South Carolina raises Founders Park to 100% capacity in time for final SEC series
Founders Park is going full capacity.
The University of South Carolina announced Tuesday that it will lift all COVID-19 restrictions on baseball attendance in time of the Gamecocks’ final home series against Tennessee. Capacity will continue to be limited for Tuesday’s midweek contest against Appalachian State.
The series against the No. 4 Volunteers kicks off Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by another 7 p.m. first pitch Friday and the series finale Saturday at noon.
Facial coverings will continue to be encouraged but not required while outdoors at the park, and they will still be required indoors except while actively eating or drinking. USC also said it was lifting all restrictions on tailgating in university lots, which will open two hours before first pitch.
“In working with our medical task force, they have advised our department that it is not necessary to cut back on stadium attendance at this weekend’s baseball series,” athletic director Ray Tanner said in a statement. “We look forward to having Founders Park full of Gamecock fans for this important SEC series.”
USC has gradually increased capacity at Founders Park throughout this season. It opened in February allowing no more than 2,100 people in the stadium, 25.4% capacity of the stadium’s usual 8,242-person capacity. That translated to a maximum crowd of 1,938 fans.
Then in mid-April, the university increased capacity to 50%, citing South Carolina’s easing of COVID-19 protocols and the rollout of vaccines. Under the new rules, up to 3,350 fans were allowed in the stadium.
Meanwhile, other SEC programs, including Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU, opened their stadiums to full capacity several weeks ago, packing thousands of fans in the stands.
The Gamecocks are currently ranked No. 21 in the nation and were one of 20 programs named as potential regional hosts for the NCAA tournament last week. The NCAA has said it will limit capacity at all regional host sites to 50%, regardless of local rules.
Tuesday’s announcement comes less than a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated individuals did not need to social distance or wear masks. According to South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control, 34.7% of the state’s residents are now fully vaccinated, with 42.4% having had at least one dose of the vaccine.
South Carolina’s athletics department previously said it was planning on returning to full capacity for football games at Williams-Brice Stadium this fall. Then-university president Robert Caslen said the school would continue to comply with CDC and state guidelines and “if it allows us to be 100%, that’s exactly what we would like to do.”
NEXT USC BASEBALL SERIES
Who: No. 21 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Tennessee
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday
Where: Founders Park
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus on Thursday and Friday, SEC Network on Saturday
This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 10:09 AM.
