The future of sport as we know it hinges on getting fans back into stadia. This is especially true in Ireland where the IRFU, FAI and GAA rely to a very high level on the income generated by matchday ticketing and revenue.

Each week we will take a look at developments around the world on where sporting organisations, public health authorities and governments are moving in the return to stadia.

CHESTER RACES PLAN FOR 5,000 ATTENDEES IN MAY

Chester racecourse on the border between England and Wales has announced ambitious plans to host up to 5,000 attendees at its Boodles sponsored may Festival between the 5th and 7th of May.

No fans are permitted to attend any sporting or outdoor gathering in Britain at present but Chester is pressing ahead with a technology-based solution to coincide with rising numbers of vaccinated citizens. A little over 20 per cent of the population in England and Wales has been vaccinated to date.

The Racecourse yesterday became the local mass vaccination centre with NHS staff on-site and Chester Racecourse staff acting as volunteers.

The plans to welcome the spectators have been drawn up as an operation procedure plan with the local authority, albeit ahead of the UK Government’s announcement of a road map towards re-opening.

The plan includes all those attending booking in advance and receiving a lateral flow test upon entry, with the results known in 20 minutes, followed by a socially distanced experience during the race day.

The venue will gain valuable experience from being the site of thousands of vaccinations each week over the next two months.

“We were really keen to ensure that our local area could benefit from a mass vaccination centre, said Racecourse Director Richard Thomas, and are very pleased to be able to support the NHS with their essential vaccination programme.”

“Meanwhile, in anticipation of the Government’s road map announcement, we have been working very hard with local authorities to build a clear operation procedure plan that hopefully could allow us to safely welcome back a limited number of spectators for the Boodles May Festival.”

“The delivery of mass on-site testing is at the core of our stringent health and safety measures. Chester Racecourse could provide on-site testing facilities for 5,000 attendees per day with results expected in less than 20 minutes.”

“Our overall aim is to deliver a safe, secure environment for an enjoyable three days of racing and we hope that testing will give an added confidence to our attendees, customers, and staff, whose health and safety is of paramount importance.”

How the plans go down with government and the technology that is brought in if it gets the go-ahead will be keenly watched by venues across Britain and Ireland.

 

INDOOR ARCHERY SERIES COMPLETES IN UNITED STATES

While indoor sport here remains a distant memory, the World Indoor Archery Series has just completed its final event in the United States.

The programme of events took place in South Dakota over three days last weekend with competitors from around the world taking part.

This was the final event in the 2020 World Championship Qualifier Series. The finals will take place remotely in two weeks time.

TRIATHLON PUSHES BACK SEASON OPENING

The Triathlon World Championship Series traditional opening event in Abu Dhabi has been pushed back from March to November of this year where it will now double up as a test event for the 2022 World Championship Finals in the Emirate.

Last year’s event was one of the first global sports events to fall to the Coronavirus as we prepare to mark a deathly one year anniversary of so many of the points along this particular scale.

The opening round of the series is now scheduled to take place in Yokohama in Japan in May, followed by Leeds in Britain and Montreal in Canada both in June.


AUSTRALIAN OPEN SHOWS RESILIENCE

The Australian Open is close to completing five days without any spectators after thirteen Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the city and the whole state of Victoria went into full lockdown.

30,000 fans a day had been allowed but that was suspended on Saturday. Players are classed as essential workers and so exempt from the total lockdown being applied to citizens across the city and the state.

Tournament organisers had a contingency plan in place for the possibility and that was implemented with full refund of tickets for those who had booked.

The playbook coming out of the tournament in terms of scenario planning will be valuable for sports administrators around the world.

Sport for Business Partners