It was billed as the Money Fight, with Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor each making mega millions for their clash in Las Vegas and it also proved to be a great day for the Fox Sports Venues which showed the pay-per-view fight.
The fight was the biggest pay-per-view ever for pubs and clubs, with more than 2000 venues, or 50 per cent of the Fox Sports Venues customer base, deciding to show the bout. With an extensive pre-PPV card and impressive Main Event undercard, venues were packed out early on Sunday with customers watching all the action.
Fox Sports Venues national pay-per-view manager, Japhy Duldig, told TheShout: “The hype and interest for this fight was unprecedented with all of Australia talking about who will win. And what a great fight it was with Conor proving he can box with the best and Floyd showing why he can be considered the best ever.”
“The fight proved to be a winner for our customers with huge attendances across the country with scenes of crowds spilling out the doors as people tried to watch through windows on the streets. We’ve had reports from venues that this was their biggest Sunday trade ever with customers lining up early waiting for the venue to open.”
“It’s been a massive year for boxing pay-per-view with Mundine v Green II, Pacquiao vs Horn and now Mayweather vs McGregor showing that nothing beats live sport in venues.”
William Ryan, Publican at Harold Park Hotel, told TheShout that his venue was packed out early with eager customers.
“It was standing room only, at Harold Park Hotel,” Ryan said. “Punters were advised we were not going to be taking bookings – First in, Best dressed – and the place was full by 11am. Lots of young men and women, many, I’m sure new to the sport. We did 500 meals, and 20 kegs of cold beer, amongst a wide array of trade.”
It was a similar story in Melbourne, with Lee Cleal, Group Sales & Event Manager, for The Woolshed, telling TheShout: “The fight certainly helped with increase in sales for the woolshed.
“It was a busy Sunday already with the footy on across at Etihad and also being Melbourne day celebrations in Docklands. The bar had approximately 140 people pre-booked to watch the fight, it probably would have been a lot busier had it not been torrential rain in the morning.”
Dixon Hospitality venues also enjoyed a positive day’s trading, with National Marketing Manager, Rebecca Daniels saying: “The Mayweather-McGregor fight this Sunday gone saw a steady flow of good-spirited crowds gather from midday at several of our venues. Custom throughout the day was positive and strong for all, with drinks and dining kicking on into the night – a positive trading day all round.”
The fight was also rolled out nationally through Event and Village cinemas, with around 100 screenings taking place at nearly 70 cinemas. Entry fees of between $28 and $45, serves to demonstrate the strong value on offer to customers who choose their pub or club watch live pay-per-view events.