Governor Ron DeSantis Lifts Bans on Stadium Capacity

During the fall semester of college each year, the one thing that is on almost every student’s mind is football and the festivities that come along with it. With the COVID-19 pandemic currently plaguing the world, sporting events have become a topic of conversation when debating how to make them work with the current state of the world. The common solution as of late has been to limit capacity, and in the early stages of the pandemic, most games were just being broadcasted on television. However, on Wednesday, Oct. 7, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a new plan for the state.

DeSantis shared with FOX Sports 640 representative Andy Slater that all stadiums in the state of Florida will now be allowed at full capacity. At first, it was unclear as to whether all teams and stadiums would be given the go-ahead, as DeSantis specified only the Miami Dolphins. However, he then clarified that the clearance was for all sports and stadiums in Florida. Slater clarified that despite the restrictions being lifted, the Miami Dolphins are still choosing to limit their capacity anyway. This is because of their personal beliefs about the pandemic and how functions should be handled during this difficult time.

This news has many fans of Florida’s college football teams and students at these colleges wondering if increased attendance could be coming to those stadiums as well as Miami’s. When it comes to Florida State University, the guidelines do not seem to be changing too drastically when it comes specifically to football. Students will still be required to wear masks at games, encouraged to get tested for COVID-19 the week before the game, and sit only in spaces that are socially distanced. Despite these unchanged guidelines, in an email sent by the Vice President of Student Affairs ar FSU Dr. Amy Hecht on Wednesday, Oct. 7, Hecht explained that the university had made the decision to increase the capacity of school events to 50 students due to a decline in COVID-19 cases. Whether or not this will affect sporting events is unclear as of right now.

Just as Florida State University has chosen to create its own guidelines, many other schools have chosen to do so as well. SEC associate commissioner Herb Vincent reminded sports commentator Matt Hayes that the conference allows schools to set attendance, and that they will not be forced to fill stadiums if they are not comfortable doing so. Because of this, many are awaiting responses from schools like the University of Florida, considering that many fans are demanding that ticket sales be increased for their upcoming games and many others are upset that past games did not sell out in order to give the incentive to do so.

While this decision may come with mixed feelings and a variety of responses from universities, this decision to increase capacity may allow for others like it to come later on in the academic year. Whether one is comfortable with full stadiums or not, Governor DeSantis has given the green light for staudiums in Florida. 

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