No fans at Penn State this season
- Thread starter GoGATech
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GTWannaBee
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Would require concessions, bathrooms to be sanitized, seats to be sanitized, etc. not saying I agree, but that’s most likely the line of thinking there.
vapspwi
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As evidenced by the complexities of the process GT has been going through to facilitate fans at games (surveys, reseating, all kinds of refund options), at some point it’s just more trouble than its worth.
I’d be disappointed but satisfied if they just said “no fans at all” and saved all the hassle and expense of cleaning, security, concessions, etc. There’s some cutoff point where the cost of bringing in a few fans outweighs the revenue.
JRjr
I’d be disappointed but satisfied if they just said “no fans at all” and saved all the hassle and expense of cleaning, security, concessions, etc. There’s some cutoff point where the cost of bringing in a few fans outweighs the revenue.
JRjr
smokey_wasp
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This plus they are probably thinking people will gather, regardless, pre and post game. Lining up to get in and out, etc. Also the need for more employees.
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My guess is there will be a reseating of season ticket holders who still want to come. When they do that and a lot of people find out they will have to sit in the upper reaches of the upper decks even more will drop out. There won't be any concessions and security won't really be all that necessary with spring game attendance numbers. It will be worth it to keep that option to save on the refunds of those 10 to 15,000 people.
originalwombat
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"For the safety of the fans, we will only expose the players...I mean, student-athletes...to this virus."
vapspwi
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They’ve already said that they were doing a this-year-only reseating (assuming the games are played at all, and with fans), although they haven’t said how many people they’ll let in. (Now that I think about it, the students are kind of the wild card. They aren’t a revenue stream, but you probably can’t let in season ticket holders and not students.)
They’ll presumably still have to have some security (ticket takers, maybe people to enforce distancing and masks or whatever the rules end up being) and at least some concessions, if only selling water.
It’s going to be interesting to see what comes to pass.
JRjr
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I had a long chat with GTAA yesterday about this and I don't think they have ruled out spaced-out seating. Even though I can't even think about coming to a single game this year - 600 miles away and I am not going anywhere near an airplane - I think it would be ok to allow fans willing to risk it the ability to sit spaced out. I don't think sanitizing the bathrooms is a big deal. How is this more risky than other things that we do (like going to the store)?
To me, the players are the only real concern. Cut the fan attendance to 20% and let fans sign up for attendance. Allow season ticket holders to apply 2020 payments to 2021 or to enter a lottery to attend in person. I did a hybrid whereby I gave some of my 2020 payment to GTAA and deferred the rest against 2021 season tickets. I'm not breaking my four-decade unbroken streak of helping out the GTAA and buying my season ticket. China and its devil spawn Corona can both drop dead - long after both of them are long gone, I'll still be here.
To me, the players are the only real concern. Cut the fan attendance to 20% and let fans sign up for attendance. Allow season ticket holders to apply 2020 payments to 2021 or to enter a lottery to attend in person. I did a hybrid whereby I gave some of my 2020 payment to GTAA and deferred the rest against 2021 season tickets. I'm not breaking my four-decade unbroken streak of helping out the GTAA and buying my season ticket. China and its devil spawn Corona can both drop dead - long after both of them are long gone, I'll still be here.
vapspwi
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In recent emails, it sounded like they were going to use AT points, rather than a lottery or other random scheme, to determine seat selection order (for the whole season), up to some maximum number of people in attendance, and once it’s full, everybody else is left out. I don’t know how much space they’ll have between groups or how they’ll handle groups of different sizes. (It sounded like there would be predefined blocks and you couldn’t pick seats that partially filled a block. Presumably they won’t force groups together into a given block. It seems like a planning nightmare to me.)
I guess the differences versus going to the store are being stationary versus moving, sitting there for 3 hours instead of a few minutes, and yelling and cheering. On the other hand, you’ll mostly be outside other than in the concourses.
JRjr
I guess the differences versus going to the store are being stationary versus moving, sitting there for 3 hours instead of a few minutes, and yelling and cheering. On the other hand, you’ll mostly be outside other than in the concourses.
JRjr
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I think one of the things the survey accomplished was to determine who was just not coming this year no matter what. This way, they now have a much smaller population of season ticket holders to figure out how to accommodate if fans are allowed in (but in limited #s). I don't think it will be that complicated. I think schools like Penn St. just took the simple-simon way out and said - nobody comes. I think the GT way - let's figure out who wants to come and lets see if we can make it work is a vastly superior approach.
jacket67
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It shouldn't be hard to do the ticketing once they know what the spacing needs to be and how many fans plan to attend games. Just eliminate every other row and leave two seats between each group. The seating program should be able to handle those criteria without much effort.
cyptomcat
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Is there a team in any sport that has implemented this so far and done it in actual practice? Curious what their experiences are.
Sounds like so many lawyers I worked with. It doesn't matter if you have a waiver or not. Someone dead from being at your stadium is not good pr nor an image that is desirable - but I had a waiver doesn't work.
jacket67
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How would you know where the person contracted a virus? Do you think they would attend the football game but just stay in their basement the rest of the week?
gtphd
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There's nothing wrong with flying. Everyone wears a mask, seats are spaced on the plane, and terminals are maybe 40% normal volume.
You know what? öööö it. Shut everything down. Leaving your house is an arrest-able offense.
At some point you have to stop being scared and go back to living. This isn't ebola. If you're old or have a condition, stay home. Everyone else get back to life.
Disagree with me? Then don't go to the game. But don't infringe on my right to go to the game, either.
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