Indoor venue a challenge
Commentary
As early as May, with the coronavirus pandemic still casting doubt over the college football season, UTSA athletic director Lisa Campos began meeting with numerous committees to gauge the feasibility of hosting fans in the Alamodome.
Seating arrangements and distancing protocols were obvious hurdles, but every detail had to be considered. What will the pregame officials meeting look like? Where will the school band be set up? How will media access be structured?
Programs across the country faced the same set of questions, but the challenge of playing at an indoor venue was almost unique to UTSA and the Alamodome.
When the state’s athletic directors met with Governor Greg Abbott to discuss the logistics of hosting live sporting events, Campos said she was sure to “gently remind him” the Roadrunners play
in a dome. Health officials and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested UTSA could proceed, provided guidelines on ventilation were followed.
After months of planning and preparation, UTSA settled on a system to allow 17 percent capacity at the Alamodome, or about 11,000 fans. The procedure will be put into action for the first time when UTSA hosts Stephen F. Austin in its home opener at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“For the most part, people are so excited to have football,” Campos said. “If you gauge people, they didn’t think they would have the opportunity to come to a UTSA football game.”
UTSA is one of two FBS programs to host games at an indoor venue. The other, Syracuse, announced last week that it will not be allowing fans at the Carrier Dome until further notice, in accordance with New York State protocols.
At least seven FCS programs play home games at indoor facilities, but most FCS seasons were canceled or postponed to spring in response to the pandemic. Of that group, only North Dakota State is playing in the fall, announcing that
it will host up to 10,000 fans in the 19,000-capacity Fargodome for its lone game against Central Arkansas on Oct. 3.
Campos said regulations in the Alamodome will be stricter than UTSA fans might have experienced during last week’s opener at Texas State in San Marcos. Bobcat Stadium allowed fans to remove their masks while in their seats, and the Alamodome will require that masks remain on except when eating or drinking.
The 17 percent capacity is lower than many other venues, as UTSA opted to close every other row of seating, block off all seats adjacent to aisles and separate every group of fans by at least four unavailable seats.
“We understand that people are going to have a comfort level of watching it on TV, through the internet,” Campos said. “There’s going to be a balance. But for those who are ready to watch live football, be in a stadium environment and have that social aspect, I think we’re going to have quite a few fans Saturday.”
Other changes include temperature screenings upon entering the Alamodome, a mobile concessions system and the cancellation of tailgating.
With so many differences from a typical game day, Campos expects “some bumps along the
way.”
“My message would be to be flexible. To be patient,” Campos said. “We're all going through this for the first time. We have a plan, but in practicality, we’ll see how it all works.”
Facing a financial strain as a result of the pandemic, Campos said any influx of revenue is “critical,” whether from donations or ticket purchases.
Planning for an athletics budget reduction of 10 to 15 percent, UTSA implemented salary cuts for about 70 percent of the department and eliminated 16 positions, most of which were vacant.
But the pandemic continues to present new costs. Roadrunners football players, coaches and staff are tested for COVID-19 three times per week through a partnership with UT Health San Antonio, Campos said, with PRC tests ranging from $85-$100 and antigen tests costing $50-$80.
During a 12-game season, the total cost to the department will likely exceed $500,000, in addition to expenses for sanitation equipment and other safety protocols.
UTSA is also “still in negotiations and conversations” with LSU and Grambling State, Campos said, regarding the fallout from canceling football games scheduled for this year, including the possibility of rescheduling in future seasons.
LSU was to pay UTSA a $1.4 million guarantee before the game was wiped out by the SEC’S decision to go to a conference-only schedule, and UTSA was to give Grambling $500,000 for a game in San Antonio before the SWAC nixed the contest by moving football to the spring.
Campos said the department has “been moving a lot of things around,” including mutually agreeing with Houston to cancel games set for 2024 and 2025. The move allows UTSA to “accommodate another game we were trying to secure,” Campos said.
Fewer than 10 positive COVID-19 tests within the UTSA football program have been reported since the Roadrunners began returning to campus in June, and Campos said she remains pleased with the decision to move forward with the season.
“I’m just so proud of our student-athletes,” Campos said. “We knew we were going to have positives. We knew we weren’t going to go an entire season without any, and we still have a lot of our season to get through. We're only on game two, and our student-athletes have really held each other accountable. … We’ve done everything we can.”