 7,397 against Bath, cited increased ticket sales and related revenue as one of the key reasons for their controversial move to share the ground with local football club Coventry City.
A 17,000-strong crowd would be the second biggest of the season in the Premiership, notwithstanding the two matches held at Twickenham Stadium in September.
"As someone who grew up in Coventry, the prospect of playing in front of a packed Ricoh Arena for our first game is massively exciting," said Wasps fly-half Andy Goode.
"This is a childhood dream come true. We’ve still got two important games before we play there, but there’s a real buzz around the squad and we just can’t wait to get out there and put on a show."
Wasps, who have dropped the London prefix to their name, have led a nomadic existence in recent years after moving from their traditional home of Sudbury, playing home games at QPR's Loftus Road before relocating to Adams Park and playing occasional one-off matches at the Ricoh.
The ground has a capacity of around 32,000.
