Basketball fans vent anger at ‘shambolic’ seating for Boomers blockbuster against Team USA
Aussie basketball legend Shane Heal has hit back at Russell Crowe over his complaints about the highly anticipated Australia-Team USA blockbuster, saying the famous Rabbitohs fan wouldn’t know what a 51,000-strong crowd looked like.
Australian basketball legend Shane Heal has taken a swipe at Oscar winner Russell Crowe’s whinge about ticket prices and seating at last night’s Australia-Team USA blockbuster at Marvel Stadium, as the ACCC confirmed it would probe the event.
South Sydney Rabbitohs shareholder Crowe joined a chorus of disgruntled fans to vent on Twitter about poor visibility and pricing.
“It’s disappointing from someone like Russell Crowe,” Heal told the Herald Sun.
“He hasn’t seen that many people unless you added five Rabbitohs’ games together, the last time he saw 51,000 people at a game, no wonder he’s a little bit bitter.”
Heal urged fans to “see the positives” of basketball attracting such a huge crowd despite the withdrawal of high-profile NBA stars.
“Sometimes everyone can get carried away with some of the negativity rather than seeing the positives for the sport,” Heal said.
“People that probably bought tickets a year ago (were) speculating on who may be available, unfortunately you can go through all of the (World Cup) countries, and not everybody was available for various reasons, that’s life.
“I think it’s easier to look at the negatives rather than appreciate the players that are on the court.
“They probably went with a little bit of negativity anyway because in their mind, what they paid for, was for other players that weren’t available.”
Australia’s consumer watchdog confirmed it is now probing the poor views that outraged fans who flocked to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
The ACCC confirmed it had been investigating the promoter and ticket seller of the Melbourne series for more than week over promotional material that suggested some of the best basketballers on earth would play.
But ACCC chair Rod Sims told the Herald Sun a flood of complaints from fans at last night’s game meant it would now probe whether supporters had gotten what they had paid for.
“We’ve been in touch with the company in relation to allegations that they sold tickets based on certain players playing, when in fact many — if not all — who were on the posters and were said to be playing withdrew,’’ he said.
“So we’re investigating that … but given last night’s reaction to the seating we’re also looking to see whether consumer’s have been misled in relation to the seating.’’
The ACCC is considering taking the matter to court but Mr Sims said the promoter and ticket sellers “had to assess their own behaviour’’ and “what they can do to fix that up’’.
Penalties for misleading consumers can include fines of up to $10 million per breach and 10 per cent of a company’s turnover.
But in a joint statement, Basketball Australia and promoter TEG said the match was “the biggest basketball event ever staged in Australia’’ and likely to be “surpassed’’ when the second game is staged on Saturday.
“It is worth noting the feedback to us has been strongly positive,’’ it said.
“Clearly there have been some fans that feel their expectations were not met on their purchased seats.’’
It revealed TEG Live and Marvel Stadium “worked with a number of fans at the game to make alternative arrangements’’ when they complained about seating.
“Of the 11,000 fans who had purchased floor seating to last night’s game, only 200 people were relocated,’’ it said.
“They were relocated promptly without issue and just two refunds were requested.’’
Meanwhile, a Sydney law firm claims it’s investigating potential class action proceedings against TEG Live — the promoters of the Melbourne basketball series.
Bannister Law is investigating whether ticketholders were allocated seats where they could not see the game properly or at all.
“If so, those ticket holders may have a claim under the Australian Consumer Law,’’ Charles J Bannister said in a statement.
“It is understood that ticketholders of the game may have been misled by TEG Live under the Australian Consumer Law provisions of misleading and deceptive conduct after relying on certain false representations made by the company.’’
The statement said “ticketholders may have been induced into purchasing their tickets based on TEG promoting that certain high profile NBA players would be appearing at the game, when they did not appear or play’’.
It comes after basketball fans blasted the obstructed views at last night’s Marvel Stadium match, with some needing binoculars to see players from purported “VIP” sections.
Others, including Hollywood heavyweight Russell Crowe, found themselves looking at the back of people’s heads from “courtside” seats that had no elevation.
Crowe tweeted a video of the obstructed view from his front-row seat and said: “$1500 a ticket for this view. AUS v USA. Jokes on me.
“If you weren’t among 50,000 there and you chose to watch it on TV at home, good decision.”
He went on to explain that the people obstructing his front-row seat were officials and workers, saying the price he paid for was a ticket alone and did not include a drinks package.
