UA unveils attendance, game day plans for 2020
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has unveiled its plan to have fans at home football games this season, albeit with a greatly reduced capacity and numerous guidelines.
According to an email sent to season ticket holders Sunday and obtained by HawgBeat, the UA expects Reynolds Razorback Stadium to be limited to only 16,000-17,000 seats. That is just 21-23 percent of the stadium’s capacity and includes premium areas, general seating and an allocation for students.
Phase II of the State of Arkansas’ Re-Opening guidelines actually allows for up to 66 percent capacity for large outdoor venues, but the UA will be much lower than that to ensure 6 feet of social distancing in every direction.
Excluding students, the Razorbacks have sold almost 33,000 season tickets for the upcoming season. Because it can accommodate only about half of that total, the UA has developed a plan based on 2020 Annual Fund membership level in the Razorback Foundation and Priority Points.
On Tuesday, those who purchased season tickets will be asked to request either a full 5-game package, a 3-game package to the LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss games, or a 2-game package to the Alabama and Georgia games. (Dates for those games will be
When attending games, fans will be required to wear a mask or other face covering over their mouth and nose at all times inside the stadium. Event staff and employees will also be wearing masks.
Another significant change is that tailgating will not be permitted on UA property this fall, per a directive from the Arkansas Department of Health. Similarly, the Razorbacks will not do their usual Hog Walk into the stadium this year, but rather be dropped off right at the entrance of the locker room.
Bands will be allowed to play abbreviated performances in pregame and at halftime, but only the drumline will be able to play from the stands during the game.
Because the field has to be cleared prior to teams coming out of the locker room, Arkansas must also abandon its tradition of running through the ‘A’ when entering the field before kickoff. Cheerleaders, the pom squad and mascots will be at the game, but won’t be allowed on the sidelines.
Other precautions taken by the UA include queued lines at all gates, concession stands and merchandise locations with “strictly enforced” 6-feet distancing markers, contactless transactions, modified restroom layouts, additional hand washing/hand sanitizing stations, extensive cleaning and disinfecting of areas with high traffic, and mobile-only ticketing.