Minnesota Announces Full Capacity for Sporting Events

[BleedGopher]

per the U:

Minnesota Announces Full Capacity for Sporting Events

Gopher Athletics announced today that it plans to operate at full capacity for live sporting events when teams return to competition for the 2021-22 academic year. The first ticketed-sports slated to welcome full capacity at its venues are soccer, volleyball and football.

“We are excited to safely welcome fans back into our venues,” said Director of Athletics Mark Coyle. “We will follow all University, local and state guidelines, and we are looking forward to our fans once again providing a tremendous advantage for our Gopher student-athletes when they compete on campus. We are so thankful for our fans, donors and sponsors who helped provide necessary resources for our student-athletes last season, but we missed seeing and hearing them at games. We cannot wait to welcome everyone back to campus in a few months, while still providing our fans with a safe and enjoyable experience.”

Minnesota’s football and volleyball schedules for the upcoming season are set. A nonconference schedule is still being established for soccer, while conference matchups were recently announced.

Minnesota opens the 2021 football season at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2, when it hosts Ohio State. Season tickets are on sale now and start as low as $35 per game. Minnesota also has home games slated against Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green (Homecoming), Nebraska, Maryland, Illinois and Wisconsin this season.

Minnesota also anticipates a return to traditional fan activities surrounding its football games, which includes tailgating, the team’s Ski-U-March arrival, Gopher Garden activities, performances from the University of Minnesota Marching Band, spirit squads and more.

The 2021 season will also include a return of the popular Gopher Pass which will be available for purchase on July 1. Single game tickets for all seven home games will be available exclusively to Gopher Score members on July 13, with tickets available to the general public on July 15. Flexible Mini Plans will also be available for fans to purchase multiple games of their choosing beginning on July 13. Away game tickets for Minnesota's five road games can be requested beginning on June 24 with tickets being allocated based on Gopher Score rank four weeks prior to each game.

Minnesota will also be transitioning to mobile tickets for all ticketed events on campus. Additional information and tutorials will be shared directly with ticket holders. This transition to mobile tickets allows for improved ticket delivery and management features.

Go Gophers!!

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Not a big shock.

No State Fair and no Gopher Games last year ... just wasn't late summer / fall without it.


Nice to see the Gopher Pass is still on board. I think that is a great deal for folks not looking to spend a ton but are still big fans who want to go to games but maybe not play the secondary market all randomly / keep those fans closer to the U purchases wise.

 

[Taji34]

Not shocked, but glad there is confirmation of it now. Just have to be vigilant for when the Ohio State tickets go on sale so I can get my ticket fast! Even with the disappointing season last year, there is still excitement for the team AND people will be itching for a live sporting event, on top of it being vs OSU and the season opener.

Now I can confidently say I think it will be close to a sell out, if not a true sell out without any asterisk about capacity limits.

 

[Schnauzer]

We are getting down to the point where for adults, people can be divided into two camps: Those that have been vaccinated, and those that do not wish to be vaccinated and are in danger of getting or spreading Covid 19. The numbers of people reaching out to be vaccinated are dropping. Unfortunately those vaccination rates probably won't climb again until more people start dying of covid 19 at a level that encourages hold outs to get vaccinated themselves. It will be heart wrenching to lose people that could have survived had they taken the shot.

It is their choice, but as a fellow human I will still feel bad about losing people that chose not to be saved.

Looking forward to being in the seats for 7 home games this fall. It would be fun if collectively we could celebrate a successful vaccination campaign and coming out of the pandemic with full stadiums this fall, after losing so much over the past year plus.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

FWIW - as of last Saturday, for all MN residents aged 12-and-older, 54.4% have received at least one dose of vaccine and 50.8% are fully vaccinated.

The change in numbers is due to adding the 12-to-15-year-old age group which is now eligible to receive vaccinations.

The vaccination % pretty much tracks with age.
12-15: 25% fully vaccinated
16-17: 42%
18-49: 52%
50-64: 68%
65-over: 88%

So, given that the Gopher fan base tends to track a little older, the odds are fairly good that a significant % of Gopher fans will have been vaccinated by this fall.

 

[Plato]

We are getting down to the point where for adults, people can be divided into two camps: Those that have been vaccinated, and those that do not wish to be vaccinated and are in danger of getting or spreading Covid 19. The numbers of people reaching out to be vaccinated are dropping. Unfortunately those vaccination rates probably won't climb again until more people start dying of covid 19 at a level that encourages hold outs to get vaccinated themselves. It will be heart wrenching to lose people that could have survived had they taken the shot.

