When Victorian fans will be allowed to return to the MCG
Victorians have another reason to celebrate as the MCG prepares to welcome fans back. The last major event played in front of fans at the ‘G was Australia’s Women’s T20 cricket final.
Victoria
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Sports fans will be welcomed back to the MCG for the first time in nine months for the Boxing Day Test.
But crowds are expected to be capped at 25,000 for each day of the December blockbuster between Australia and India and it is still unclear if fans will have to wear masks.
The test will be the first major event since March to welcome fans into the stands in Melbourne but the crowd will be significantly lower than the AFL Grand Final in Brisbane (39,000) and NRL Grand Final in Sydney (37,000).
The upcoming rugby league State of Origin will also attract more fans – 26,750 in Adelaide, 39,000 in Brisbane and 40,000 in Sydney. And racing enthusiasts will have heavy hearts with the state government confirming on Wednesday no fans will be allowed at the Melbourne Cup Carnival, including owners and connections of horses running on the first Tuesday in November.
Sports Minister Martin Pakula said a packed house at the MCG was a long way off.
“It’s probably going to be a while til we see 100,000 people back at the MCG but given we’ve had no crowds for so long, it’s a really good start,” he said.
While bigger crowds were “not impossible”, he said 25,000 daily capacities were a “safe and appropriate number” with higher spectator numbers unlikely.
But he said the return of crowds to the MCG was “wonderful for Melbourne’s spirits and a great demonstration to the rest of the country and the rest of the world that we are back”.
“It really will be an incredible reward for people in this city and this state for everything that they have been through in these last few months,” he said.
Mr Pakula said crowds were also likely at the Australian Open tennis in January but it was a “greater challenge” accommodating hundreds of players and their entourages from around the world.
The last major event played in front of fans at the MCG was Australia’s Women’s T20 cricket final victory over India on March 8, when an Aussie record crowd for a female sporting event of 86,174 packed the stadium.
The Herald Sun this month revealed the MCC and Cricket Australia were planning for crowds at each day of the Test, with strict social distancing rules. Every seat will be ticketed, fans asked to enter different gates at staggered times to increase safety and no tickets will be sold at the ground, to avoid queues and allow reliable contact tracing.
MCC chief executive Stuart Fox said the ground had been “been pretty lonely’’ in recent months’’ and staff were “just thrilled’’ fans would return.
“It’s going to be a very different Boxing Day Test but it’s just so exciting to have it back,” he said. He said MCC members would get a percentage of seats but the general public would be well accommodated.
Final ticket numbers, seating arrangements, entry and exit strategies and COVID-safe plans would be announced leading up to the Test.
Cricket Australia chair Earl Eddings said the Indian cricket team would quarantine in Sydney ahead of the Test.
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