Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula hasn’t ruled out the possibility of crowds being allowed to attend sporting events in Australia this year.
The COVID-19 crisis has seen all mass gatherings banned since March, with sporting events globally only resuming over the last fortnight in front of empty stadiums.
But with Australia successfully flattening the curve and community transmission around the country remaining low, attention is starting to turn to whether allowing a certain number of fans to attend sporting events later this year is a feasible proposition.
“It would be great for me as much as anyone to be able to say ‘I reckon if A, B or C happens then we’re a chance of crowds (at games)’ but it’s still too early to say that,” Minister Pakula said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“What I can say is that if things keep tracking the way they’re tracking then there are a range of possibilities that maybe we wouldn’t have contemplated even being possible a couple of months ago.”
Australia is currently scheduled to host the men’s T20 World Cup in October but Minister Pakula cast serious doubt over the event taking place as scheduled due to the current pandemic.
“The T20 World Cup going ahead with all those teams coming from around the world in October this year, I think that’s longer odds (of going ahead) than the Indian Test series,” he said.
“I think we’re a really good chance of having Test cricket and the Indian coming out – I’m feeling pretty optismtic about that. All of this depends of course on the attitudes of the Commonwealth and the border security measurements that are put it in.
“But I think the idea of getting teams around the world all in one place in October, I reckon that’s a harder ask and I think Cricket Australia is talking to other control boards around the world about scheduling now and over the next 18 months about what options might exist.
“My best sense is (the T20 World Cup) is more likely to be deferred – I think it’ll go ahead but it’s more likely to be at a later date. I think it’s likely to be pushed out to 2021 but it’s not impossible that it goes ahead in October.”