India vs Australia: Cricket Australia reduces crowd capacity for Sydney Test

India vs Australia: Cricket Australia reduces crowd capacity for Sydney Test

Cricket Australia

Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)

A sudden large scale COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney cast a shadow of doubt on the fate of the third Test scheduled at the SCG. But Cricket Australia (CA) has decided to go forward with the venue. As the situation continues to worsen, the governing body has decided to cut down on the crowd capacity of the stadium for the encounter.

Only 25% of the SCG’s seating capacity of about 38,000 will be allowed. This means around 9500 people would be allowed to watch the game. The match will now have to be re-ticketed with the existing holders getting an exclusive window to re-buy the tickets. All remaining public tickets will be released at noon on Tuesday.

Reducing the capacity of the venue is crucial

Nick Hockley
Nick Hockley

CA CEO Nick Hockley shares that the governing body is working closely with local authorities to ensure the safety of all stakeholders. Hockley adds that reducing the crowd capacity is crucial given the current circumstances in Sydney. The governing body will be reshuffling the tickets so that the protocols are followed properly throughout the stadium.

“In response to the public health situation in NSW, we are working closely with Venues NSW and NSW Health to put appropriate biosecurity measures in place for our staff, players, match officials, broadcasters and fans. To ensure we play the third Test at the SCG safely,” Hockley said in a statement.

“Reducing the capacity of the venue is crucial in achieving social distancing requirements. And we sincerely thank ticketholders for their patience, as we process refunds today, reconfigure the SCG seating plan to deliver these social distancing measures and go back on sale.“

The first three games were held in front of a limited 18000 crowd. But the restrictions were lifted for the final T20 on December 8 with more than 30000 attending the game.

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