Kyle Field staff will be vigilant on masks
COLLEGE STATION — The dogeared adage of “one game at a time” has been repackaged at Texas A&M, and it’s never carried more authenticity concerning Aggies football.
“Understand the mentality — we’re trying to get to Game 2,” said Kevin Hurley, A&M’s senior associate athletic director for facilities. “The only way we can do that is be successful in Game 1.”
A&M on Friday offered an onsite tour of Kyle Field for a handful of media members in a calm before the football storm — with the storm reduced to about 25 percent capacity for the Sept. 26 opener against Vanderbilt because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Around the same time the University of Houston announced its scheduled game at Baylor on Saturday had been canceled because of too many positive tests for COVID-19 among Baylor players, Hurley emphasized A&M intends to do everything it can to play the 10-game regular season the SEC has allowed, all competition within the league.
“Wear your masks, wash your hands, use hand sanitizer and be socially distanced,” Hurley reiterated to the 27,000 or so fans who intend to attend the long-awaited opener next weekend.
Most will be season ticket holders who chose not to opt out of this year, with a limited number of students also on hand. Hurley added that enforcing mask protocols inside the stadium is not lip service — university police will be called in if necessary.
“If you don’t have your mask on, (ushers) are going to stop you, they’re going to come over to you and say, ‘Please pull your mask up and please make sure it gets over your nose,’ ” Hurley said. “If we continue to have a problem with somebody — and we
have this stated on signage out front — we do have the ability to remove you if you do not wear your mask.”
Masks should be worn when walking up to Kyle Field, he added, where fans are asked to stand at least six feet apart when entering gates.
“You can’t get into the stadium without having your mask on, and appropriately over your nose and mouth,” Hurley said. “And once you get in the stadium, (ushers) will continue to remind you on the concourse. The only time you get a chance to take your mask off is if you are eating or drinking.”
And once food or drinks are bought, a fan must head straight to an intended destination with the concessions in hand.
“You have to get to a stationary spot,” he said.
Fans inside the cavernous Hall of Champions, club areas and suites, too, might want to bring a light jacket, based on A&M turning Kyle Field into what amounts to Kyle Medical Center on game days, at least when it comes to air conditioning.
“We have increased the amount of air conditioning so that every hour we will turn over the air six times, which is the same that you get in a medical facility,” Hurley said. “That’s been deemed the appropriate number by the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and our university energy services group.”
The Aggies, entering their third season under coach Jimbo Fisher, have wrapped up camp that began on Aug. 17 and will begin game-week prep on Monday. A&M players have had minimal issues with COVID-19, Fisher said this week as part of a virtual coach’s night, a credit to the A&M medical staff and the university’s overall approach to working with its athletes, he added.
“(With) our players early I think there was a learning curve … understanding how important it is to do everything right,” Fisher said. “With COVID, one little mistake can cost your whole team, because it can infect everybody. Our team has done an outstanding job with the discipline they’ve had on and off the field, keeping things almost virtually COVID free.”
As for Kyle Field on Sept. 26, all transactions are cashless, “To minimize points of contact and improve speed of service,” according to A&M. There will be no tailgating allowed, a Game 1 edict that will be revisited prior to the second home game on Oct. 10 against Florida.
A&M’s yell leaders will be on individual platforms just off the field for the opener, and the Aggie Band already has recorded a couple of performances on Kyle Field to be shown at halftime for the first two home games. The SEC is not allowing bands to perform on the playing fields.
Finally, Hurley said it’s important for fans to try and leave any bags at home — they’re checked with a stick that will be sanitized after each poke by a stadium employee — but if a bag is a must, it must be clear.
“We’re encouraging people not to bring bags,” Hurley said, “but if you (do), bring a clear bag, and we can get through this a lot quicker.”