Energy is high, but are fans socially distancing, wearing masks at NC State football games?
N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren appreciates the fans who have been allowed inside Carter-Finley Stadium this season.
Instead of the usual about 60,000 people in the stands, only about 4,000 (7% of capacity) have been there on game days due to limits on outdoor gatherings put in place by Gov. Roy Cooper in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But the ones who are there have not gone unnoticed by Doeren.
“We appreciate the ones that are screaming and cheering us on,” Doeren said. “Can’t thank you enough for the ones who are being positive and are yelling and pulling for our guys.”
While the energy has been great, are fans wearing masks and and social distancing?
Some images from the Wolfpack’s Nov. 21 win over Liberty appear to show groups of fans congregating in some areas of the bleachers, particularly in the section of the stadium where students sit. Most fans in the images are wearing masks, and some are not or wearing them improperly.
Fred Demarest, N.C. State senior athletic director for communications, told The News & Observer that all sections of seating are monitored by stadium employees who “addresses groups who are too close.” Sometimes student groups migrate together during the course of the game. When that happens, the staff is there to police it, asking fans to keep a safe distance.
“On site staff have separated them,” Demarest said. “And promotes staying in assigned areas and wearing masks.”
Ticket holders sit in the lower bowl of the stadium, with a few scattered in the end zone seats. Tickets are not general admission. Each ticket, like a normal game, has a row and seat number on it. Tickets are distributed to groups (families, students who live together) in groups of two or four. The tickets are sold with space between groups for social distancing so fans should not be on top of each other.
N.C. State has played five games at Carter-Finley Stadium this season, with one more — senior night — on Dec. 5 versus Georgia Tech.
Demarest said the school has not been contacted by any local health agencies about any COVID-19 outbreaks related to Wolfpack football games.
Coronavirus, seating limits and football
When the Wolfpack opened the season against Wake Forest on Sept. 19, only 350 tickets were distributed to the athletic department. No other people were allowed to attend. By Oct. 17, N.C. State’s next home game, Cooper had announced that outside venues with more than 10,000 seats could have 7% capacity. For that game, against Duke, 600 of the available tickets went to athletes and team staff.
“The 7% capacity leaves plenty of room for social distancing, but not just that,” Cooper said at the time. “We think it’s really important for these arenas to have separate entrances, to not have places where people can congregate to make sure that only families or people who live in the same household sit together.”
Cooper on Monday warned that “we are in danger” with 20 counties in the state on red alert (meaning critical viral spread).
He implemented new mask requirements — an extension of previous mandates — that require masks to be worn inside any public or private setting with non-household members, even when people are 6 feet apart. Masks must also be worn in public outdoor settings if social distancing isn’t possible.
The new requirements will take effect on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
As of Tuesday morning, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 339,194 coronavirus cases in North Carolina and 5,039 deaths from the disease.
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
