Officials are confident the second Canberra Raiders NRL game at Equex Centre will draw a bigger crowd despite moving away from the Wagga Gold Cup carnival.
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The grand finalists will host Newcastle Knights on April 18.
Last year's game with Penrith, a 30-12 victory over the Panthers, directly followed from the city's showcase race meeting, with the Raiders keen to make it a massive weekend of sport in Wagga.
However a clash with the NRL's Magic Round in Brisbane, where all clubs play their games at Suncorp Stadium, has forced a change to this year's date.
Instead Wagga will be treated to a round six clash with a Knights outfit featuring the likes of Kalyn Ponga and Mitchell Pearce.
Raiders chief executive Don Furner doesn't believe it will have an adverse effect.
"The way we finished the season and the extra support that we got I think they will get 10,000 people," Furner said.
"It is not hard for Canberrans to drive the two hours to Wagga, it is still a great place to go for a weekend, and all of that will still happen.
"I wouldn't expect any smaller of a crowd."
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Wagga mayor Greg Conkey is excited to have Newcastle locked in as the second NRL club for next year.
He expects it will be great for the city.
"We were just under capacity last time, I think we were about 200 or 300 off, and I'm sure this year ther will be even more," Conkey said.
"Accommodation was at a premium last year because of the Gold Cup on the Friday but this is a great economic boost to the city."
The Knights are the second team this year's grand finalists will host in Wagga.
The Raiders committed to hosting NRL games in the city in 2019 and 2020, with an option for another in 2021, after striking a deal with Wagga City Council.
Furner expects talks for 2021 will begin before the game in April.
There were 10,079 spectators in attendance for the May 4 clash, where Canberra scored a 30-12 win over Penrith.
Works at the ground will see the capacity increase to around 12,000.
The Saturday afternoon game will kick off at 3pm with tickets coming on sale in December.
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