Purdue president hints at attendance plan for Ross-Ade Stadium
Some schools are still moving forward with the hope of having full attendance for the upcoming college football season. Others are preparing a plan for limited capacity in fall 2020. Purdue is hinting at the latter.
Mike Carmin of the Journal & Courier reported that Purdue University President Mitch Daniels talked briefly about the school’s COVID-19 plan for home football games this fall. Right now, Daniels doesn’t expect to have games exceed one-fourth of the capacity at Ross-Ade Stadium.
The venue in West Lafayette holds 57,000 fans.
Speaking before COVID-19: Going Back to College Safely Committee, #Purdue president Mitch Daniels said the school doesn't plan to go beyond 1/4 capacity at Ross-Ade Stadium, which seats about 57,000
— mike carmin (@mike_carmin) June 4, 2020
If Purdue sticks with that figure, approximately 14,250 fans would be permitted to attend home games at Ross-Ade Stadium during the 2020 college football season. It would be a significant blow to the athletic department’s game-day revenue.
Purdue was one of the first public universities to announce it intended to host on-campus classes in the fall. That provided the first spark of momentum that college football could still be played this fall.
Now, there’s even more momentum heading towards a college football season. While there are still some uncertainties with attendance, schedule, travel and the like, it seems like college athletics will resume in 2020.
The scene might just be a little bit different.