The furious actor lashed out at Basketball Australia, saying the only thing achieved by the sporting body was “joining with the promoters in ripping off well meaning lovers of the sport”.
“It was a farce,” he added.
Crowe also took aim at promoter Teg Dainty, which claimed on social media not to be responsible for the event.
He was joined by other fans who vented throughout the pre-World Cup friendly on social media after being left frustrated by the withdrawal of NBA superstars including Ben Simmons, James Harden and Anthony Davis from the Melbourne showpiece.
Other disgruntled patrons, already frustrated about the lack of star power at the game, compared the World Cup warm-up match at Marvel Stadium to the ill-fated Fyre Festival, a fraudulent luxury music event in the Bahamas.
Aussie fan Kieran McIntosh said he was “filthy” at paying about $450 to sit 13 rows from the front and still not see the action.
“What’s the point of sacrificing all that money and watching it on a big screen,” he said. “May as well have watched it at home on TV.”
A crowd of 51,218 packed Marvel Stadium for the much hyped match, despite fan frustration.
With the court — shipped from the US — being elevated by more than 90cm, fans in even some of the highest paying seats struggled to see more than players shoulders.
Those who were seated on “the floor” had limited viewing, and people in the back rows of the stadium were so far from the action they needed to rely on big screens hanging over the court to make out the player numbers.
Fans paid hundreds — and in some cases thousands — of dollars for tickets to the exhibition game, hopeful of seeing some of the world’s biggest basketball names in the flesh.
Peter Mitchell, who paid $1000 for a corporate seat and function, wasn’t happy.
“It’s great so many basketball fans came out to support it but it’s a footy stadium,” he said. “It could have been so much better.”
Grant Williams flew from Brisbane for the match and said he wished he saved his money.
“As if the rip off tickets weren’t enough, we’ve paid for flights and accommodation,” he said.
“We will be selling our tickets for Saturday, if anyone buys them.”
James added: “Imagine paying $400 to see a string of players who didn’t show, then these are your seats.
“These kids won’t see a thing, the court is raised and they are in plastic chairs on ground level. This is a cheese sammich (sic) away from this being sports answer to the Fyre festival.”
Another fan tweeted “I want my money back” while one said the set-up was “shambolic”.
A spokesman for the Victorian Government said: “If any patrons have been left dissatisfied by seating at the basketball they should contact the promoter TEG Live.”
Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz dodged questions about whether the state government was disappointed with last night’s crowd experience.
“TEG Live are the promoters for this event, there are standards that everybody must meet, and if people do have concerns, contact TEG Live,” she said.
“They advertised a game, they advertised a team. As a result of whatever the reasons are, we don’t understand why (Team USA’s best players) didn’t turn up, but I understand they advertised the whole team.”
“It’s just like if Carlton football team is playing on a particular day and one player isn’t playing sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Ms Kairouz said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was dealing with the fallout because it was “a national event”, and that Consumer Affairs Victoria was not involved because it was not “a Victorian-only event”.
“I understand the ACCC is giving a refund on a case-by-case situation,” she said.
“People who have paid are expecting to enjoy their evening and to enjoy the game”
Ms Kairouz said whether fans should get refunds was a matter for the promoters.
Asked about the plastic chairs used to seat thousands of supporters, she said: “I wasn’t there last night and I don’t know what to expect at a basketball game because I haven’t been to one.”
Prices for Sunday’s clash range from $91-$459 including $356 for restricted view corner seats court-side.
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien has called on Consumer Affairs to investigate the Team USA-Boomers series after it was promoted with NBA superstars who had not made the trip to Melbourne.
He told the Herald Sun this morning that Premier Daniel Andrews “has to explain how much taxpayers’ money Labor spent on the basketball fiasco”.
“It’s a rip off that people paid hundreds of dollars for a plastic chair, a blocked view and teams that didn’t feature the superstars promised,” Mr O’Brien said.
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“The Labor government paid money to bring this event here. They share responsibility for the disappointment of thousands of basketball fans.”
“Based on this debacle, Labor is turning Melbourne from the major events capital to the rip off capital. The families who attended deserve better from Daniel Andrews.”
Organisers confirmed pre-game some fans had already sought refunds for pre-purchased tickets.
Team USA walked over the Boomers with a final score of 102 to 86.
Despite the negative publicity, the crowd for the game was 51, 218.
Originally published as Basketball fans vent anger at ‘shambolic’ seating for Boomers blockbuster against Team USA
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