Canberra Raiders, ACT Brumbies put moves in motion to raise Canberra Stadium crowds

Both clubs look likely to play finals in the NRL and Super Rugby AU respectively as the regular season runs down.

Canberra Stadium's capacity is currently restricted to 1500 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it was set to lift to about 6000 six weeks ago in the lead-up to the Raiders' round-nine clash against the Melbourne Storm.

But then the Victorian outbreak put a stop to that and the limit has stayed at 1500 ever since.

Scott Morrison's federal government has recommended capacity for stadiums of 40,000 or less should be restricted to 25 per cent, provided social distancing measures can be adhered to.

But the ACT government has had a cautious approach during the pandemic, which has been vindicated by the fact there are no active cases of the COVID-19 virus in Canberra.

They initially restricted Canberra Stadium to just 1500 patrons as a test, but given there continues to be no signs of the virus in the ACT, the door is open for that to be eased in the coming weeks.

Any rise in crowd capacity would be at the discretion of ACT chief health officer Kerryn Coleman.

Ideally for both the Raiders and Brumbies that would occur before the NRL finals, where they are both in the running to host a play-off.

The Raiders currently sit fifth on the ladder, which would mean they would host one in the first week of the semi-finals.

They play the Canterbury Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium on Sunday and have two more home games before the finals - including Sonny Bill Williams' potential return for the Sydney Roosters on September 5.

The Raiders have held discussions with Canberra Stadium management, who have in turn raised the matter with the health authorities.

An increase would be a massive boost for the Green Machine, who are currently operating at a loss for their home games.

It costs about $46,000 to open the venue at the reduced capacity, but the Raiders are losing between $300,000-$400,000 in total revenue each home game.

Their average crowd for home finals has been almost 25,000 during the past 10 years.

"The Raiders have been really appreciative of the ACT government enabling us to play back at GIO Stadium," Raiders chief operating officer Jason Mathie told The Canberra Times.

"It's helped immensely from a playing perspective and the travel element.

"The venue and the Raiders are really keen to see the crowd capacity per game lift from 1500.

"The Raiders haven't had any direct discussions with the chief health officer of the ACT to try to enable more people to attend Raiders games by the end of the regular season, but the venue has on our behalf.

"And we're hopeful we can secure a home final and have a reasonable crowd."

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The Brumbies sit on top of the Super Rugby AU table and need just one win from their final two games to wrap up top spot.

They only need to get two bonus points from those two games to ensure they finish second.

If the former, they will host the grand final on September 19, while the latter would see them host the preliminary final a week earlier.

The Brumbies play the Western Force, who were yet to win a game in their Super Rugby return, at Canberra Stadium on Friday and then travel to Brisbane to take on the second-placed Queensland Reds eight days later.

Both the Brumbies and the Raiders have been using a ballot system to assign tickets to their members at the reduced capacity.

"If we do manage to have a home final, it would be great to have a few more people than 1500 in the stadium," Brumbies chief executive Phil Thomson said.

"We'll speak to the government over the next few days to see what the position might be in September.

"It would be great, if we do manage to have a final at home, to have more people in the stadium to watch.

"It's going to be up to the government. At the moment it's still sitting at 1500 - we expect it to be 1500 for Friday night [against the Force].

"It would be nice to be open to as many as possible, but there are still restrictions in place. We'll just have to have a conversation and see where that might lead.

"We look like we'll be in the finals, and hopefully we get to have some people there to watch us."

Meanwhile, the Raiders had their biggest day of online sales in the club's history last Thursday, selling almost $31,500 through their new association with online shopping website Click Frenzy.

SUPER RUGBY ROUND NINE

Friday: ACT Brumbies v Western Force at Canberra Stadium, 7.05pm.

NRL ROUND 16

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Canterbury Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium, 6.30pm.