The sold out sign will be going up at Accor Stadium on Wednesday evening for State of Origin Game 1, with the NRL confirming the series-opening clash has no tickets remaining.
The stadium, which once hosted the Sydney Olympics in 2000, is Australia's second-largest venue, behind the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which occupies the record for the biggest Origin crowd of all-time, when it recorded a crowd of 91,513 in 2015.
Sydney's biggest crowd previously for an Origin contest was 88,336 in 1999. The stadium's capacity is now limited to 83,500 following rennovations after the Olympics.
It's anticipated that tonight's sell out will see a crowd close to that capacity number, with there being no tickets remaining.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the sold out sign has failed to go up in recent years, with all three games of last year's series being played north of the Tweed, in Townsville, Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.
Prior to that, restrictions saw the crowd limited to just 36,212 attend the Blues' home game during 2020. It will make Wednesday's Game 1 the biggest crowd since 2019, when 82,565 people attended the series decider in Sydney.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said in a statement that it would be an exciting evening for the players.
“The support from our fans this Origin series has been fantastic. A sold-out stadium in Sydney for game one will be an amazing atmosphere and experience for players and fans,” Abdo said.
The NRL also confirmed in their statement that there were only "limited" tickets remaining for Game 3 in Brisbane, while Game 2 in Perth is also selling strongly.
