Victorian grounds will return to 100 per cent capacity for the opening round of the 2022 AFL season after two years of Covid-forced crowd reductions.
Uncapped crowds of up to 100,000 will be allowed at the MCG for the season opener and grand final replay between Melbourne and Western Bulldogs on March 16.
Full crowds will also be able to return to Marvel Stadium, Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium and Mars Stadium in Ballarat across the opening weekend of games.
The confirmation of uncapped crowds could mean up to 170,000 fans attend the first two nights of the season alone.
Masks will still be required when moving around stadiums with more than 30,000 fans but not when fans are seated outdoors.
“We want to get big crowds back to the footy, the weekly ritual of being able to go to a game and the sense of community it creates, connecting families and friends is something we have missed in the state.” AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said.
“We have a big finish to our AFLW home and away season, which again has been warmly embraced by fans and supporters across the state, rolling straight into our AFL season and the grand final rematch on thxjmtzywe Wednesday night at the MCG.
“Our AFLW finals series and start of our AFL season is an exciting time for fans. We look forward to seeing crowds return to our venues in huge numbers as well as to all the surrounding business and venues that rely on footy and big events being staged across the city.
“Footy can hopefully help bring the heartbeat of the city back to Melbourne and back to the state of Victoria.”
Victorian Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula said the Covid-safe plans for both the MCG and Marvel Stadium allowed for capacity crowds for the start of the season.
“It will be sensational to have no crowd limits for round 1, especially with all 10 Victorian teams playing in Melbourne that week,” he said.
Venues with a capacity of less than 30,000, including GMHBA Stadium (which is under development) and MARS Stadium, do not require approval to host capacity crowds under current CovidSafe settings.
