Potential fan capacity at Williams-Brice coming into focus, Ray Tanner says
With the Southeastern Conference announcing its plan to play a 10-game schedule on Thursday, the question arises: How many fans will be allowed to attend contests at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2020?
South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner gave his latest estimate Friday during a Zoom video press conference with reporters.
“Attendance, I can’t tell you what it will be. I can speculate, that is all I can do, and I am thinking maybe north of 20,000,” Tanner said.
If Tanner is right with that estimate, that would be about 25% of the 80,250 capacity at Williams-Brice-Stadium. There still is plenty of work to be done to get to that point.
Earlier this week, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster eased restrictions on sporting venues in the state. McMaster is limiting those places to 250 people or 50% of the posted occupancy, whichever is less. And those venues must “require the wearing of masks or face coverings as a condition of admission or participation.”
To get more than 250 people in the stands, USC and other venues like Darlington Raceway and Clemson’s Memorial Stadium will have to submit a waiver to the S.C. Department of Commerce to get that done.
Tanner said he and his staff will be putting together a model to submit early next week.
“We will have to show how we are going to the egress and ingress inside the stadium and social distancing,” Tanner said. “Hopefully, we can hear an answer sooner rather than later.”
Once the attendance is figured out, USC said it will communicate updated ticketing procedures, and fans who’ve purchased tickets can decide if they want a refund or not.
Tanner at one point the last few months suggested 15,000 as a potential capacity for home football games, which is 18.7% capacity.
Experts told The State that social distancing might require stadiums to allow in between 15% and 35% of capacity depending on how seating is done.
“Willy B ain’t Willy B without 80,000,” USC cornerback Isreal Mukuamu posted to Twitter on Friday.
The fewest fans at Williams-Brice Stadium in recent memory? The Akron game on a cold, rainy day in December 2018. For that game, 20,548 tickets were scanned in (with an announced attendance of 53,420).
South Carolina released the following Thursday related to fans and tickets:
Reduced Capacity at Williams-Brice Stadium: A social distancing plan must be in place for Williams-Brice Stadium to have a capacity of more than 250 people for home football games, based on an executive order from the South Carolina Governor’s Office. School officials are developing a plan to account for social distancing at home football games, which will significantly impact the number of fans that can attend these events. We will communicate these plans once they are finalized and approved by the proper authorities.
Season Ticket Holders: Knowing that social distancing guidelines need to be in place for the season, fulfilling season tickets in a traditional manner cannot occur. Once a final decision has been made on the social distancing plan, we will communicate updated ticketing procedures. Information related to refund and investment option will be communicated next week. We appreciate your patience and support of our student-athletes with your ticket purchases and Gamecock Club contributions during these challenging times.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Potential fan capacity at Williams-Brice coming into focus, Ray Tanner says."
