Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner joined Ian Smith to talk through the logistics behind running New Zealand’s most famous sporting ground ahead of the second Bledisloe Cup Test on Saturday.
Unfortunately for NZ rugby fans, Sautner failed to provide any valuable insight into ticketing for the weekend’s fixture when probed by Smith.
The CEO stopped short of mentioning just how many tickets were available for the second test, preferring to give a history lesson instead.
“Well this is obviously history in the making to have back-to-back test matches at Eden Park, it’s the first time in 90 years,” Sautner told SENZ Mornings.
“There are plenty of tickets still available with adults from $80 and kids from $25, it’s great value.
“It’s the opportunity to see the winning streak continue, a 35-year winning streak at Eden Park.”
Smith continued, raising the cost of attending the venue as a bugbear for fans. Sautner stuck to his guns and offered a long-winded response without directly answering the question.
“The challenge is that we’re (Eden Park) a billion-dollar asset,” Sautner said.
“We are trying to utilise the park more than just for a cricket and rugby facility. That then helps with continuity of staff but also reducing cost.
“But I look at it more like a library. The community invest in the library because we know it’s important to educate our youth. In this regard, I see stadiums as something that is critical to be invested in.
“What would a world be without live sport and entertainment, having that ability to go and see your heroes perform on one of the most historic and significant sports grounds in the world.”
Smith came back for one more bite at the ticketing cherry and once again, failed to get a definitive answer.
“I would love all your listeners to jump online and purchase today, but I’d be thinking that would be a great outcome (a sellout).
“We’ll just see, we’ll just see what happens in the next 48 hours.”