🏈 Kansas Football Outlines Fan Safety Protocols
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Ahead of Saturday’s game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, KU Director of Athletics Jeff Long met with the media and outlined protocols to prevent against the spread of COVID-19.
“So much of this year is unique and our Homecoming will be unique. I think having fans back will surely impact the student-athletes playing the game,” Long said. “Even the 10,000 [fans] here will create a great environment for them and hopefully give us that home field advantage that we strive to have when we play here at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.”
Among the protocols put in place for Saturday, all fans in attendance will be required to wear masks at all times while on campus. All stadium seating will be reserved seating to ensure proper social distancing and fans are required to sit in their ticketed seat location.
“We have a lot of guidelines in place for our fans and students to follow and we have taken great steps with planning to implement the guidelines that are put before us from our medical advisory team and the county,” Long said. “It’s very important that our fans follow those rules because that will allow us to have fans in future games.”
On having fans for the first time this season…
“This is a big day for us. We’ve put a lot into it. The key will be our fans following the guidelines we laid out for them.”
On how it was decided to have fans for this game…
“We’ve been working since the summer on various scenarios that we presented first to campus, and then to the county medical advisors. The plan has changed literally dozens and dozens of times. Through this process, we were continually revising our plans and demonstrating to our campus and then the country that we have a plan that can work and we can execute.”
On the atmosphere the fans will create…
“We need all the atmosphere we can get. We need the fans that are here to be loud and proud and the student-athletes will definitely generate energy off of those fans.”
On why fans will follow the rules…
“Our fans will follow us because they know how important it is. We do have our team reminding our fans. We’ve taken best practices from other places. We’ve called on our staff to come out and volunteer to remind fans to follow the guidelines. We’ll be reminding them to follow those guidelines, and keep following those guidelines because it’s so key to the future and what we’re able to do.”
On communicating with fans…
“We’ve done a great job, I believe, communicating to our fans and students what the guidelines are. We’ll continue to reiterate that. We want them to have fun. We want them to be excited. Overall, we want to keep them safe. We want them to come enjoy the football game and then enjoy soccer, volleyball and basketball in the future.”
Please see below for additional safety protocols:
- Masks will be required at all times on campus, including when fans are sitting in their assigned seats. Fans must have their nose and mouth covered simultaneously and should remove their masks only when eating or drinking.
- Days leading up to the game, all public areas on the concourse, restrooms, suites and press box will be disinfected by a third-party cleaning vendor.
- All stadium seating will be reserved seating to ensure proper social distancing. Fans are required to sit in their ticketed seat location.
- Seating has been reconfigured in suites and the press box to account for proper social distancing.
- There will be contact-less entry through metal detectors for fans.
- Tickets will be distributed via mobile delivery to limit contact points.
- Shuttle buses will operate at a reduced capacity.
- Tailgating will not be permitted on campus to prevent large gatherings. Law enforcement officers will monitor neighborhoods surrounding the stadium to help ensure no tailgating is occurring.
- Additional hand washing stations and hand sanitizer stations have been added throughout the concourses, suite levels and press box.
- Social Distancing stickers are placed on the ground at all locations that may require a line, including concessions, restrooms, ticket office windows, and entry through metal detectors.
- Concession lines will be socially distanced with streamlined menus and appropriate safety measures implemented by staff.
- Plexi-glass barriers have also been installed throughout the stadium.
- Only cashless payment options will be accepted at Rally House and concessions.
- In an effort to maintain social distancing, there will not be a Hawk Walk, Fun Zone or Field Goal Club until we are able to return to our normal game day operations or additional safety measures are discovered.
- Per medical officials’ recommendations, and for the safety and security of our fans and staff members, Kansas Athletics will not offer a bag check service for the 2020 Kansas football season.
- For the safety of our fans, media and our staff, the capacity of the elevators at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium has been reduced to five individuals OR one group at a time.
- Those who fail to comply may be removed from the game and may lose the right to purchase tickets in the future.
