Following the Vitality Netball World Cup which took place earlier this year in Liverpool, England Netball has recorded its fastest and highest grossing ticket sales to date across two of its upcoming competitions.
Since the Vitality Roses; England’s elite netball team, won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and journeyed to bronze at a home World Cup in July, netball has been thrust into the limelight and allowed England Netball to enjoy significant ticket revenue growth.
After the Vitality Netball World Cup came to an end, England Netball went on sale with a new international competition; the Vitality Netball Nations Cup, which runs from 19-26 January and will see the Vitality Roses face world champions New Zealand, South Africa and Jamaica across four days in Nottingham, Birmingham and then London.
To date, over 21,000 spectators are set to travel to the Nottingham and London venues on three days of the tournament, all of which have completely sold out. The only tickets that now remain are for the second day of the series in Birmingham on Wednesday 22 January, which will see England take on South Africa.
Excluding the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup which was hosted by a separate organisation, the Vitality Netball Nations Cup is the fastest and best-selling event in England Netball’s history. Over 65% of overall sales for the international series were made on the first day of tickets going on sale, which saw England Netball processing up to 85 transactions per minute.
Fans snapped up more tickets on the first day of sales for the Vitality Netball Nations Cup than for the whole January 2019 Netball Quad Series, which in total sold 11,500 tickets.
Jess Thirlby, Vitality Roses Head Coach, said: “It is wonderful to see the netball family and those with a new found interest in the sport getting behind the Vitality Roses. These incredible athletes inspired a nation when they claimed gold at the Commonwealth Games and when they stepped out to a sea of red and white in Liverpool during the Vitality Netball World Cup. Their ability to capture the hearts of the country is made clear by the phenomenal rate at which these tickets sold and the demand that there has been for them.
“I don’t think it’ll be long before Birmingham tickets are gone too for the Vitality Netball Nations Cup, despite it being a week night, as it’s going to be an incredibly exciting series with it being the first time the Roses have played on home soil since the World Cup. Netball fever is spreading, that is evident by the popularity of this upcoming series and the support the squad received during our most recent run out and impressive away victory against South Africa. I hope it continues as I can’t wait to see our fans out in force in 2020.”
Not only has England Netball experienced growth in ticket sales at an international level, but also when it comes to the Vitality Netball Superleague, with 95% of tickets having already sold for the Season Opener competition on 22 February at Arena Birmingham.
This is an increase of 53% sold last year for the event, which is set to see all 10 teams come head to head to kick start the season.
Fran Connolly, CEO of England Netball, said: “It is absolutely clear that success at an elite level drives growth across many aspects of the sport and it’s hugely reassuring to see the successes of the Vitality Roses now filtering down to positively impact our domestic ticket buying audiences within the Vitality Netball Superleague. To capitalise on this success we are focusing a lot of our efforts on supporting and growing the Vitality Netball Superleague, which sits just below the international level of the sport. We want this to be the best women’s league in the country and to get more people engaged with the competition.
“Seeing that almost all tickets for Season Opener have sold means we are on the right track and that netball in this country has never been in a better position. We’ve been working with our venues to ensure as many fans as possible can see elite netball in 2020, with an additional 10,000 tickets being made available to spectators across all of our upcoming events. Looking ahead to the future, we’re already in conversations to ensure that we can continue delivering a fantastic experience for spectators in some of the country’s largest and most prestigious indoor arenas.
“I am delighted with how popular both of our upcoming events have been and I can’t wait to see it continue to grow.”
Remaining tickets for the Vitality Netball Nations Cup in Birmingham and Season Opener can be purchased via the England Netball website.
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