It is their choice, but as a fellow human I will still feel bad about losing people that chose not to be saved.

Looking forward to being in the seats for 7 home games this fall. It would be fun if collectively we could celebrate a successful vaccination campaign and coming out of the pandemic with full stadiums this fall, after losing so much over the past year plus.

I always thought the parable about the Prodigal Son was sheer nonsense.
I have zero sympathy for those who have an intact immune system and not only refuse to get a free, safe and health saving vaccination but also then refuse to wear a mask thus putting those with compromised immune systems at risk of their lives.
If you can be immunized but just are too stubborn or stupid to get vaccinated you have no one else but yourself to blame when they slide that ET into your trachea.

 

[fmlizard]

There have been years when Minnesota never announced full capacity for a sporting event so it's good that we're ahead of it for 2021

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

There have been years when Minnesota never announced full capacity for a sporting event so it's good that we're ahead of it for 2021

I'd rather we not have to announce capacity limits ... ever again

 

[MplsGopher]

Good. I can't see any reason why it should not be full capacity.

At this point, every adult has made their bed and now must lie in it (delta variant on the way .... it's not too late, but you better hurry).

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Some people seem to be assuming that every single sports fan out there is just ready and waiting to attend games in person.

I don't think that's a given.

Some people - maybe not a lot, but some - will stay away due to covid concerns.

Some will stay away because they think the ticket prices are too high.

Some will stay away because they don't want to deal with issues of traffic, parking, young kids, etc.

And some will just stay home and watch the games on the 60" 4K HDTV while eating their own snacks and drinking their own beverages.

If I had to bet my own money, I would bet that the Gophers do not play a single game this year where every seat is occupied. In fact, given the typical no-show rate for most games, I would take that a step further and predict the Gophers will not exceed 90% capacity in any game this year. That is actual people in seats - not "announced" ticket sales.

I could be wrong, but one way or another, we will find out just how badly people want to actually attend games in person.

 

[WriterGoph]

Some people seem to be assuming that every single sports fan out there is just ready and waiting to attend games in person.

I don't think that's a given.

Some people - maybe not a lot, but some - will stay away due to covid concerns.

Some will stay away because they think the ticket prices are too high.

Some will stay away because they don't want to deal with issues of traffic, parking, young kids, etc.

And some will just stay home and watch the games on the 60" 4K HDTV while eating their own snacks and drinking their own beverages.

If I had to bet my own money, I would bet that the Gophers do not play a single game this year where every seat is occupied. In fact, given the typical no-show rate for most games, I would take that a step further and predict the Gophers will not exceed 90% capacity in any game this year. That is actual people in seats - not "announced" ticket sales.

I could be wrong, but one way or another, we will find out just how badly people want to actually attend games in person.

Lots of sporting events have been packed thus far - definitely all the hockey and basketball games that have been allowed. I think you're underestimating how badly a lot of people want to get out of their house for live events. Factor in the opener is OSU and I'll be pretty shocked if it's not at full capacity.

 

[MplsGopher]

2021 OSU should be like 2015 TCU, as far as attendance and "buzz".

 

[Some guy]

FWIW - as of last Saturday, for all MN residents aged 12-and-older, 54.4% have received at least one dose of vaccine and 50.8% are fully vaccinated.

The change in numbers is due to adding the 12-to-15-year-old age group which is now eligible to receive vaccinations.

The vaccination % pretty much tracks with age.
12-15: 25% fully vaccinated
16-17: 42%
18-49: 52%
50-64: 68%
65-over: 88%

So, given that the Gopher fan base tends to track a little older, the odds are fairly good that a significant % of Gopher fans will have been vaccinated by this fall.

And anyone at least 16+ could be vaccinated


And as of 6-16
27,581 people under the age of 50 have died of Covid (452,000 have died of anything for under age 50 for 6% of deaths for people under age 50 caused by Covid)

as of 6-16
2689 people under age 30 have died of Covid (136,000 have died of anything under age 30 for 2% of deaths under age 30 caused by Covid)

as of 6-16
322 people under age 18 have died of Covid (46977 have died of anything under age 18 for 0.7% of deaths under age 18 caused by Covid)


What I’m saying is the only people I feel bad for at this point are people who for medical reasons can’t take the vaccine. But we honestly couldn’t continue to operate as a shell of a society indefinitely. I wish the 50-64 vaccination rate was closer to 90% but that’s their choice and my own people I’m close to have all been vaccinated.