Brisbane Lions chairman Andrew Wellington strongly doubts the Gabba will be able to host a capacity crowd if they are awarded hosting rights for the AFL Grand Final.
Crowds at both Metricon Stadium and the Gabba are currently capped to limit the spread of COVID-19, with 11,061 fans in attendance for Brisbane’s home clash against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Unlike Western Australia – which has forecast a tentative date of August 29 to lift all restrictions besides their hard border closure – there’s no current timeline when Queensland will once again open their stadiums to their full capacity.
Wellington cast extreme doubt on the Queensland government allowing the Gabba to be at its full 37,000 capacity for a mid-October Grand Final, but still said the ground would be a worthy host of the biggest game of the year.
“I’m not sure about a full Gabba (for the Grand Final),” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“But I think certainly you would be able to have a significantly greater crowd that what we’re currently at."
Wellington confirmed the club is currently in discussions with government officials about raising the amount of fans they can accommodate in the lead up to finals.
“(I don’t have) exact dates and numbers but we are in discussions with Stadiums Queensland about how we might build (crowd numbers),” he said.
“We’re hoping to build that to 15,000 and more over time. The logistics are a little bit more of a challenge … you obviously can’t sell tickets on the day as you have to trace people and you have to give members priority which pragmatically limits exactly how many tickets you get sold.
“We are certainly working to increase those numbers.”
Gerard Whateley says the AFL will balance a number of aspects before deciding who will host this year’s Grand Final, but says there is no point pretending a showpiece event at the Gabba would be superior to one in Adelaide or Perth.
“You would be hard-hearted to oppose Queensland for all its done but a Grand Final at the Gabba would be an inferior spectacle to a Grand Final at Optus Stadium or Adelaide Oval,” he said.
“So as long as you balance that up and make your choice but I don’t think we should pretend that it would be as grand as holding it at that magnificent new stadium in Perth or at what I think is the best ground in the country which is Adelaide Oval.”
Whateley also cleared up confusion over naming rights being an issue at Perth’s Optus Stadium considering the AFL’s deal with rivals Telsta.
“That’s not going to be an issue,” he added.
“Cricket Australia found the middle ground by just calling it Perth Stadium in their official material but the AFL don’t have an issue calling it Optus Stadium in their official material so that won’t be an issue.”
If the season continues as currently scheduled, the AFL Grand Final will take player on either October 17 or 24.
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