Actor Russell Crowe shelled out $1,500 a ticket to watch Australia host Team USA at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Thursday. Unfortunately for the Oscar-winner, he didn't exactly have the best view of the action, and he took to Twitter to complain about his predicament:
$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
Crowe went on to call the situation a “farce” and a rip-off:
The only thing achieved tonight by @BasketballAus was enjoining with the promoters in ripping off well meaning lovers of the sport. It was a farce. https://t.co/M04iiL26Xm
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) August 22, 2019
Over 51,000 fans watched Team USA beat the Boomers 102-86 in an exhibition ahead of the FIBA World Cup, the biggest crowd ever to watch a basketball game in Australia. However, the arena is primarily used for Australian rules football, and adjustments had to be made to host a major basketball game. The court was raised, leaving those like Crowe with the “best” seats with a restricted view.
Other fans agreed with Crowe's sentiments, leading Basketball Australia and promoter TEG Live to release a statement about the complaints. While they said feedback was “strongly positive,” they also acknowledged there were some fans who weren't happy with their seats.
Over 51,000 fans attended the event and it is worth noting the feedback to us has been strongly positive. Clearly there have been some fans that feel their expectations were not met on their purchased seats.
TEG Live and Marvel Stadium worked with a number of fans at the game to make alternative arrangements. Of the 11,000 fans who had purchased floor seating to last night’s game, only 200 people were relocated. They were relocated promptly without issue and just two refunds were requested.
There were already some complaints leading up to this game because of the number of Team USA dropouts, with refunds made available to fans who wanted them. This seating fiasco only adds another layer to this, but it's unclear if any changes will be made to the seating ahead of Saturday's rematch between Team USA and Australia.
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