Wakefield Trinity CEO Michael Carter happy with "light at end of tunnel" on crowds

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today announced the date when sports supporters should be able to attend matches once more.

Up to 10,000 people or a quarter of the capacity, whichever is smaller, will be permitted in the largest venues (40,000 plus) like Wembley.

However, smaller stadiums - which cover all Super League clubs and below - will be limited to either 4,000 people or half of their capacity, whichever is lower.

The date will mark more than 14 months since fans were last in rugby league venues, Castleford Tigers’ win against St Helens at Wheldon Road on March 15 the last game before the sport initially shut down due to coronavirus.

When it returned in August, all games were played behind closed doors.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Carter said: “We were all hoping for mid-April so potentially we are a month behind.

“But I think we all just want a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

“If it ends up being the 17th of May, I’m sure we can all live with that.

“Hopefully there may be a little bit more Government help with regards to that but I think, financially-wise, rugby league is in a decent spot.

“We’ve survived the worst of it (pandemic) and hopefully we’re coming out on the other side now.

“We have to hope that the 17th of May is the right date.”

Obviously, the Government’s ‘roadmap’ out of the pandemic is dependent on certain conditions being met.

However, the news is encouraging for rugby league - especially with a home World Cup starting in October - and all sports.

Trinity’s Belle Vue ground has a capacity of 7,258 but Carter hopes to see them be able to house 4,000 when the turnstiles do open once more.

“We are going to have to have a chat with the ground safety officer at the council because one of the reasons why our North Stand capacity is so low is because, if it rains, everyone goes under the roof,” he explained.

“Space-wise, you can fit more in than the capacity allows for.

“If you just want to work on what the capacity is now, and 50 per cent of that, then you will be swimming in space.

“I suspect, given a little bit of good fortune, that we would be able to get at least 4,000.

“At 50 per cent, we’d be looking at 3,600 but I do think there is just that anomaly of our North Stand meaning that we may be able to get a few more.”

Super League starts on March 26 with the full fixture list due to be announced on Friday week.

The competition will now look to firm up games in the calendar, presumably with derby contests that traditionally attract bigger crowds kept back for beyond June 21, the earliest date the Prime Minister announced all lockdown restrictions could potentially be removed.

Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos are ordinarily Wakefield’s biggest opponents but Carter insisted: “I haven't really put too much thought on that this year.

“For me, it’s all just about getting back. I get it for clubs like Wigan and Saints, whose derby can be a 300K game.

“But in our revenues, there isn’t a massive amount of difference between playing a Cas and a Leeds at home or a Salford or Huddersfield.

“We’re not talking hundreds of thousands of pounds. I’m not too hung up on who we play and when we play them.

“I just want some crowds back. I’ll play anyone!

“And if our capacity is 4,000, we’d probably fill that on our own anyway.

“You probably won’t see too many away fans being allowed; I think there will be capacity issues where it probably doesn’t allow for away fans because of the home season tickets.”

Clearly, although no one is yet getting carried away given the unpredictability of the pandemic, the latest news has cheered the RFL with the Betfred Challenge Cup final at Wembley scheduled for July 17.

Similarly, 2021 Rugby League World Cup organisers are pleased given their tournament is due to kick-off when England face Samoa in Newcastle on October 23.

RLWC2021 chief executive Jon Dutton said: “We are greatly encouraged by the roadmap for the return of spectators to sports stadia, which was detailed by the Prime Minister in Parliament today.

“We have remained positive and optimistic that fans would be able to attend the tournament, which will be held in October and November 2021 in England.

“We recognise that there are still challenges ahead, but we very much hope that this tournament, predominantly being staged in many of the hardest hit areas across the North of England, will play a part in the nation’s pandemic recovery plan and will be the biggest and best ever Rugby League World Cup.”

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