Australia to allow 10,000-strong sporting crowds from July: PM Scott Morrison
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Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday confirmed that crowds of up to 10,000 people will be allowed into Australian sports stadiums from next month as COVID-19 restrictions are further relaxed in the country.
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday confirmed that crowds of up to 10,000 people will be allowed into Australian sports stadiums from next month as COVID-19 restrictions are further relaxed in the country.
The announcement by PM Morrison comes a day before New Zealand welcome fans back at its Super Rugby tournament. However, the catch in the announcement is that it will apply to stadiums with a capacity of 40,000 or under while ruling out the likes of Melbourne Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval for now.
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"We will be moving, as part of step 3, for events in stadia or other venues of that nature with a capacity of 40,000 or less to enable attendance at those events," he told reporters.
"This is not something that's happening straight away," he added. "This is something that would be happening as part of step 3, where states and territories choose to move to that, and it will require a bit more work."
The announcement opens the door for fans to cheer the teams at mid-tier stadia, which include hosts of Super Rugby games from July 3 – Canberra Stadium and AAMI Park in Melbourne.
Crowds have been barred from sporting events in Australia since mid-March when tournaments came to a crashing half due to COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the dreaded virus now under control Down Under, sporting action is slowly coming back to life with cardboard cutting making grounds appear less empty. Over 2,000 will be allowed in the stadium to watch a match between Adelaide fierce AFL rivals Port and the Crows on Saturday.