Notre Dame Football Limiting Fan Capacity to 20 Percent

Students will have priority when University of Notre Dame caps attendance at 20 percent of capacity at football games this fall.

It’ll be a season unlike any other at a university that has been playing football since the 1800s. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic led independent Notre Dame to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, it has also led the university in South Bend to enact significant health and safety guidelines.

Notre Dame released its football protocols Monday, 12 days before Duke is scheduled to visit Notre Dame Stadium to kick off the 2020 season. To ensure social distancing, the university will allow 20 percent or less of the normal capacity of 80,795, meaning 16,159 fans will be allowed to attend Notre Dame’s six home games.

“Priority will be given to Notre Dame Students, assuring that every student who wants to attend games will be able to do so,” Notre Dame’s release reads. “Once student demand has been met, the remaining tickets will be made available to Notre Dame Faculty and Staff.

Beyond limiting the number of spectators at the game, the unique approach being taken by the University is designed to promote safety by limiting attendance to those individuals who are current members of the Notre Dame campus community and accords with the expectations articulated by St. Joseph County health officials regarding limiting attendees to residents of the local area. Where exceptions to that policy need to be made (i.e. family members of participating student-athletes from both teams) they will be very limited in number, and those individuals will be seated in separate areas of the Stadium.”

Notre Dame will take further precautions than limiting attendance. Fans will be required to wear masks and stay physically distanced within the stadium, while there will be mobile ticketing and no pregame tailgating.

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