Plans for fans to return to iconic Melbourne sports events

MELBOURNE, Australia, Sept 14 (AP): Government officials are aiming to have crowds back at sports events in Melbourne in time for the Boxing Day cricket Test between Australia and India in December and for the first tennis major of 2021 at the Australian Open.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews on Monday said his government was in detailed negotiations with tennis and cricket administrators to find a way to have spectators attending two of Melbourne's iconic sports events just before and just after the new year.

"We just have to work out what a safe crowd would be. It is too hard to say now what that number is," Andrews said during a daily news briefing. "It is too early for us to determine how big any crowd might be.

"We will get as many people we can get there, provided it is safe."

Total crowds at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open hit a record 812,174 in January, despite the wildfire crisis in southeast Australia earlier in the month.

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley has said the Australian Open won't be staged anywhere outside of Melbourne, and there are contingencies to allow for smaller capacities for spectators for the Jan. 18-31 event.

The just completed US Open didn't allow any fans to attend during the tournament.

Melbourne prides itself on being one of the world's sporting capitals. But a six-week lockdown and night curfew in Victoria state because of a second wave of Covid-19 infections has already forced the top-flight Australian rules Grand Final to be relocated out of the Melbourne area for the first time ever.

It'll be held on October 24 in Brisbane, Queensland state, where crowds are allowed into sports venues and where Melbourne's AFL clubs have been based in recent weeks.

Australia shut its international borders and went into lockdown soon after the Formula One Australian Grand Prix was cancelled two days ahead of the scheduled season-opening race in March, with all teams already in Melbourne.