GOP bill would let UNC and NC State fans attend games. What are the current COVID limits?
Fans could be allowed back at ACC basketball games and other college and high school sports events under a bill sponsored by North Carolina Republican lawmakers.
House Bill 128 filed on Tuesday would require that between 25% and 50% of facility capacity be allowed at both indoor and outdoor sporting events at UNC System schools, community colleges and K-12 schools. Family members of athletes would not be counted in the spectator limit.
The bill comes as Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s current executive orders have put sharp limits on who can attend sporting events to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the bill sponsors say it’s important to let fans back in.
“Just as getting back in the classroom is vital for North Carolina students, returning to athletic competition is also critical for their physical and mental wellbeing,” the bill sponsors said in a joint statement.
“Our legislation gives families the opportunity to safely support the hard work of their young athletes, and also lets some fans support local teams as our education communities recover together across North Carolina.”
The four GOP sponsors are Kyle Hall of Stokes County, Destin Hall of Caldwell County, David Willis of Union County, and Jeffrey Elmore of Wilkes County.
The bill applies to K-12 private schools but not to private colleges and universities, such as Duke University.
Lawmakers push back on Cooper limits
The House bill is more expansive than GOP-backed legislation filed in the Senate last week that applies only to outdoor facilities and to K-12 schools. Senate Bill 116 also would raise the capacity limit to just 40%, the News & Observer reported.
Currently, Cooper’s executive order limits attendance at indoor events to 25 people and 100 people at outdoor events. Due to state guidelines, the UNC system isn’t allowing fans at basketball games and is limiting attendance to two family members per athlete, The News & Observer previously reported.
Also due to the state’s guidelines, the ACC announced that tickets won’t be sold to the general public when the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are held in Greensboro in March, The News & Observer reported. Attendance will be limited to family and personal guests of team personnel.
Cooper’s current executive order expires at the end of the month. Cooper indicated that he may ease some of the capacity restrictions due to improvements in the state’s coronavirus numbers.
In addition to the statewide bills, lawmakers have filed “local bills” that wouldn’t need Cooper’s approval. These bills would allow individual counties to exceed Cooper’s capacity restriction on sporting events and graduations.
For instance, House Bill 129 filed on Tuesday has the same capacity requirements as House Bill 128. But it only applies to Forsyth, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 11:00 AM.
