Small crowds will be allowed to attend Australian Super rugby games when action returns in July. This comes after a four month break due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
ACT Brumbies, have been given the go ahead to allow up to 1,500 spectators at their Canberra Stadium when action resumes. The Brumbies will host Melbourne Rebels on July 4th, which will be the opening weekend of the Super Rugby Australia competition. The Chief Executive Officer at Brumbies Rugby, Phil Thomson said, “We’re really happy that we will be able to have some of our members at our first game”. He said he was “hopeful” to be able have more members and fans at games throughout the season.
The Canberra Times report that if the crowd comeback is a success ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has said there will be a further easing of restrictions. This would come into place at the end of July/early August. The easing of restrictions would lead to a 6,000 attendance which is around 25% of Canberra’s Stadium capacity. Officials from the Brumbies and Canberra Raiders, who shared the stadium, met on Friday to discuss fan access, stadium configuration and how to manage attendance numbers. However, some of the details are still to be sorted through. The Canberra Times reporting that the entire western side of the stadium will be a “clean zone” for the players.
The Brumbies have opened a ballot for the 1500 tickets for the game. This will see a mix of fans and corporate backers filling the seats. The Raiders will announce their plans later next week once plans are evaluated.
