Gates to be thrown open for HIL opener on Jan 14
NEW DELHI: The gates of the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium will be thrown open for the public for the Hockey India League opener between Delhi Waveriders and Jaypee Punjab Warriors next Monday.
The Waveriders are offering 12,000 complementary tickets to the hockey fans in Delhi in their bid to build a connect with the city. The clash against Punjab will be first of six HIL encounters at the National Stadium.
“Our main aim is to promote the sport of hockey. At the end of the day most of the franchises are working on a zero-revenue model, at least in the first year. By offering these complementary tickets, we are hoping that we’ll be able to tap into the true hockey fans in the city,” a Waveriders source told TOI on Tuesday.
The fans can pick these tickets on the ticketgenie.com website.
The team is also utilizing the social media outreach to give out tickets to the fans.
“Delhi at the moment is going through a spell of cold wave but we expect the hockey fans to come out in large number for the HIL opener. As the weather starts to improve we hope that the crowds will keep on increasing in the subsequent matches,” the source added.
The second match of the Waveriders will be against the Mumbai Magicians on January 16. “We believe Indian skipper Sardar Singh will be one of the top draws for the Delhiites. This was one of the reasons why we bid so aggressively for Sardar in the HIL auction,” the source added.
The Waveriders have also sent out invites to 17 sports academies and schools in Delhi for the HIL opener.