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Venues across Western Australia - including Perth’s Optus Stadium - will be allowed to welcome 100% capacity crowds as of tomorrow.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced the easing of COVID-19 venue capacity changes in the state on Friday afternoon, advising “I am pleased to announce that based on the latest public health advice, from midnight tomorrow, we will be raising capacity limits for certain indoor and outdoor venue with fixed seating to 100%, with no upper numerical cap.

“This is big step forward in the removal of restrictions - one that we can only take due to the hard work from Western Australians across the community, giving health experts the confidence to proceed.

“WA’s major venues such as Optus Stadium, RAC Arena, HBF Stadium - Main Arena, and HBF Park will be able to have 100% of the fixed seating capacity in the spectator seating and special seating spaces.”

With the move allowing up to 60,000 people to attend sporting fixtures at Optus Stadium, the Fremantle Dockers’s AFL clash against Hawthorn on Sunday afternoon will be the first match allowed to be played in front of a full capacity crowd in 18 months.

Welcoming the announcement, Fremantle Chief Executive, Simon Garlick stated “we are very excited to welcome as many Freo members and supporters as we possibly can to Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

“The lifting of the crowd capacity is a fantastic thing for the state.”

While Fremantle are yet to hold a sell-out crowd for a non-derby game, West Coast Eagles fans will be excited by the news with the Eagles set to verse Collingwood Magpies in a Friday night blockbuster the following week, in what could be the first full-capacity AFL game at Optus Stadium since 2019 AFL season.

The Western Derby has been confirmed by the AFL for round 7, allowing for another packed house opportunity at Optus Stadium.

Indoor and Outdoor venues
The following indoor and outdoor venues will be able to move to 100% of the fixed seating capacity, and SafeWA and contact registers will continue as mandatory:

• Auditoriums and amphitheatres
• Theatres
• Concert halls
• Cinemas
• Comedy lounges
• Performing arts centres

Image: Fremantle’s clash against the Hawks will be the first match allowed to be played in front of a full capacity crowd in 18 months. Credit: Fremantle FC.

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