Industry News FSM Will Covid Certificates Be The Way Forward To Larger Capacities?


The Government’s Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said ‘coronavirus certificates’ were being considered as a way of getting people back to larger events ‘in significant numbers’.


Fans are set to return to sporting events, in numbers,


from May 17th, subject


to further reviews, as a part of the government’s four-step road map out of lockdown, which could see all legal limits on social contact lifted by June 21st. The FA Cup final and World Snooker Championship will be among a group of sporting and cultural events used as pilots to test the large-scale return of spectators to venues.


The government announced plans for a pilot programme to begin in April when it set out its road map in February for the easing of coronavirus restrictions, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said there will be "around a dozen" events serving as tests in total.


Oliver Dowden has said that from June 21st, if all goes to plan, it is hoped to get people back in significant numbers and in the meantime they are piloting the different things that will enable that to happen but clearly it will have to be done in a Covid-secure way.


limited


A review is being carried out on the viability of ‘Covid certificates’ as a means of facilitating the return to sports.


It has been conceded by government that current social distancing measures make it ‘very, very difficult’ for such as theatres and smaller indoor events to go ahead and the government are looking at ways of mitigating against having the sort of current social distancing measures currently in place but in the meantime we must proceed with caution.


For the larger clubs and stadia this


may be viable. However, for the smaller clubs, who may well see increases in


attendances with fans eager to make the most of the easing of restrictions, it could lead to increased costs, without the guarantee of larger attendances, or even pre-pandemic attendances returning.


There has already been voices of discontent amongst the hospitality industry, that they should not have to fit the bill for vaccination policing. They definitely have a point. At the moment safety remains paramount but the argument that hospitality venues and open-air stadia remain the safest areas for the general public remain very strong.


All England Lawn Tennis Club Commences Consultation For Wimbledon Ground Expansion


The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has begun


a


public consultation process for its plans to expand the grounds of the Wimbledon grand slam tournament and this consultation is expected to conclude in June with a planning application to be submitted in July.


Planning approval it would allow work to begin on the project in 2022 with the various aspects of the plan being delivered in sequence. Subject to the project proceeding


successfully the


AELTC said it would be able to stage the qualifying rounds of Wimbledon within the extended grounds by 2028.


Plans for this expansion have been in progress since agreeing a deal to acquire Wimbledon Park Golf Club in December 2018. Although the AELTC had already owned the lease on the golf club, control of it was not due to revert back to the body until 2041, however, the AELTC struck a deal worth £65m after WPGC members voted 82% in favour of the agreement.


The expansion to the tournament grounds would enable Wimbledon to keep pace with fellow grand slams - the Australian Open, French Open


and US Open, all of which have undergone redevelopment projects in recent years.


The AELTC has also provided an update on plans for the 2021 Championships, which are due to run from June 28 to July 11.


Amid the ongoing uncertainty


caused by COVID-19, the most likely outcome is for this year’s event to take place with a reduced number of spectators. The club stressed that it would take every step to remain “as flexible as possible” to ensure it reacts to changing


circumstances when


they may require an increase or decrease in fan attendance, therefore exact capacity plans


will be made as late as possible to ensuring maximum fan attendance but no ‘public ballot’ will take place and there will not be the ‘famous queue’ or ‘ticket resale’ in operation for the 2021 tournament.


There is optimism among the elite sports that their finals can go ahead at full capacity and chairman of AELTC, Ian Hewitt is hopeful that tennis can ‘play an exciting role’ whilst also appreciating that these remain challenging and uncertain times yet they are committed to delivering on their aspiration of staging the best Championships possible.


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