Texas football looking at 25% capacity for home games. Will others follow suit?
The University of Texas plans to limit capacity to 25% at home football games this fall, interim president Jay Hartzell said Wednesday.
Other Texas-based schools could make similar announcements in the coming days. As of now, the state is allowing up to 50% capacity at outdoor sporting venues amid the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to respond whether the state could reduce capacity at outdoor venues to 25%.
“We’re modeling a number of options including 50%, although that seems less likely,” TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday.
At 25% capacity, Texas would be able to host approximately 25,000 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. For TCU, it would limit crowds to 11,500 at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Texas A&M’s Kyle Field would be able to hold just over 25,500.
Texas Motor Speedway hosted the state’s first sporting event open to fans with the NASCAR Cup race on July 19. A reported 15,000 to 20,000 fans were on hand at the 125,000-seat track.
TMS could have had more than triple that number if the demand was there. However, an afternoon race on a hot summer day in the midst of a pandemic wasn’t the most enticing sales pitch.
College football games this fall, though, could be in more demand. Those within college athletics seem to think that a 25% capacity for home games is more realistic in the current climate than 50%.
That rings true beyond Texas state lines, too.
On May 26, University of Kansas athletic director Jeff Long said the school was modeling crowds of 15,000 to 16,000, roughly one-third of the capacity of the 47,000-seat Booth Memorial Stadium.
Kansas State hasn’t made an announcement on seating capacity for fall football games yet, but Riley County — where the school is located — announced new COVID guidelines this week that restrict mass gatherings to 2,000 people. Those gatherings must be approved 14 days in advance by the health department.
The trend is moving toward reducing crowd sizes across the country. After all, if a few friends can’t meet up for a beer at a bar these days in Texas, why would it be OK for 50,000 folks to gather in Austin to watch the Longhorns play? Or 23,000 at Amon G. Carter Stadium?
As one college official put it, “That would not be a good look on TV.”
The universities have already started reaching out to season ticket holders about various options. At TCU, for instance, ticket holders essentially have four options:
▪ Those who do not renew tickets for the 2020 season will keep their place in line and be able to renew the same tickets they had in 2019 for the 2021 season.
▪ Those who have paid for 2020 season tickets are eligible for a full refund.
▪ Those who have paid for 2020 season tickets can receive a credit to use toward 2021 season tickets, or use the credit to purchase tickets for other TCU sporting events such as basketball or baseball.
▪ Those who have paid for 2020 season tickets may convert the money into a tax-deductible gift to the university.
UT offered similar options for season ticket holders.
The college football season is scheduled to start with Week Zero games on Aug. 29. Fall camps are ready to begin Friday.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 4:30 PM.
