Etihad Stadium darts competition to return in 2016

Etihad Stadium is to again host a darts competition that was marred by fan disturbances when it was first held earlier this year.

In staging the 2016 Darts Invitational Challenge , Etihad Stadium will consult with Police, liquor-licensing authorities and security experts in an effort to ensure there is no repeat of January’s scenes – which received widespread coverage in Melbourne media

Disturbances after the final between Australian Simon ‘The Wizard’ Whitlock and Dutch world No.1 ‘Mighty’ Michael van Gerwen saw fans throwing plastic chairs into a pile and up-ended tables – while there were reports of people urinating on the floor.

About 40 fans were ejected, three people were treated by paramedics and furniture was broken.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews condemned the behaviour as “completely unacceptable” and suggested that the Darts Invitational Challenge was “not the sort of major event we want in our city”.

However, Etihad Stadium Chief Executive Paul Sergeant said the venue would host the event again in January, and blamed this year’s chaos on the “drunken stupidity” of some fans.

Speaking to Melbourne newspaper the Sun-Herald, Sergeant stated “darts will be back.

“We have picked up on some of the experience from the last event and it will be different (and) we will be working with police and liquor licensing to deal with it.”

Sergeant stressed that the disturbances should not be exaggerated, adding “there was no violence, no riot.

“It was just drunken stupidity and the attempt to build a mountain out of chairs. We will have to deal with that.”

Professional darts - popular in England and Europe - is renowned for its beer-drinking, party atmosphere.

Sergeant said he wanted the sport to grow in Australia but admitted crowd behaviour last time was not acceptable.

He concluded “we’ll have to go back to the drawing board and make sure that what we have in place for January deals with that.

“But it would be a shame not to have it back because a lot of people enjoyed it.”

6th March 2015 - ETIHAD STADIUM ROOF KEEPS THE FOO FIGHTERS DRY

12th January 2015 - 40 FANS EJECTED AFTER UNRULY BEHAVIOUR AT ETIHAD STADIUM DARTS MATCH