Ulster Rugby: Province hopeful of some fan presence by start of next season
- Published
Ulster have not played at home since 22 February
Ulster Chief Executive Jonny Petrie says there is a "clear plan" for welcoming a restricted number of spectators into the Kingspan Stadium should social distancing guidelines be reduced to one metre.
The province will return to training on 29 June before resuming competitive action in a behind closed doors interpro in late August.
The playing squad and staff will undergo Covid-19 testing this week before being given the green light to begin training.
While the four provinces returning to Pro14 action in August will provide some financial stimulus, the Irish Rugby Football Union is projecting considerable losses if games can only be played behind closed doors for the rest of 2020.
There has been considerable discussion about reducing the social distancing guidelines to one metre, however currently in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland the restrictions remain at two metres.
Last week the Irish Government announced that up to 200 spectators can attend outdoor events from 29 June, with the number rising to 500 on 20 July.
"There's a real importance in providing revenue generating rugby and getting people back through the doors but also giving people a social outlet as well," Petrie said.
"If the social distancing restrictions are reduced to one metre, then we think we would have a clear plan where we would be able to get people back in through the doors but in reality I don't know when that's going to be.
"Our first match of the 2021 season in the Pro14 would likely be at the beginning of October effectively anyway.
"We've not been able to sell tickets for next season because we don't know what a restricted capacity would be.
We would like to see some fans to be back in October - Petrie
"We've got 9,000 or 10,000 season ticket holders so we need to see what the restrictions would be.
"So that's something we would try and target to see if there is at least a restricted capacity we could get back into the stadium but we would have to see how things develop."
Ulster will play two of their inter-provincial rivals to conclude the regular season, and need only two points to guarantee themselves a place in the Pro14 semi-finals.
Leinster's lead at the top of Conference A is unassailable, while Ulster hold a nine-point advantage of third-placed Glasgow.