Penn State Athletics has released yet another poll gathering fan comments and season ticket holders about how comfortable they would be at Beaver Stadium this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey, emailed to an unspecified number of fans on Wednesday, asked participants to answer questions related to the upcoming Penn State soccer season. Some questions included how many games they would attend, their familiarity with mobile tickets and their interest in virtual gates if in-person festivities were not an option.
The questionnaire also asked fans to describe the importance of some factors in their decisions to attend Penn State soccer games. These included your health, public health guidelines, a possible coronavirus vaccine, and availability of tests.
Additionally, Penn State asked fans to provide information on the health precautions they would like to be taken in games. These included the mandatory use of masks, sanitation stations and seats, and social distance lines, among others.
Fans were also asked to describe how soon they would feel comfortable attending the games, which run from September to next spring.
A particularly interesting question came up when Penn State asked if fans would be willing to donate a portion of their season ticket allocation to allow for a “student-only” game. So far, no concrete plans have been provided for such an event.
The survey will close on Sunday, August 2. Each recipient must receive a unique survey link.
“We continue to develop and review many scenarios for our attendance at our home events this fall, including various levels of capacity at our venues,” said Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour. “We are working closely with the university, public health, and government officials to develop an environment with a series of safeguards to ensure the safety and well-being of our student athletes, coaches, staff, fans, and community.”
Penn State launched a similar poll In June I received over 13,000 responses from fans. Barbour said fan feedback will be used to better understand which aspects of a game day are more important when planning “an unprecedented COVID environment.”
To date, Penn State has not implemented any concrete plans for the upcoming soccer season. However, the Big Ten announced that it would limit all fall sports, including soccer, to conference-only hours. The Nittany Lions have yet to release an updated list of games.
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, some teams are laying the groundwork for next season. Yesterday, the state of Ohio Announced It would limit attendance to 20% and ban tail travel to keep fans safe. Meanwhile, Rutgers said he will not bring fans to Piscataway this fall, following the decisions of the New York Jets and Giants.
