Ticket sales brisk for Phoenix

About 2500 tickets have been pre-sold to the Wellington Phoenix's home-away-from-home game against Sydney FC in Palmerston North on December 12.

Those include season ticket-holders from Wellington who have confirmed they will be travelling to the game.

But the early signs are good that Palmerston North will put on a decent show. Ticket prices for the match at FMG Stadium have been set cheaper than a Phoenix home game in the capital to encourage people to get along.

Arena Manawatu venues manager David Walsh said pricing was an important aspect to attract the punters.

"We wanted to make it affordable," he said. "We didn't want to price it off the map." The adult general admission for the game in Palmerston North will be $20 as opposed to $25 in Wellington.

A family of four can go along to FMG for $50 compared with $60 at the Cake Tin.

Walsh said they were on track to get 10,000 people to the game.

"Yes I do, absolutely [think 10,000 will turn up]. But again there are some factors in there," he said.

"Provided the Phoenix keep playing well, which is what they are doing, and the weather plays a part too."

The biggest crowd the Turbos rugby team attracted this year was 11,000 against Taranaki.

The Phoenix are on song in the A-League, unbeaten in their past 10 games, and are sixth on the ladder while Sydney FC are second behind the Melbourne Victory.

On Sunday, the Phoenix recorded their first away win in more than a year against Newcastle, by 1-0.

There are a lot of logistical hurdles to get the match up and running in Palmerston North including transport of signage, printing of new tickets and looking after corporate sponsors.

Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata said consumers didn't always have an idea of how much organisation went into a match.

"People roll up and watch the game but there's a whole lot of things behind that scenes; the ball kids, the honour guards, a ground announcer, the music," Pignata said.

"There's a whole host of things that we need to fulfil to our sponsors and the federation and people wouldn't get a full grasp of what's required."

Pignata said the success of the All Whites was a major marketing drawcard considering the Phoenix boast six All Whites.

Throw in quality imports in Paul Ifill and Chris Greenacre and the Phoenix are an attractive side to watch.

"You play football, but at the end of the day we are competing for entertainment dollars.

"We want to get 10,000 people there [FMG Stadium].

"We want to make sure we scream the house down, that it looks fantastic on TV and we want to make Sydney hurt a bit."

Christchurch will also host a Phoenix A-League game in January because Westpac Stadium is unavailable, also due to the turf upgrade.