It looked a forlorn hope — pie in the sky stuff — a few weeks ago.
But come Saturday night, fans will be in the stands as the Highlanders play the Chiefs in the opening match of Super Rugby Aotearoa at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
And who knows where it will end?
Bledisloe Cups, rock concerts — nothing is being ruled out at this stage.
With the move to Alert Level 1 and the lifting of restrictions on gatherings, the Highlanders wasted no time. Tickets went on sale almost immediately after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made her announcement.
Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark said when the modified competition was announced on May 11, he had no thought about playing in front of crowds.
"Really, this is only a scenario we have planned for since last week," he said.
"It is absolutely outstanding. Anyone can come ... we are incredibly excited."
It will be the first top-class rugby game — a crowd of 30,000 went to a football game in Vietnam last week — to be played in front of crowds since Covid-19 arrived.
Mr Clark was reluctant to put a number on the expected attendance but he was confident a big crowd would turn up. The Zoo would be in operation.
The game will kick off at 7.05pm, two hours later than originally scheduled.
DVML chief executive Terry Davies said he wanted a full house for the game. There would be a lot more cleaning and instructions at the game as safety was paramount.
He said the situation was changing every day so concerts and other acts were not ruled out, though it would be vital to get the transtasman bubble operating.