Sports is back, somewhat, with the three UFC fights in Jacksonville as America’s first foray back into live televised sporting events. However, no fans were allowed to fights.
It is general consensus that fans in-arena during a game will take a while but Ohio State is already working on a plan.
The OSU athletic director, Gene Smith said Wednesday that his athletic department has run several social distancing models to consider having fans in the stands at games this fall.
“We’ve played with that a little bit as a framework to start as we move forward and think about what we’d ultimately be allowed to do,” Smith told reporters before later clarifying the low-end estimate in a tweet.
Ohio Stadium has a normal capacity of more than 100,000. However, the new plan would hold a crowd closer to 20,000-22,000 fans. As guidelines are relaxed, up to 40,000-50,000 are also being planned for.
“We’re fortunate, with 100,000 seats in the stadium,” he said. “So could we implement the current CDC guidelines? State guidelines around physical distancing, mask requirements and all those types of things in an outdoor environment? Obviously, significantly less fans than we are used to?
“I think it’s possible. I just feel like we have the talent and skill and space capacity. Provide an opportunity for a certain number of fans to have access to our particular stadium. Of course, that wouldn’t be true across the country because of capacity. But I think we can get there.”
