By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State
The University of Wyoming is hosting its first home football game in nearly a year after the coronavirus pandemic nearly threatened to shut the season down.
But only a fraction of fans that can be seated in War Memorial Stadium will be allowed to attend as the university implements measures designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The stadium has a capacity of more than 28,000, however, only 7,000 people will be allowed to attend Friday’s game and all will be required to wear masks or face coverings in order to enter the stadium.
The number of fans allowed in the stadium on game day could increase or decrease slightly, officials said, depending on the coronavirus case count in Wyoming and Albany County.
“We want to thank the Wyoming Department of Health for all their efforts in working with us to allow fans at our football games this fall,” said Tom Burman, University of Wyoming Athletics Director. “Mike Ceballos, Dr. Alexia Harrist and Stephanie Pyle at the Wyoming Department of Health have been great for us to work with in the lead up to this. We all want a safe environment at our games, while still allowing for as many fans as is deemed safe.”
Tailgating is also not allowed on UW property, according to information from UW Athletics.
Entry lines will be spaced out to allow for proper social distancing and tickets will only be available on a single-game basis this season. Cowboy fans will also only be able to present tickets for entry using a phone app to limit contact between people when entering and exiting the stadium.
It was just a month ago that the Mountain West Conference OK’d a shortened 2020 football season, with only eight games on the schedule this year.
The league’s championship game is slated for Dec. 19.
UW had its first game of the season on Oct. 24 in Las Vegas, where the Cowboys lost by just three points in overtime.
