Full stands at Horseshoe unlikely this fall, says Ohio State AD Gene Smith

If Ohio State does play football this fall, don’t expect the Buckeyes to play in front of a packed Horseshoe.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said Wednesday that social-distancing requirements forced by the coronavirus pandemic likely would limit attendance to a fraction of the 100,000-plus who usually fill Ohio Stadium.

“We haven’t nailed that down, but we have played a little bit with the social-distancing concept,” Smith said in a conference call. “We know that probably would take us down south of 30,000 fans in the stands — actually closer to (20,000-22,000). We’ve played with that framework to start as we move forward and think about what we ultimately will be allowed to do.”

Smith later clarified in a tweet that as many as 50,000 could attend if social-distancing guidelines were relaxed.

How Ohio State would determine which fans would be allowed to attend is still being decided, though Smith said it would likely be based in part on the point system used to assign seats. He said players’ parents and guests of players and coaches would be a high priority.

“We’d have to make sure that we look at each individual group — faculty, staff, students, donors, Varsity O, parents of athletes, all those different constituencies — and come up with some strategies within those groups,” he said.

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https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/20200520/full-stands-at-horseshoe-unlikely-this-fall-says-ohio-state-ad-gene-smith