AusLeisure

A three-day trial at Japan’s Yokohama Stadium of higher fan capacity limits than permitted under current Coronavirus precautions has been used as a testing ground for next year’s Olympics.

With Tokyo preparing to host the Summer Olympics next year, and the Yokohama Stadium to stage baseball and softball during the Games, the weekend trial, from Friday to Sunday, was the first in a series of test events.

With venues with a capacity of more than 10,000 attendees currently having a 59% cap on attendances, the Japanese Government's Coronavirus task force allowed larger attendances for three Nippon Professional Baseball games hosted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Increasing the venue’s capacity each day, Sunday’s game drew a crowd of 27,850 to the 32,402-seat stadium.

The trial was carried out by the Kanagawa prefectural and Yokohama municipal governments, as well as mobile game developer DeNA, which operates the Stadium as a home for the BayStars.

Tickets for the games were discounted by 35% in an effort to encourage fans back to the stadium.

The Tokyo 2020 organising committee had a 10-man inspection team in place at the venue, studying how it will accommodate fans in the era of COVID-19.

As reported by the Olympic Channel, Tokyo 2020 Games Delivery Officer, Nakamura Hidemasa advised “we saw great teamwork from the people onsite combined with the latest technology available at an official Olympic venue.

“There is still plenty of work ahead but at the Games next summer, I expect the type of teamwork we saw (at the venue) and cutting-edge technology to be on full display. It will help us host a safe and secure Games for athletes and spectators alike. There is a lot we can take from this. At the end of the day it’s the people who will make it happen. And you have to like what we saw.”

The results of the trial are set to be shared with the national government, which leads a commission on COVID-19 countermeasures for the Games with the metropolitan government and Tokyo 2020. At Yokohama Stadium, fans were screened at the gates for face masks, body temperature, and hand sanitising. They also entered and exited the stadium in blocks in an effort to avoid crowding.

The latest camera technology was utilised to track the movement of aerosols in the stands, while fans were able to judge which areas of the venue were crowded at any time via an app.

Executives from the Nippon Professional Baseball and football’s J-League held a meeting today to discuss if the cap on the number of spectators can be eased, with further trials to be held at baseball games on Saturday and Sunday at Tokyo Dome, and Saturday’s J League Cup final in Tokyo.

Images: Yokohama Stadium (top, credit: Tokyo 2020) and fans at the venue (below, credit: KYODO).

Related Articles

28th October 2020 - Aquatic Centre for Tokyo 2020 Olympics opens to the public

20th October 2020 - Reports reveal plan by Russian intelligence services to hack Tokyo Olympics

8th October 2020 - Tokyo Olympics organisers to cut costs by US$283 million

24th August 2020 - Japanese athletes give Tokyo Olympic stadium a test run

27th July 2020 - Less than a quarter of Japan’s population support next year’s Tokyo Olympics

10th July 2020 - Japanese Government to allow indoor venues to operate with up to 5,000 capacity

23rd June 2020 - Japan withdraws bid to host 2023 Women’s World Cup

26th March 2020 - Japan National Stadium wins Jury prize at Stadium of the Year Awards

8th January 2020 - Panasonic delivers screen display and audio systems to Japan’s new National Stadium

22nd July 2020 - Tokyo Olympics organisers confirm all venues for summer Games

15th July 2020 - Tokyo Governor says Olympics must go ahead in 2021

26th June 2020 - Tokyo Olympic organisers set to re-engage with sponsors

8th June 2020 - National Olympic Committees to benefit from US$11.7 million of Tokyo 2020 funding to cover Coronavirus costs

7th June 2020 - Tokyo considering scaled down version for 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games

11th April 2020 - Tokyo attractions extend closure again due to COVID-19

26th March 2020 - Tokyo Olympics organisers face ‘massive’ facilities costs for rescheduled Games

25th March 2020 - Coronavirus fears sees Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics postponed to 2021

16th March 2020 - Olympic organisers announce on time completion of all Tokyo 2020 venues

10th March 2020 - No spectators to attend Tokyo Olympic Games torch lighting ceremony

3rd December 2019 - Completed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium handed over to Japan Sport Council

30th October 2019 - 12,000-seat Olympics gymnastics venue unveiled for Tokyo 2020

29th September 2015 - Yokohama to host 2019 Rugby World Cup final

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.