The Ballarat Football Netball League will not run a season in 2020 if significant crowd restrictions are in place, the competition's manager Shane Anwyl says.
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Anwyl said spectators were vital to the league's viability.
"Our position is that if there's any crowd restrictions, logistically and financially it wouldn't be viable to have a competition," he said.
"The income from the gate, canteen and bar obviously is really important and if you have no spectators and players play for free that's okay, but you have still got to pay for medical equipment, jumpers and everything else that goes with it.
"There's still costs to clubs that they have to cover, which from a sponsorship perspective is not really going to cut it this year."
AFL Victoria has advised that all community competitions should be delayed until at least May 31 due to the COVID-19 crisis. Last week, it released a statement to stakeholders that suggested it would provide a more detailed update on the situation at the end of this month.
Anwyl wanted to stress that getting a season up and running wasn't just about providing for the football and netball players.
"It's just not about the players playing football, it's also about spectators and that sense of community that's important to a lot of people... that social avenue on a weekend that they really look forward to," Anwyl told The Courier.
The AFL is preparing for an entire season without spectators after Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton admitted mass gatherings with thousands of people would likely be off-limits until 2021.
"That doesn't mean it won't happen later in the year, but certainly not contemplating crowds at the start," AFL boss Gillon McLachlan told 3AW.
"And I think if you take a line through what Brett Sutton said, who in Victoria will be the guy making the decision, I think it's a challenge to have (crowds) at all this year."
On Monday, Central Highlands Football League president Doug Hobson failed to shut the door on his competition getting underway without spectator access in 2020.
Hobson said if football was allowed to return without crowds, it might still be worth running a season.
