Miami Athletics, in conjunction with Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Dolphins and local and state government officials, today announced its stadium capacity and safety protocol plan for the 2020 Hurricanes football home opener.
A maximum of 13,000 fans will be allowed to attend the home opener on Thursday, September 10, at Hard Rock Stadium against UAB. Kickoff time will be announced at a later date.
UM season ticket holders will have first priority to participate in an individual game on-sale. Additional details will be communicated via e-mail. If season ticket holders are not interested or able to attend games in-person, a portion or all of the funds in their account can be rolled over in support of the Canes United Covid-19 Relief Initiative. Their accounts can also be credited for the 2021 football season with the funds paid-to-date. A refund is also available if requested.
All seat locations, parking and tenure will be rolled over to the next season automatically. No action is needed for this to occur. UM Athletics has transitioned to a mobile ticketing system so all tickets and parking passes will be delivered electronically and must be scanned in on a mobile device at Hard Rock Stadium. Separate communication will be sent to UM students regarding attendance.
Policies for the 2020 season will include:
- GBAC Star certification
- Socially distanced seating clusters
- All fans and stadium employees will be required to wear a mask when not actively eating or drinking
- Upgrading Air Conditioning filters from Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 10 to MERV 14 (Hospital Grade)
- Mobile touchless entry with more points of entries and exits to help avoid bottlenecks at ingress/egress
- Staggered gate entry with entry times listed on game tickets
- Cashless experience for food service, parking and retail
- New walk through metal detectors with touchless security screening to allow fans to keep all items in their pockets for faster entry
- 1 metal detector for every 104 fans vs 1 metal detector for every 394 fans in 2019
- Changing from manual to contactless toilets and faucets
- No smoking inside the stadium or helixes
- No tailgating for 2020 season with parking lots open two hours before kickoff instead of four hours
Upon entry, fans will go through a touchless security scan. Food, beverage, parking and retail will become a cashless experience supported by in-app mobile and credit card payment options. Express pickup for food and beverage will also be available. Furthermore, all manual faucets, toilet handles, toilets, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers have been changed to automatic sensors to provide a touchless restroom experience.
These programs are in addition to Hard Rock Stadium becoming the first stadium in the world to receive GBAC STARβ’ accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association. Hard Rock Stadium completed 20 program elements focused on cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention practices to control risks associated with infectious agents.
THIS IS WHAT I SUGGESTED WAY BACK IN APRIL:
Even as some States begin to relax COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, many federal, state and local officials are beginning to develop plans on if, when and how their cities, states and the Country as a whole can eventually resume normal operations. These plans also include when large crowd events such as religious services, concerts and sports events can resume.
The fact that the ratings for something as mundane as the 2020 NFL Draft from the Commissioner's basement was among the highest rated TV "sports events" ever held demonstrates how important the need to get back on the field, the court, the rink or the track is in terms of healing the Nation's psyche and restoring any sense of normalcy.
While I am not a medical professional or elected official, I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and I also graduated from the University of Miami (with honors) so I decided I would give it my best shot at solving this situation.
We will divide this effort into four sections: The stadium requirements (seating and sanitizing), the players, coaches and other team personnel requirements (testing and treatment), the fan requirements (testing and PPE) and the season schedule (several options).
STADIUM REQUIREMENTS:
All stadium personnel tested and cleared before returning to work and once a month during the season.
Sanitize entire stadium including food service areas, bathrooms and seating areas before each game.
Hand Sanitizer stations at entry gates and throughout stadiums at all food service and bathroom areas.
Stagger seating on each row (odd/even #seats) and/or skip rows in between.
First game 20,000 fans allowed with every fourth seat occupied (other seats marked with X).
Second Game 30,000 fans allowed every third seat occupied (see above).
Third Game 40,000 fans allowed every other seat occupied (see above).
Games 4-7 a total of 60,000 fans maximum capacity at all stadiums regardless of seating capacity.
If at any time an outbreak occurs then the season would be halted or canceled.
FAN REQUIREMENTS:
Pre-attendance negative test certification within 30 days of date of first game through private medical doctors, public testing facilities already in place and/or drive thru testing sites located at stadium parking lots (multiple sites/entrances) starting 30 days prior to the season beginning.
