New Stadium COVID Protocols
By Makenna Biehl
As the day’s inch closer to the first home game of the 2020 season, the Clemson Athletic Department has gone to extra lengths to ensure a safe season. Fan capacity will be around 19,000, with people sitting in pods of mostly 2 or 4 people in them. Seats have been marked with chairbacks that are being funded by Clemson Athletics.
Free upper deck student tickets will be distributed through a lottery system that will take up 10% of the stadium’s population. There will be a separate student entrance and restrooms from the rest of the fans to guarantee student safety. This process will help reduce the amount of outside contact for students.
All ticketing this year will be mobile; this is to help reduce contact between fans and workers. Along with that, fans will be assigned a suggested time of entry within a thirty-minute window. Parking lots open three hours prior to kick; however, large gathering tailgates are discouraged.
After entering the gate, fans will pass by a hand sanitizer station. Hand sanitizing units have been placed all around the stadium for the convenience of fans. For stadium cleanliness, there are cleaning crews as well as disinfection crews this year. Disinfections crews will use an approved disinfection solution in all high touch areas; this includes railings, seats, etc. Along with cleaning going on during games, there will be full stadium cleans between games.
The last significant change to stadium procedures this year is concessions. Concessions will be all prepackaged foods and cups that have straws and lids. Plexiglass has also been placed at the concession windows to separate workers and fans. Workers will be working on a timer system to know when to change gloves and sanitize surfaces, along with being under symptom and temperature checks.
The Clemson Athletic Department has thought out the entire process to help have a safe and enjoyable season. Make sure to tune in to ClemsonSportsNews.com to keep up with all things Clemson Sports.
