Queensland Country Bank Stadium will be “ready to go” as Townsville gears up to host the State of Origin series opener next week.

Stadium manager Tom Kimble said it was “unchartered territory” with the biggest crowd ever at the stadium, and the NRL only confirming Townsville would host the match on Monday.

“We are are rapt, what an awesome opportunity not only for the Queensland Country Bank Stadium but also Townsville and north Queensland, getting to host the biggest rugby league game of all,” he told Scott Emerson.

Extra seating will be brought in to accomodate 27,000 fans.

“We’ve got some trucks coming up now for the Gold Coast they will be on site late tomorrow, they will start the structure build and scaffolding on Thursday, the seats will commence installation those additional 2000 seats will be installed on Saturday, looking for completion on Monday.”

His message is to arrive early, with gates opening at 6.30pm and entertainment kicking off around 7pm.

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Queensland Rugby League’s chief operating officer Rohan Sawyer said pulling off coup in a few days was a great outcome for Queensland.

“For the fans, it’s huge. It’s a really great opportunity to be able to connect with regional fans.”

He said it was an opportunity for some fans to get “up close and personal” with the State of Origin series.

“I think it will be a really interesting test case for us, I think one of t he things about Origin is you never struggle to sell tickets.

“Sometimes the capacity with these regional venues are their limitations.”

He said hopefully regional State of Origins could “kick back into play” again.

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Townsville bustling to pull State of Origin together within two weeks

Image: iStock