Concerns over social distancing failures sees venues move to reduce crowd capacities

Crowd limits for Melbourne Storm’s NRL fixtures on the Sunshine Coast are to be reduced by 1,000 after concerns were raised by the NRL and the club about social distancing at the venue over the weekend.

The move follows yesterday’s Storm ‘home’ match against the Newcastle Knights at the Sunshine Coast Stadium where, despite the overall crowd of 5,437 being beneath the venue’s 6,000 capacity, broadcast images during the game appeared to show fans packed on the hill.

According to reports, the NRL and Storm have today been in contact with the Queensland Government, whose venues require venues to only be filled to 50% capacity.

While the Sunshine Coast Stadium is able to hold up to 12,500 patrons, and despite claims that there were only 2,830 on the hill on Sunday, the Queensland Government said the number of overall fans permitted at the venue will now be reduced to 5,250.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr. Jeanette Young said there were five health officials at the ground to enforce social distancing but she said that a hill made it more difficult than a usual seated venue.

At NRL matches in NSW the restriction on the hill is one person per four square metres rather than a percentage of capacity, which is why grounds such as Kogarah Oval looked empty in comparison to Sunshine Coast Stadium.

Dr Young advised “we do need to go and review that because it is hard to maintain social distancing when you’re sitting on the ground.

“I saw people trying to do that, they were on separate rugs for separate household groups but we just have to have another look at that.

“They followed the rule but looking at it, because it’s not a traditional seated stadium with proper seats, I think it’s a bit harder to maintain that distance. They’ll work through just how to make it a bit safer - that 50% cap is better designed for where you’ve got formal seating.”

Sunshine Coast Council Sport and Community Venues Manager Grantley Switzer today acknowledged that it had been "difficult for some people to social distance" on the hill during yesterday’s game.

With the Storm due to play again at the ground on Saturday when they face Canterbury, Sunshine Coast Stadium management is considering refunds for those who have bought tickets for the clash but may now not be able to attend.

Switzer advised “there is a likelihood that we may look to be refunding people who have already bought tickets. We are working through that process now and it also depends on where we land with Queensland Health and the COVID-safe plan.”

No move to larger crowds at the Adelaide Oval
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has today announced a range of restrictions that will have an impact on the AFL. 

While around 18,000 people have been attending recent Port Adelaide and Adelaide home AFL games at the Adelaide Oval, there had been hopes that the capacity would be increased later in the season.

However, those plans have been dashed with Premier Marshall advising “we set ourselves a goal to go up to 25,000, but we have never actually been at 25,000.

“It’s likely to rest at around 10,000 outdoor spectators, plus a number of people in venues that are contained at the Oval.”

Images: Melbourne Storm is currently playing its home NRL fixtures at the at the Sunshine Coast Stadium (top) and management at the venues were criticised for crowds not observing social distancing at yesterday’s match between the Storm and Newcastle Knights (below).