When Columbus East and Columbus North open the football season in two weeks, they’ll do it in front of a limited number of fans.
The IHSAA released a COVID-19 Resource Center on Thursday, and in that document, it details plans to limit capacity to 250 people per set of bleachers or 50 percent capacity for a set of bleachers, whichever is fewer.
There is a catch, though. To have 250 per side, schools must have separate entrances and restroom facilities for each side so that large numbers of people aren’t congregating in one small area.
East has entrances and restroom facilities on both sides of its football stadium. North does only on its home side, but might be able to use the team gate entrance and school restrooms for fans on the visiting side.
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But that 250 per side number is not a done deal locally.
"Right now, the Bartholomew County Board of Health supersedes whatever the IHSAA has to say," East athletics director Pete Huse said. "So we’re waiting to hear from the board of health to see if their guidelines will be stricter than the IHSAA. Whatever the board of health says, that’s what we’re doing."
Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County Health Officer, said he initially was thinking of limiting crowds to 250 total. But when including players, coaches, cheerleaders and immediate family members, that number adds up pretty quickly.
"I think if we have physical distancing going on, that (250 on each side) number may be doable, but I want to have discussions with the athletic departments and representatives from BCSC, as well," Niedbalski said. "That’s something we’ll have to get nailed down in the next week or so. I know that we want to try to get fans there if it’s safe. We’ll do what we can to make it safe for the schools and also for the players and the fans."
Both East and North are scheduled to host football scrimmages on Aug. 15. While crowds for those usually aren’t large, they would be bigger when the Olympians host Whiteland and the Bull Dogs host Gibson Southern for their season openers on Aug. 21.
The big game is the following week when North hosts East on Aug. 28.
"We’re still trying to decide what we’re going to do because we know North-East is big for spectators," Niedbalski said. "If we can safely do 250 per side, as long as we can get appropriate physical distancing … but we’re going to have to have further discussions to decide how we’re going to proceed."
North-East football games typically draw upwards of 5,000 fans. That means North is set to take a huge financial loss this year.
"This is my first year, and I’m not really familiar with the finances of that game, but obviously, it would be a big hit," new North athletics director Brian Lewis said. "We’re not at full capacity, so it would be some type of financial loss."
Meanwhile, the IHSAA also sent out protocols and guidelines for each of its other fall sports — football, volleyball, soccer, cross-country, boys tennis and girls golf. Some of those include sanitizing footballs and volleyballs and suspending pregame and postgame handshakes.
The memo also suggested that volleyball teams stay on the same end of the court throughout the match unless there is a distinct advantage at one end and suggested lengthening the starting line at cross-country meets to ease congestion.
"Obviously, it’s not something ideally that you want to deal with," Lewis said. "But with the situation we’re in, it’s tough. You work with what you have and try to do your best. Nothing is going to be perfect in these times right now. You just have to work with what they’re asking you to do. You can only control what you can control. Kids and coaches are still getting to have a great experience, and hopefully, people can come and watch them play."
