Included in the schedule for the four home games scheduled to begin Oct. 3 are sections for more than UGA students, faculty and staff, players ‘families and visiting teams’ families.
“We saw (seating) models for two to eight,” Brooks said. “But when you started thinking about a clean application system that would be simple and easy to operate for a ticket office and for an honest system that donors understand, it was better to go with twos and fours.”
Brooks and Georgian athletic director Greg McGarity spent 36 minutes Wednesday with reporters explaining the plan and answering questions about the impressive football season. McGarity was asked if he thought it was risky to consider making football during a pandemic.
“We have enough time throughout the month of September to evaluate things,” McGarity said. ‘We just need to be able to pivot as needed. But we have a long time before we have our first home game. … We feel like the way we map the stadium, we can maintain social distance and still adhere to the CDC guidelines to keep people as safe as possible. Again, people can unsubscribe. ”
The following are some other points of contact for UGA officials:
Will there be tailgating?
McGarity: We’ll make that decision a little later. I know Alabama has already come out and said no tailgating – Arkansas has that too – but we’ll wait and see. We do not have to make this decision at the moment, but surely, since we are close to the first game, we will make those decisions about tailgating. We will wait a little later and make that decision for a while. ”
Will there be a “Dawg Walk?”
McGarity: We do not know yet. Social distance is not really conducive to the Dawg Walk as we know it today. But it’s really the only way our team can get into the stadium right now, so I’m sure it will be adjusted to some degree. We just haven’t posted on those plans for when we start in October.
Will there be a student section?
Brooks: Yes. It was important to us that we maintain the student section, and footprint was not affected. We have actually increased the footprint of the students. … We have set up a meeting today. We will start by meeting with more student leaders to confirm the allocation plan and make sure they are comfortable with what we are working on. We want to keep this section for them as well.
Will the Redcoat Band be there as cheerleaders?
McGarity: That has not yet been determined. I know that the (SEC) Medical Advisory Task Force provides some guidance to the athletic directors as we move forward. That has yet to be determined for how far band and cheerleaders would function this year.
Will mask rules be enforced?
Brooks: According to SEC information, you should wear them when entering or moving the stadium, but if you can maintain six feet of distance in the stadium, you should not wear the masks. … In the blocks we have created, you can maintain social distance.
Is there a point of going or not going?
McGarity: I do not think there is a drop-dead date; we have not designated one. … I just think we review the information daily and listen to what our other peer institutions are doing, as well as the Big 12 and the ACC, the AAC and everyone else playing, and so on to keep everyone informed to keep. I just think it’s too early to set a drop-dead date. I think it would be the week of the game again, but we’ll just wait and see what develops on a daily basis.
What are the safety and sanitation measures in the stadium?
Brooks: That will be a big part of our operation this year. We will have sanitation stations everywhere in the stadium. All our staff will be really masked, all concessionaires will have face shields, masks, gloves. That is very important to think about all these things, and follow all CDC guidelines when you talk about concessions, toilets, entrance, expression. That gave us confidence to move forward with this plan, knowing that with a multitude of these sizes, the operations at the concessions and restrooms will be easy. Ingress and egress will be easy. We can manage that. … We will clean deeply. There will be a storage person assigned to each simple toilet who will constantly erase touch points. We will disinfect all toilets on the day of the game, all common areas. I feel really good about the plan.
What about the Florida game in Jacksonville?
McGarity: We will (distribute tickets) just like we do in a regular season there. Of course you have fewer cards. But the distribution process will be consistent with our regular road games.
Any chance that participation could be increased or decreased for home games?
McGarity: I just think we need to be ready to turn on both sides. If we can go up, that would be great. But we do not expect that. But we could pivot the other way as well.
Why no road game tickets?
McGarity: That was probably one of the quickest decisions we made as a group (in the SEC), to limit that. We basically wanted to make sure we maximized the opportunities for our fans from home, because we knew we would all be at a very low level. That, we wanted to ensure that our fans, our students, our faculty and staff would be maximized. And the opportunity to travel will at least be minimized for fans.
Will schools be able to use artificial sound or whatever to create atmosphere as any advantage of a home field?
Brooks: I can tell you from my days in Louisiana-Monroe that 18- to 20,000 can make some noise in a stadium and I think our fans are pretty lively and will make noise. … I’m sure conference arrangements will be involved, but that’s something we have not yet received.
Any special considerations for Sky Suite holders?
McGarity: They will run at half capacity. They are separated from the general population. Suites have 16 seats so they can go with eight. But it will be a group that will invite the suite holder and they will be kind of managing for their own suite. But they will be at 50 percent capacity.
