WHEN was the last time tickets for two very different York sporting events sold out within hours?

We could have anticipated the rush for Royal Ascot. This is a one-off opportunity for the North to gatecrash high society's "season", and enjoy a top festival of racing to boot.

More gratifying, though, is the rush for York Knights' tickets. The reinvented, reinvigorated club was first given a pitifully small allocation of 650 for its National League Finals Day appearance.

The speed at which these were snapped up will send a message to the Rugby Football League about the thriving health of the game in York.

Updated: 11:40 Tuesday, October 05, 2004