Rugby: Band in the stand, fans on the field

It will not only be the Highlanders and Sharks treading the turf at Carisbrook tomorrow night.

With the Black Seeds playing after the game, and the eight-piece band to be housed in the Neville St stand, the crowd for the concert will stand on the pitch.

Highlanders marketing manager Doug McSweeney said the concert crowd would be encouraged to move on to the ground shortly after the game finished and the band should start about 10 minutes after the end of the game.

The band's performance will begin after a couple of songs from Denis Henderson.

The band will play a set of about 90 minutes.

He said getting on to the ground would be something unusual for fans and would be one of the last chances to get on to Carisbrook before the move to the Forsyth Barr Stadium.

He said because of the size of the band, it would be too hard for the musicians to be all located on a mobile stage, so the best thing was for them to be housed in the Neville St stand.

He said ticket sales had been ticking along "quite nicely", with the university student market being targeted.

He hoped for a crowd of about 10,000 but said that depended greatly on the weather.

A crowd of about 12,000 attended the game between the Highlanders and Crusaders last year, where Shihad played afterwards.

With the concert, tickets to the terrace have been increased by $25, to $45, but McSweeney said there had been no complaints about the increased prices. Most people seemed to accept there would be one game every year where a band would play and terrace ticket prices would increase.

People had the option of sitting in uncovered seats in the Railway stand for a cheaper price.

There was also a competition running for students where the four winners would get to arrive at the ground at halftime by helicopter.

The weather for tomorrow is expected to be cloudy, with brief rain possible.