AFL 2020: SCG bosses enlist top US mathematicians to devise a way to bring crowds back
Top mathematicians and nuclear physicists from the US have been enlisted to devise ways for fans to safely return to sporting grounds – with the SCG bosses at the forefront of the revolution.
Sydney
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They say a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, and it might just bring crowds back to the SCG as well.
Mathematicians and nuclear physicists from America have devised equations they believe should allow sporting administrators to safely reintroduce strict numbers of spectators to major events in the coming months.
The SCG will operate at a loss every time it opens its doors for Sydney Swans matches without fans this season, starting with the AFL re-opener against Essendon on June 14.
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But there is a sweet theory from boffins in the US which is providing hope that at least 2500 Swans spectators wearing red and white could be carefully accommodated at the 48,000-seat capacity ground.
Just as the density of a tablespoon of sugar informs the density of a container of sugar, a maths professor at the University of Albany says the laws of “uniform density” can shape what a “COVID capacity” crowd might look like.
In other words, determining the number of people who normally sit a small area of the SCG when it’s sold out, could be used to deduce a “COVID capacity” across the whole ground once social distancing measures are applied.
The SCG has its own biosecurity expert advising them, and Tony Shepherd, who is the Trust Chairman as well as Chairman of the GWS Giants, confirmed the sporting heart of Sydney was examining overseas studies about how to get bums back on seats.
Well, on every 19th seat at least.
“I must stress I agree with the Premier. The return to full stadiums is a long way off. At the SCG we are looking at a progressive approach, taking expert advice, and of course (only) with the approval of the authorities,” Shepherd told T he Daily Telegraph.
“A game without attendance costs us money.
“But we owe the supporters as well. We’re looking for opportunities to be able to look after our members and our sponsors and the sooner we get going the better.
“We’re just looking at examples from overseas as to what they’ve done.
“It’s not reinventing the wheel. If you’ve got an example that works elsewhere, than use it.”
The SCG has viewed theories from maths genius Matt Zaremsky and another nuclear physicist from Tennessee, who both used Ohio State University’s 105,000-seat capacity “Horseshoe” football stadium as a test case for their models, which they recently detailed in American publication Mel Magazine.
Under both equations, the 48,000-capacity SCG would end up being able to theoretically seat around 2500 fans, which the SCG would manage like an Aldi shopping centre and allow only specific entrances and exits and eateries to be used to avoid foot traffic crossing each other around the stadium.
Zaremsky estimated you might have 20 people sitting within six feet (1.82 metres) of you in any direction at “The Horseshoe”. Meaning that dividing the capacity of the stadium by 20 would give you your “COVID capacity.”
Meanwhile, nuclear physicist Sam Novario’s theory is called “tessellation”, and is based on an equation involving the seats and rows at “The Horseshoe”.
Novario told Mel Magazine that tessellation creates “shapes that can be repeated like puzzle pieces to fill a plane” and estimates you could sit one spectator for every 19 seats and maintain social distancing and minimise people having to step over each other.
According to Novario, because there can only be one person in every 19 seats, you would divide the overall capacity of the stadium by 19.