Crew allowing 1,500 fans to see match
The Crew is allowing a limited number of spectators to watch the game against FC Cincinnati on Sunday at Mapfre Stadium, even though Columbus Public Health advised team officials against allowing fans at games.
The club announced that a maximum 1,500 tickets will be given out to season-ticket holders based on tenure, and all spectators must wear masks at all times and practice safe social distancing of being 6 feet away from another individual or another group.
Columbus Public Health spokeswoman Kelli Newman said the department told the Crew that it did not think it was safe enough yet to allow fans.
“We provided technical assistance and guidance to the club along with the recommendation not to host spectators until there are two consecutive Level 1/
Yellow declarations on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System,” Newman said.
Gov. Mike Dewine signed a health order last month that gave sports teams the ability to have up to 15% of capacity or 1,500 spectators for outdoor events, whichever would be fewer spectators.
A team can submit a plan to the Ohio Department of Health for review to potentially have more spectators.
Mapfre Stadium has a capacity of 19,968.
“We are pleased to be able to welcome back an extremely limited number of supporters to Mapfre Stadium for our upcoming rivalry match this weekend and we are prepared to execute our Responsible Restart Plan,” Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “The health and safety of all individuals
entering the building remains our top priority to ensure a safe continuation of the 2020 MLS season.
“As we have stated before, we recognize that circumstances are fluid and as such, have designed plans to maximize flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. We will continue to collaborate with public health experts, government officials and the MLS to make the return to the Stadium as safe as possible.
“We’ve designed our seating layout to ensure proper socially distanced seat placement for fans.”
The decision follows the Crew allowing 250 guests and family members of players and staff to attend Wednesday night’s game against the Philadelphia Union.
Last week, Franklin County was downgraded from a Level 3 advisory to Level 2 for the severity of spread of COVID-19 in the community. Newly reported COVID-19 cases have recently increased above the 21-day average in the state.
Franklin County has a 14-day average of more than 50 cases per day. The number of newly reported cases in the county was below that number on Wednesday and Thursday.
Zachary Binney, an epidemiologist at Emory University in Atlanta, said it’s unwise for teams to have spectators at this stage in the pandemic, especially if public health officials advised against it.
“I think it shows remarkable arrogance and a remarkable disrespect for the Columbus community for a sports team to simply ignore the recommendations of your local public health authorities,” Binney said.
John Zidar, a former leadership member of the Save The Crew movement, said it’s unrealistic to believe 1,500 people will comply with every health and safety guideline the entire time in the stadium.
“I don’t know if I could necessarily say what the opinion of Save The Crew as an entire organization is, but I can say as of my last checking of the Slack, I didn’t see anybody who was on board with this decision and this route,” Zidar said.
Fans have been encouraged to attend a Zoom information session at noon today led by Crew chief business officer Steve Lyons, who spoke to The Dispatch last month about the club’s proposed restart plan with fans.
The club also posted an informational video describing the health and safety guidelines.
No tailgating will be allowed, the press release stated.
Matthew Coy, a season-ticket holder since 1998, said he and his 18-year-old son, Ryan, purchased tickets for Sunday’s match. Coy said Ryan goes to Ohio State, lives in the dorms and has tested negative for the virus.
“I’m eager to get back, but I’m always mindful of not just me and my son but everyone else around me,” Coy said. “But I have pretty high confidence that social distancing, wearing a mask and the other guidelines that have been put in place would allow us to safely return to that.” jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers