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New Zealand Warriors sponsor Vodafone spends a fortune on an incredible gesture to make sure the club’s final home game for the season will be spectacular
- Vodafone has bought every ticket at Mount Smart Stadium for Sept 3 clash against Gold Coast – and will give them away to fans
- Warriors chief hopes to see the stadium packed out for the final game
- Tickets will be made available through Ticketmaster from Monday
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The New Zealand Warriors will miss the finals for the fourth straight season but Auckland’s NRL outfit will boast a full house for their last game of the year next weekend.
Major sponsor Vodafone has bought every remaining seat at Mount Smart Stadium for the September 3 clash against Gold Coast, and will give away tickets to fans.
‘It’s a tremendous gesture,’ Warriors chief executive Cameron George said.
‘We had a rough two and a half years with our players being unable to perform on home turf in front of their fans due to border closures.
Tohu Harris of the Warriors leads the team out during the round 16 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Wests Tigers at Mt Smart Stadium. It was the first time the Warriors had played at home in more than 1000 days
‘We can’t wait to see fans packing out Mt Smart once again as we put a line under our COVID exile and celebrate the dawn of a home season back in New Zealand.’
Vodafone has sponsored New Zealand’s sole NRL side for two decades and has extended its deal to the end of the 2026 season. Tickets will be made available through Ticketmaster from Monday.
In early August the club was in the news after security guards evicted a local fan for drinking a beer out of his shoe.
Calley Gibbons, 31 – dubbed Roger Shoey Vasa-Shack by other fans – said he was banned for life by a security guard for doing the shoey during the Warriors’ big win over the Bulldogs.
A petition was hastily launched to get Gibbons back into the stadium and it gathered over 3000 signatures.
The Warriors released a statement afterwards saying Gibbons was not banned and they hoped to see him again at a home game.
Vodafone has bought every ticket at Mount Smart Stadium for Sept 3 clash against Gold Coast – and will give them away to fans.
In early July the Warriors had a long-awaited return to their home ground, which they hadn’t played at in more than 1000 days.
No team in the NRL gave up more during the pandemic than the Warriors, who were forced to base themselves in Redcliffe, Queensland due to Covid travel restrictions.
Without the team’s sacrifice, the entire NRL competition would have suffered untold damage – but according to furious fans, that wasn’t acknowledged in the coverage of the game, which saw Foxtel commentators Brenton Speed and Shane Flanagan calling the action from a studio in Australia.
‘This is the Warriors biggest game since 2011 and Fox give us Brenton Speed and Shane Flanagan. They’ve admitted they don’t care about the Warriors by doing that,’ wrote Kenny Mac.
Warriors cult hero Calley Gibbons said he was told he had a life ban from the club’s home ground for doing a shoey in front of the coach’s box – but the club has encouraged him to keep coming to their games
‘Commentators remotely sounds so s**t. Can’t feel any atmosphere. Shame as it’s such a big occasion back in NZ. Hope this isn’t a regular thing,’ tweeted JR Stewart.
Warriors chief executive Cameron George has called for every one of the club’s NRL games in 2023 to be played in New Zealand to reboot the sport in the country.
‘It works for the game, because it can inspire the next generation and gives something back to the Warriors after being on the road for three years,’ he said.
You’re dealing with a country that provides a large percentage of the talent pool of the NRL.’