‘Faster than Leon Zas down the wing’, sports teams rush to sell tickets

Sports teams and federations wasted no time advertising ticket and alcohol sales at sports venues after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that stadiums could accommodate crowds at 50% capacity from Wednesday.

Ramaphosa, in his national address on Tuesday night, eased Covid-19 restrictions and ended the 1,000 indoor and 2,000 outdoor limit on gatherings, saying stadiums can host sizeable crowds up to 50% of the venue’s capacity. Spectators will need proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours.

Cricket SA and SuperSport Park’s management were quickest to the draw, increasing tickets for Wednesday’s ODI between the Proteas and Bangladesh in Centurion from 1,500 to 4,500.

The Titans were quick to clarify that “Alcohol sales will be permitted at SuperSport Park for the third ODI between SA and Bangladesh.”

The Dolphins posted that bars will be open at Kingsmead for next week’s first Test against Bangladesh.

“Oh how we have missed this!!!” the Dolphins tweeted. “Stadium bars will be open next week as the Proteas take on Bangladesh in the first Test match from Thursday, March 31, at Kingsmead Stadium.”

The Bulls, Stormers and Sharks rugby franchises were quick to advertise tickets for this weekend's United Rugby Championship (URC) matches.

The Stormers, who meet Ulster at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (3pm), tweeted: “The weekend is coming at you faster than Leon Zas down the wing. Make sure you are there when we open to 50% capacity at DHL Stadium.”

The Bulls, who host the Dragons in Pretoria on Saturday (7.15pm), tweeted: “We can’t wait to have our fans back in the stands. Grab your tickets and we will see you at Loftus.”

The Sharks, who host Edinburgh at Kings Park (5.05pm), posted: “Get your tickets now and join us for an exciting match day experience.”

SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said “it will be great to see the Boks running out in front of a proper crowd in SA for the first time since 2019” in the six Test matches from July.

Notable by their silence as others celebrated, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and its clubs had not mentioned the president’s announcement at the time of publishing, and fans on social media were questioning when they would.