USC’s COVID-19 protocols: Lessons learned and what’s ahead for mask wearing, more
The regulations and requirements seem never-ending. They’d fill reams of paper if these things were still put on paper.
What to do about masks for patrons and stadium workers. How entering and exiting the stadium should happen. How many people can get in an elevator or congregate in a tailgate lot. All so a college football game could be played by the South Carolina Gamecocks with fans in the stands at Williams-Brice Stadium.
So how did things go at USC’s first 2020 home game against Tennessee?
“The conduct of our fans and people attending the game ... the way they conducted themselves was admirable and I’m pleased to see that,” Tanner said in a radio interview with 107.5 The Game.
The school welcomed in more than 15,000 fans for the first football game held since the coronavirus put a halt to all sports early in the spring. Seating was spaced out and staggered. Food purchases were touchless. Alcohol sales made their debut at Gamecocks football games.
“I think it went as well as we could have hoped for it to go, given all the challenges we had going into the game,” said Chris Rogers, South Carolina’s senior associate AD for administration said. “From our perspective, parking lots went pretty well. Ingress went pretty well, concessions went pretty well.”
The team had three weeks between games to make any tweaks or changes. Tanner and Rogers pointed to two areas that left them a tad concerned.
▪ The school would like to not have lines entering the stadium get as long as they were at times for the opener. The goal is to have fans flowing in at a more even rate to prevent crowding.
▪ There could be more emphasis on wearing masks while seated, especially as it gets colder.
“Inside the bowl, people maybe did take their mask off more so than they should,” Tanner said. “But they were outside and some health experts told me it wasn’t a terrible situation.”
USC’s original guidelines called for face coverings to be worn while fans are walking around or in a common area. They’re strongly encouraged but not required while fans are in their seats.
This weekend when USC hosts Auburn, Rogers said staff will be told to remind patrons more often about wearing masks. The aspect with the lines is hard to fully solve because so many fans still prefer to enter the stadium around 30 minutes to kickoff.
On the tailgating front, the AD was also pleased, both with what was going on in the school-operated lots and in the private lots, the latter of which was an area of concern.
“I never saw a tent,” Tanner said. “The tailgating was isolated to maybe the people in the car in most cases. I thought we really handled the situation well.”
Could USC expand Williams-Brice Stadium’s fan capacity this season? Tanner was hesitant to answer that at this point. He pointed out the virus is still a very real thing, with a vaccine still months away at best.
So far, it’s not as if college football stadiums are filling all the seats they do have available. South Carolina finished a little short of a sellout, even after converting more than 1,000 tickets from regular tickets to student tickets. Florida didn’t manage a sellout when the Gamecocks went there, and Vanderbilt only let in 100 student fans.
Auburn comes to Williams-Brice at noon, and fans shouldn’t expect too many changes just yet.
“There’s probably always things you can improve on,” Rogers said. “We’ll probably make some small tweaks here and there in terms of staffing, in terms of where we’ve got certain personnel in place. I think we learned we need to maybe bulk up our concessions a little bit on the west main concourse. We were good and others areas of the stadium. So there’s small tweaks like that, but I don’t think there’s anything major.”
Feedback was mostly positive, Rogers said, with the new club areas as a high point and relatively few concerns with alcohol issues in the first game it was sold at the stadium.
This season under the shadow of pandemic is still young. The Atlantic Coast Conference has already had multiple games moved, and the SEC had its first postponement Monday with Vanderbilt-Missouri. The race to play a full slate of games is far from over.
But from Game 1 and heading into Game 2, things went mostly well for USC, without much to change.
“I was pleased ... with how it transpired as far as ingress and egress and the way our fans conducted themselves with social distancing and masking,” Tanner said. “It wasn’t a perfect situation, but I thought it was very good.”
USC football home game protocols
▪ Ticketing: To offer greater convenience and safety, mobile-only ticketing (excluding premium seating) will be in place for the 2020 season. Fans should review the Digital Ticketing Guide for a step-by-step guide to access mobile tickets via the Gameday App.
▪ Parking: For the 2020 season, Athletics Department-controlled lots will open two and a half hours prior to kickoff. Athletics Department-controlled parking spaces in Gamecock Park and the Fairgrounds will only be available to patrons for the games in which they have purchased tickets. Paid gameday parking will not be permitted in Gamecock Park or Fairgrounds. Parking lots will close 90 minutes after the conclusion of the game.
▪ Tailgating: Tailgating, including grills, coolers and large buffet-style spreads, is discouraged, and tents are prohibited. Large gatherings will be asked to disperse.
▪ Shuttles: For the 2020 season, shuttle service will be limited to students with a valid Carolina Card. There will be no public shuttles operating for the 2020 football season.
▪ Stadium Entry/Exit: Gates will open two hours prior to kickoff and will include signage to facilitate social distancing. To alleviate crowding at entrances, fans should plan to enter at the time recommended on their ticket. Face coverings (over the nose and mouth) are required for entry to Williams-Brice Stadium and in all common areas around the stadium. Face shields are not acceptable facial coverings for entry to the stadium.
▪ Concessions/Merchandise Sales: All points-of-sale throughout Williams-Brice Stadium will be cashless. Fans must use credit or debit card or a mobile-pay option (i.e., Google, Apple) to purchase concessions and merchandise. Queuing at points of sale will be designed to allow for physical distancing between guests. Some concessions stands will not be open due to the lower seating capacity this season, however, the service ratio will be higher than when the stadium is at full operation.
▪ Restrooms: All restrooms will be open with modified layouts and an attendant to regulate entry to allow for proper social distancing.
— South Carolina’s official release on protocols
