Melbourne Storm working on proposal to bring fans back in potential Victorian ‘test case’
The NRL will resume without crowds on May 28, but Melbourne Storm are hopeful some fans could return to AAMI Park in the not-too-distant future, with the club’s home matches used as ‘test cases’ as COVID-19 restrictions loosen.
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Plans are taking shape to bring back crowds to NRL matches at AAMI Park this season, with Melbourne Storm hoping to be used as a “test case” for the safe return of fans to sporting events in Victoria.
The Herald Sun can reveal that Storm approached the Victorian Government last week about being the first professional sporting code in the state to have small numbers of fans attend matches.
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The NRL season will resume without crowds on May 28, but with coronavirus restrictions continuing to be eased there is hope some fans could return to sporting events in the not-too-distant future.
Pubs, cafes and restaurants across Victoria are set to open again from June 1 in the latest step towards a return to normality.
“We understand there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge but once we received the all clear from the Victorian Government to return to train and return to play, our next consideration immediately was returning to host crowds,” Melbourne Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy said.
“We’ve got a really passionate membership base that understand the situation right now, but I think it would be remiss of us not to approach the state government about taking a lead role about how we can hopefully get crowds back at some stage this year.”
Melbourne Storm, along with the NRL, is now working on a proposal to present to government about how a return of fans could look.
Donaghy said that would look very different to what fans are traditionally used to but he believed Storm’s passionate membership base would be willing to give it a go.
“When you’ve got a 25,000-strong member base that want to go to the games, you want to do everything you can to try to achieve that,” Donaghy said.
“It’s not just footy but I think in society everyone’s just desperate to get back to some level of normality. For some people that’s going back to watch the Storm play at AAMI Park.
“We’ve got to follow society’s expectations during this period. I think people are going to want a cashless environment. It might be a case that people might have to bring their own food and drinks in to the ground.
“There might have to be improvements in digital technology so we can have contactless entry points. There might be staggered entry and exit points where people have time frames of when they can get in and out. You have to go all the way through to asking, ‘What do the toilets look like?’ No doubt it’s going to be a significant exercise but it’s one we want to try and lead.”
Melbourne Storm meets Canberra Raiders in Round 3 of the NRL season on Saturday, May 30.