Crowds are set to return to the footy in Victoria for all Round 1 games of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
The State Government will make the announcement today that will see the biggest crowds at a sporting event since the pandemic hit Victoria in March, 2020, when thousands were turned away from Melbourne's Grand Prix.
Crowd numbers, however, will be capped at 50,000 at the MCG and Marvel Stadium will also be at 50 per cent capacity (a total of 28,961).
Crowds at Marvel Stadium for next weekend's AAMI Community Series will also be capped at 50 per cent.
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale says the Club will continue on with its plans to unfurl the 2019 and 2020 AFL premiership flags before the season opener against Carlton at the MCG on March 18.
“It’s wonderful news,” Gale said during the fourth quarter of Friday's practice match live stream against Melbourne.
“Like most in the AFL community, things have changed by the day in terms of crowd forecasts and restrictions.
“We were pretty conservative in our forecast not long ago, but to have that number confirmed for fans to get up to 50,000 at the MCG, it’s wonderful and a proud moment for us.
“We have the opportunity to unfurl two flags and with that amount of people there in attendance, we’ll be pressing ahead with our plans – we wouldn’t have done it with say 10,000 fans there.
“But most importantly, it’s great for the entire AFL community to get fans back, it’s cause for great optimism.”
Richmond members who hold a reserved seat membership have been sent their unique link regarding Round 1 access and entry into the Round 1 reserved seat member ballot. Ballot closes11:59PM, Friday, 26th Feb.
Richmond member who hold a general admission membership will receive communications closer to Round 1 with further details.
For up-to-date match day access information & instructions please click here or call 1300 742 466.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has thanked Victorian premier Daniel Andrews for allowing fans back to the football.
"Footy fans in Victoria have been excited about getting back to matches and we have seen that with great numbers across the opening rounds of the AFLW season," McLachlan said.
"We haven't had footy crowds this big in Victoria since the match to support bushfire relief in February last year, so this announcement provides a big boost for our players and fans.
"Our team has been working extensively behind the scenes planning for multiple scenarios and all our venues will be ready to welcome fans back into the stands come next month."