Mandatory quick forehead temperature scan at entry.
Fans required to sanitize at entry and throughout stadiums at food service and restroom areas.
Face covering or mask and gloves required for first three games and then recommended after that.
Free college emblem masks and team colored gloves at entry at scrimmage and first three games.
Only season ticket holders may attend. Maximum of 60,000 season tickets may be sold. Season tickets would be priced differently for attending 7, 6, 5 or 4 games in 2020.
This incorporates the fact that during the first three games only 20k, 30k, and 40k fans would attend. For those fans who are younger, in good health and are more willing to take more risk they would be able to attend all seven home games, while for those older or more cautious fans they could choose to attend as few as four games giving both groups opportunities and options.
This also makes testing much easier prior to the season starting and greatly minimizes the risk to a very small sub-group of the population (60,000 max). This also makes it easy to track and trace contacts of this group both while at the stadium and afterwards while in the community.
PLAYERS AND COACHES:
Test all players and coaches prior to practice resuming and scrimmages being held.
Test all players and coaches prior to each regular season game.
Any coach or player testing positive to be ruled ineligible to play/coach, isolated and treated with available drug interventions.
All travel is on team only chartered flights and/or buses.
GAME SCHEDULE:
Three week Fall practice schedule in normal time frame (August). Players/coaches tested weekly.
Fall Scrimmages: First scrimmage is closed to the public, no TV. Second Scrimmage is televised but no fans. Third scrimmage is public with 10,000 fans maximum (negative test certification required, social distancing and PPE required) and televised.
Regular Season Option A: Gradual return with six conference only games with two weeks in between games (12 week season).
Televised team scrimmages in between games that count against other teams.
Two weeks between games allows for additional testing, diagnosis and treatment when indicated.
Two teams selected by conference to play in conference championship game at neutral site.
No National Championship first year, only conference records and championships recorded.
Regular Season Option B: Total return with 12 regularly scheduled games, conference and non-conference.
No changes to regularly scheduled games with seven home games and five away games.
No change to conference or National championship games.
Regular Season Option C: Eliminate conferences for one year and only intra-state games allowed (8 game practice season).
Eliminates long flights or travel to highly affected areas.
Miami would play all Florida schools: FSU, UF, UCF, USF, FAU, FIU, FAMU, BCC, etc. Teams may play more than once if needed.
Offense - D'Eriq King
Defense - Quincy Roche
Freshman - Donald Chaney, Jr.
Coach - Rhett Lashlee
How do you NOT go with King & Lashlee at this point?
Let's Go CANES!ππΌππΌππΌ
Posted by: roachcane77 | September 07, 2020 at 07:01 PM
Bolden, Roche and McCloud
3 good options!
Posted by: AeroCane | September 07, 2020 at 09:18 PM
Offense: King
Defense: Roche
Freshman: Knighton
Coach: Lashlee
Posted by: TonyCane | September 07, 2020 at 09:42 PM
Offense - D'Eriq King
Deffense - Quince Roche
Freshman - Xavier Restrepo
Coach - Rhett Lashlee
Posted by: Harry Miller | September 07, 2020 at 10:50 PM
Obviously super early in the college football season but so far, my favorite 'story line' has been watching the usual gang of idiots in the media trying to stir up some indignation over how the 2020 champion will be somehow discredited with the pac/big conferences not caring enough about the sport to even try and compete for the title this year, it gaining less than zero traction because this isn't pop warner and you don't get a trophy just for being on the team at this level, and now the same usual gang of idiots have to publish a bunch of sour grapes stories about coaches and players affected by the scared commissioning disqualifying all those teams due to their own choice to not play.
Second runner up is west coast bias turning out all along to be the west coast being biased against themselves when it comes to caring about football enough to get some games in, hilarious when hypocrisy is exposed so blatantly and what's their excuse going to be now going forward since you shot that old lie out back behind the barn to put it down for good?
Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | September 08, 2020 at 12:30 PM
NEW BLOG IS UP!
Posted by: 58 Straight | September 08, 2020 at 09:31 PM