Cricket Australia said 117,322 fans streamed into the Gabba stadium for the first three days, smashing the previous record of 93,143 set in 1933.
BRISBANE: Attendance at the Ashes opener has matched the hype surrounding the series, with Cricket Australia announcing a new Brisbane ground record on Saturday just three days into the first Test.
Cricket Australia (CA) said 117,322 fans streamed into the Gabba stadium for the Test's first three days, smashing the previous record for the Brisbane Test of 93,143 set in 1933.
The old record, achieved during the controversial "Bodyline" series, was set over six days.
CA spokesman Peter Young said the figures confirmed the huge interest in the Ashes and predicted ground records across Australia would continue to tumble throughout the five-Test series.
Most Ashes tickets sold out within hours as fans scrambled to see Australia's quest to regain international cricket's oldest trophy after England's shock win last year.
Young said if current trends continued, more than a million fans would watch the scheduled 25 playing days in the Test series, making it "arguably the biggest sporting contest ever seen in Australia".
"They're fabulous figures that are indicative of the passion the Australian public feel for cricket," Young said.
"Cricket's on fire in Australia, it's far and away the most popular sport in the country."
He said there would be intense interest in attendance at the refurbished Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where crowds of more than 400,000 are expected over the five-day Test, beginning on December 26.
"That's a world record for any (cricket) venue," he said.
Young said the success of the Ashes series would help cement cricket's dominance in Australia.
"I've no doubt that in 20 years from now a large number of people will be saying 'I fell in love with cricket during the Ashes series in the summer of 06/07'," he said.
Young also praised the crowd's behaviour at the Gabba, where authorities have been trying tough new security measures after South African players complained of being racially abused while touring earlier this year.
"The police have been really pleased with the crowds, sure we're only three days in, but it's looking good," he said.
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