‘It was a farce’: Fans fume over Australia vs USA basketball rip-off
Basketball fans have been left fuming after last night’s exhibition game between Australia and the USA at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
More than 51,000 fans attended, some paying thousands of dollars a ticket, after being promised the biggest stars in the world would be playing, only for the majority of them to pull out.
Then when they arrived, many of the premium seats had little or no view of the court.
Lots of talk already about the view from ground level at Marvel Stadium where ticket holders paid hundreds of dollars to see #BoomersUSA. This is the view… https://t.co/KUpXuYFahM pic.twitter.com/m8Zh3mMPxa
— Rohan Smith (@Ro_Smith) August 22, 2019
Thousands of plastic seats were packed in at ground level, with no elevation whatsoever, leaving many staring at the back of people’s heads rather than the game.
Actor Russell Crowe was among those who have vented their frustrations online, calling it “a farce”.
“The only thing achieved tonight by Basketball Australia was enjoining with the promoters in ripping off well-meaning lovers of the sport,” he posted on Twitter.
$1500 a ticket for this view. AUS v USA .
Jokes on me.
If you weren’t among 50,000 there and you chose to watch it on tv at home, good decision . pic.twitter.com/VlNuXWp6iI— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) August 22, 2019
“To have that sort of seating setup for that sort of game … it’s really unacceptable, especially at those sort of ticket prices,” ESPN basketball writer Steve Smith told Macquarie Radio.
On Thursday afternoon, before the event even began, promoters TEG Live began issuing refunds based on “concerns that the advertising for the event was misleading”.
The ACCC is investigating.
On the court, Team USA beat Australia 102 – 86.
The Boomers fall to @usabasketball in game one of #BoomersUSA.@Patty_Mills and @ChrisGoulding43 led the scoring for Australia with 19 apiece.
A big thank you to the 51,218 fans that turned out at @marvelstadiumau! The biggest ever crowd for a 🏀 game in Australia! @Melbourne pic.twitter.com/7zs3fmgAPh
— Basketball Australia (@BasketballAus) August 22, 2019
Former Sydney Kings coach Andrew Gaze tells Steve Price the game itself was not disappointing.
“It was a fantastic night for the overwhelming vast majority of people there.
“Disappointing that some people never got the experience they were hoping for.”
Click PLAY to hear the full interview