Hope grows for footy crowds to pack stadiums again
Victorian health officials are considering boosting crowd capacity at footy games to 75,000 people — renewing hopes that stadiums could be full by ANZAC Day.
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Footy crowds are on track to be boosted so 75,000 people can flock to the MCG for next Thursday night’s blockbuster between Collingwood and Carlton.
Public health officials will on Monday consider lifting the 50 per cent stadium capacity limit to 75 per cent, which would clear the way for 25,000 more fans to attend the Pies-Blues game.
The move has renewed hopes full capacity crowds could be allowed by Anzac Day.
After the success of the opening round’s first matches, some AFL and government officials are now confident the current cap will be increased.
But the move will rely on a series of reviews and assessments by Victoria’s public health team.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan will meet with public health officials at the end of the weekend to push for greater capacity.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Sally Capp said she wanted to see bigger crowds by Thursday.
“After a successful start to the season, we’re hoping crowd capacity limits can be safely increased for Round 2,” she said.
Senior government officials said they were confident the crowd size limit would be increased.
Victoria is the only state with a 50 per cent crowd limit for outdoor seated events.
There are currently no crowd caps at stadiums in Queensland or New South Wales, with Western Australian and South Australian crowds capped at 75 per cent.
AFL Fans Association president Cheryl Critchley said it would be “an incredible achievement by the AFL, clubs and fans” if health experts deemed it safe to increase crowds to 75 or 100 per cent.
“Victorian fans who haven’t seen a men’s game live for 18 months would be ecstatic if crowd numbers were increased,’’ she said.
“Imagine having a full MCG for Anzac Day — it would be a dream come true for Collingwood and Essendon fans.”
Mr McLachlan said he was “optimistic” the stadium capacity situation was tracking in the right direction.
“I was clearly trying to look around (on Thursday night), as well as just enjoy the night,” he said.
“People were sticking to their seats, were celebrating and enjoying the game, but behaving in a way that’s responsible.”
Health Department inspectors sat in the MCG crowds for Thursday night’s Richmond-Carlton season opener and Collingwood’s Friday night clash with the Western Bulldogs to gauge crowd activity and monitor risks.
Public Transport Victoria officials also monitored the first two matches, amid concerns fans would gather in big groups on platforms, fail to social distance and not wear masks on trains and trams. Pre-game crowd crushes have been avoided, largely due to the 50 per cent limit.
A government spokeswoman said Thursday night’s crowd was the biggest mass gathering in the southern hemisphere since the pandemic began.
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