It's time to lift the stadium restrictions in SA

With mounting financial challenges, and Covid-19 restrictions being relaxed across the globe, senior rugby writer Brenden Nel gives his thoughts on the fan situation, and he feels it is now for time stadiums to be opened and fans to be allowed back to watch the four South African franchises take on overseas opposition.

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Currently teams are hamstrung with 2 000 fans maximum in any stadium, while across the world stadiums have opened and vaccinated fans are flocking back to sporting events - as often witnessed on your World of Champions.

But here in South Africa, only allowing a couple of thousand fans into stadiums has meant that any game is loss-generating for franchises across the country.

There have been some dire warnings across the board from franchise CEOs, warning that if the situation doesn’t change shortly, we could see several rugby unions head towards bankruptcy by the end of the year.

While the rugby unions bonded together and co-operation across the sport between players, administrators, sponsors and broadcasters saved it from more pain during the pandemic, things have changed significantly since then.

And with four overseas sides arriving for Vodacom United Rugby Championship action next weekend, it is the perfect time to open stadiums and allow fans to support their sides.

Administrators have privately spoken of the need to be able to allow 10 000 fans into a stadium to break even on costs, and given the magnificent open-air stadiums we have in this country, a 50% capacity is workable and now necessary on a number of accounts.

Ellis Park Stadium CEO Pieter Burger is one who has warned that if rugby fans can’t return to stadiums, at least two of the franchises - perhaps three - may well be in administration by the end of the year.

Times are tough and it is even tougher for the smaller unions, where a half dozen are in danger of going under unless they can generate more income.

Sport without fans is a hollow, loss-making experience and it needs to change.

Sponsors and broadcasters have been magnificent in banding together to carry sports like rugby through these hard times, but it is clear that this isn’t a lasting strategy.

For Rugby to flourish it needs fans back. For the sport to grow, new eyes need to be able to experience the thrill of live games.

For Rugby to survive it needs its fans back. This is why rather than playing a blame game, it is time to move forward.

It is time for stadiums to open up and more fans to be allowed back so that sport can flourish and home-ground advantage truly is home-ground advantage.

Rugby’s franchises have lost around R240-million in combined revenue over the past two years because of restrictions of the pandemic.

While nobody is arguing about the necessity of the restrictions, the landscape has now changed and vaccinated fans should be allowed into stadiums.

The time has now come to open them up to at least a 50% capacity. And allow fans to reignite their love for the sport.

Open up the stadiums, it is the right thing to do.