Super Rugby Pacific final: Hurricanes’ $500k bonus, likely first sellout since 2016 in decider against Chiefs
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
What: Super Rugby Pacific final, Hurricanes v Chiefs. Where: Hnry Stadium, Wellington. When: 7.05pm Saturday, Sky Sport 1.
The Hurricanes are urging fans to get in quick on Tuesday morning, with potential for the Super Rugby Pacific final to sell out within hours as the club eyes a $500,000-plus bonus for hosting rights.
Tickets for Saturday’s 7.05pm decider between the Hurricanes and Chiefs at Wellington’s Hnry Stadium went on pre-sale for members of both clubs on Monday, and will open to the general public at 10am on Tuesday.
Hurricanes chief executive Tony Philp was confident the ‘house full’ sign for the 34,500-capacity stadium would go up, and warned people not to wait too long.
“Tuesday 10 o’clock, we’re hoping that this thing will be blowing up and that we’ll be sold out by Tuesday night,” Philp told The Post.
Assuming all tickets are snapped up, it will be the first time the Hurricanes have sold out their home base since 2016 when a crowd of 34,014 roared them to a 20-3 victory over South Africa’s Lions - still the club’s solitary title in their 30-year existence and most recent appearance in a final.
Hurricanes loose forward Brad Shields is the only remaining member of that victorious side in the current squad.
The Chiefs hammered the Crusaders 49-12 in Friday’s first semifinal and are contesting their fourth straight decider but haven’t won a title since 2013 under Dave Rennie. They ended the Canes’ title hopes in 2024 with a capital semifinal upset.
The top-seeded Hurricanes stormed into the final with a 57-21 victory over the Blues on Saturday before a crowd of 24,067 - around 7000 more than their best regular season attendance against the Crusaders in May - and became the first team to top 100 tries in a season.
Philp insisted they wouldn’t hike ticket prices just because it was a final, pointing out that a family of five could attend for $150.
“We didn’t want to change our strategy and approach to making sure we connect with our fans and our community… We’ve made sure we’ve balanced it out and we didn’t want to outprice the fans that have been really loyal to us to date.
“The top ticket price is $99 which we feel is really competitive because we want the stadium filled to the brim.”
There is an obvious financial benefit, too, for a club whose struggles escalated to a $2 million deficit last year when property developer Malcolm Gillies rode to the rescue and purchased Wellington Rugby Union’s 50% share in the Hurricanes.
At the time Gillies spoke about reconnecting with the community, playing a style of rugby the Hurricanes’ fans could be proud of and making the whole game-night experience something to remember.
On that note, Super Rugby Pacific announced on Monday night that former Australian Idol winner Stan Walker would perform at halftime at Hnry Stadium.
Host teams get to keep profits from playoff matches, and Philp said this hefty sum would be reinvested into the club and the game.
“We pay a fee to the Chiefs and rightly so, and there are a lot of costs, and we’re looking at a minimum of a half-million dollar profit, at least, which is what you’d expect from a final. It would have been easy to put the prices up and generate more (revenue) selfishly but it’s not what we’re about as a club.”
Saturday’s long-range Wellington forecast is for showers and a maximum of 16C. Both teams are announced at 4pm on Wednesday.