Crowd Of 52,000 Packs Australian Rugby Stadium As Social Distancing & Masks Are Ending Down Under

A crowd of 52,000 rugby fans was in attendance Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia for Queensland's 20-14 victory over New South Wales. U.K. and Australian media are calling it the world's largest sporting event crowd since COVID caused sports leagues to shut fans out of stadiums and arenas.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk "announced before the game she was lifting the cap on crowds from 75 per cent of stadium capacity to 100 per cent," according to The Sun. Australia recorded just 17 COVID cases Wednesday and hasn't recorded a death from the virus since October 28.

Fans were asked to wear a mask "unless they were seated and to remain within the zone allocated on their ticket to minimize circulation." Fans were also asked to use cashless transactions for food, beverages and merchandise.

As you can see from the match photos, masks are seen on camera crew members, but the fans have resumed a normal sports life.

While Australia gets back to normal, here in the United States, Jerry Jones isn't too far behind Brisbane with fans in the stands. The Cowboys owner, who has allowed incremental attendance increases at AT&T Stadium since Week 2, announced this week he'll continue to let in more fans through the rest of the season. A crowd of 31,700 was in attendance for the Cowboys Week 9 game against the Steelers. The obvious difference is that Australia is no longer worried about social distancing guidelines in Brisbane.

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)