Sunday’s Ranfurly Shield match has been called an “absolute shambles”, with queues both inside and outside the stadium, a marchpast in front of empty stands and little variety of food on offer. Dunedin Venues has apologised for what happened at Forsyth Barr Stadium for the Ranfurly Shield challenge between Otago and Canterbury, saying the late turnout significantly exceeded expectations. Many punters said the gates were not open early enough which led to the crowd being squashed in the concourse, between trying to find a seat and getting some food. The traditional junior club rugby marchpast took place but many people could not get into the ground when it started. Matt Potter said getting the crowd in so late meant the stadium was still completely empty when everyone lined up for the marchpast. “The food-beverage lineup was all the way back to the wall… “People were waiting 30-plus minutes for a pottle of chips. “A few of us went up but didn’t bother for fear of missing most of the game,” he said. “I’ve never seen worse in all the various venues I’ve been to over the years in different countries and sports,” he said. The sole halftime entertainment of a bagpipe band was great for a while but went too long, he said. It was a missed opportunity to get something like relay races between clubs scheduled. Some people who contacted the Otago Daily Times on Monday said tickets for seats appeared to have been sold twice with people left with no seat and forced to sit elsewhere with a poor view of the game. Otago Rugby’s Phil Adams turned up just before 1pm, expecting to be allowed in. “By 1.20pm a long queue was forming in damp conditions and still no gates opened.” They finally started letting people in at 1.30pm, half an hour before kick-off, he said. ©Allied MediaThe crowd during the NPC Ranfurly Shield Rugby match between Otago and Canterbury at the Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday. Photo: Peter McIntosh “When the game started we could hardly see the action on the field because people were still attempting to get in and still making their way to their seats, which seriously impeded those who had already sat down.” He went down to use the toilet at halftime and found massive queues to get food and drink. Some punters missed the first 20 minutes of the second half waiting to get food, he said. “All the talk among those there was the shambolic situation… I actually felt embarrassed to know we had visitors attending the game and some locals turning up to their first time at the stadium”. Mosgiel man Ian Hannah took his daughter Ella, 7, to the stadium to see a game for the first time and said she wanted to leave in the first half. The queue to get in before the gate opened was backed up to Anzac Ave and when they got to the gate, people were pushing in from all directions. It was an absolute shambles at times, he said. “She [Ella] got more excitement of watching the seagulls fly around the stadium. “At halftime, the bagpipers came on and thought this would be good. “But that is all we got. “What has happened to the mascots?” In the end they stayed and Mr Hannah and his daughter went and spoke with his cousin Jamie Hannah, who played a big hand for Canterbury in their battle to take the shield. Dunedin Venues interim chief executive Rachael Jenkins said while the atmosphere under the roof was fantastic, it recognised operational challenges on the day impacted the overall event experience for a number of fans. Sunday’s turnout significantly exceeded expectations. The influx of people resulted in longer queues for food and beverage across the concourse. Dunedin Venues sincerely apologised to those fans whose experiences fell short of expectations. “We are currently conducting a full operational review alongside Otago Rugby and our catering partner and the ticketing service agent for this match to capture key learnings from Sunday’s game and ensure our planning processes are even more adaptable to sudden attendance shifts in the future,” she said.
