BY STAFF WRITERS

Townsville has never seen anything like it – State of Origin is putting the rugby league-mad city on the map this Wednesday night when they host a historic clash between the old rivals in Game I of the 2021 series.

While fans in the north of Queensland have always loved their Cowboys, Wednesday is a whole different kettle of fish.

Additional seating has been added to Queensland Country Bank Stadium while hundreds of tents have been erected for those supporters who missed out on a hotel or home rental (both are at capacity).

A two-night stay in one of the tents isn’t cheap though.

“Footy Basecamp – Sleep under the stars with your fellow NRL fans, with this ultimate State of Origin camping package,” Townsville’s tourism website spruiks.

Two nights will set you back $285.

“This is the first time a State of Origin game is being played in a regional city – it’s history in the making and will be the biggest sporting event Townsville has ever seen,” QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted on Monday.

More than fifty trucks are headed for Townsville full of beer, food and all-important rum for the showdown.

Some of the numbers are frightening.

They include over 15,000 litres of beer, 500 litres of rum, almost a thousand pounds of beef and 12,000 meat pies!

Officials are expecting upwards of $10 million to be injected into local businesses by fans staying in and around Townsville.

Locals will have plenty of work on too with more than 800 hospitality staff working feverishly at over 80 functions that are planned for pre and post match. More than 1000 staff have been hired to work at the ground on Wednesday night.

There is also three live entertainment sites throughout the afternoon and into the night.

Flinders Street Fan Zone begins at 3pm (3pm to 11pm) while the Riverway Stadium and North Shore Oval live sites run from 5pm to 11pm.