Iowa State Will Allow 25K Football Fans At Season Opener

Iowa State has announced its football season opener against Louisiana in two weeks will be in front of live fans. The school has reportedly re-allocated the tickets in Jack Trice Stadium to accommodate 25,000 fans – roughly 41 percent of capacity. This comes at a time when new coronavirus diagnoses have skyrocketed in the Hawkeye State. The Washington Post has this:

According to The Washington Post’s state-by-state database, Iowa has seen a 92 percent increase in new coronavirus cases over the past week, the second-highest rise in the country behind South Dakota.

Iowa’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases stands at 241 per 100,000 residents, the highest among the 50 U.S. states.

In Story County, home to Iowa State’s campus, the seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents is 777, nearly a fourfold increase from just a week ago and one of the highest rates in the nation for one county. On Aug. 14, that number hovered around only 50 new cases per 100,000 residents.

The school says face masks will be required and there will be no tailgating allowed at the stadium. “I’ll have personally zero, zero tolerance for any fan that doesn’t comply,” said Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard. “I don’t care how much money they give this institution, if you want to be in the stadium, you’re going to have to comply with what we put together. If you don’t do it, we don’t want you here.” According to USA Today, that 41 percent of capacity figure is the highest level announced by any school in the U.S.