Townsville cashes in on Origin as tents erected after hotels up room prices by 1380 per cent

Townsville is set to cash in on the first State of Origin game to be held in the city with the business owners making the most of the visitors.

Paula Jobson, Merchandise Coordinator at Cowboys Leagues Club, was left to explain to people the situation of not having any tickets to sell. Rugby League fans left dismayed in Townsville after waiting for a couple of hours for tickets to be released for sale, only to be told they were all sold out, before a ticket was even issued.

Townsville is going bonkers as the north Queensland city prepares to host its first State of Origin game.

The home of the NRL’s Cowboys, Townsville won the race to host Origin I when Melbourne was forced into a COVID lockdown last week.

It means Queensland Country Bank Stadium will be packed to the rafters on Wednesday night.

And the city is certainly cashing in on the excitement.

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The night before Origin tickets had even gone on sale, it was reported 97 per cent of accommodation in Townsville had been booked.

AAP journalist Scott Bailey told Twitter that one hotel had hiked the price of its last available room from a regular $135 per night to $1999 for that Wednesday... and someone snapped it up.

On Friday, WIN News Townsville revealed a tent city is being erected to house visiting Origin fans.

Members weren’t happy to be told there were no tickets left.

The tents can be booked for $285 per person, although as each tent is twin-share they are going for $570 each for the one night.

That price will get you a single bed with linen, and access to shared shower and toilet facilities. The tent will also get you transport to and from the stadium on game night.

The rush for accommodation follows chaotic scenes earlier in the week when Origin tickets went on sale.

Hoards of fans lined up for hours outside Cowboys Leagues Club, only to be told there were no tickets available to buy.

Originally published as Townsville cashes in on Origin as tents erected after hotels up room prices by 1380 per cent