LSU is prioritizing student and season ticket holders this fall in Tiger Stadium. Capacity will be limited to 25% in an effort to comply with social distancing guidelines.
Brian Broussard, the head of ticketing operations, told BRProud on Aug. 3 football fans will not have the option to purchase individual tickets this season.
“Maximize the capacity to whatever you can, but obviously if you look around the country there’s considerations being made for lower capacities everywhere,” Broussard said. “We’ll have to take that into effect here.”
LSU Athletics officials reminded the public that plans for the season are subject to change.
The roughly 71,000 season ticket holders had the option to opt out of the 2020 season. Over 46,000 chose to do so.
With several big changes thanks to COVID-19, Death Valley will not look the same this season.
A ban on tailgating, face mask requirements and social distancing will completely alter the norm in the stadium.
History senior Gracie Johnson said she “completely understands” why people wouldn’t want to attend games this season.
“When you think of Tiger Stadium, you think of tailgating and cheering on the team with 100,000 people squeezed together,” Johnson said. “That’s just not an option this year.”
Johnson said she will be watching the games from home this season.
“It’s great that they’re prioritizing students because I think we’re the most important,” Johnson said. “But I would rather sit this one out and watch this season from my couch because it’s not going to be the same.”
As of Sept. 11, the University reported 24,850 opt-ins and 2,500 student tickets that will be allotted for each game. An extra 500 slots will be reserved for the Tiger Band along with 500 tickets for the visiting institution.
The University has not officially announced a priority system for reserving tickets yet, but other schools in the SEC have similar priority programs. The University of Alabama is allotting seniors priority with 40% of tickets, then juniors with 20% and sophomores and freshmen with 20%, according to its website.
Leadership and human resources junior Emily Geno said she is remaining positive about the situation.
“Even though there’s only going to be a quarter of us in the stadium, I’m just glad we get to be there,” Geno said. “It could be way worse. We’re one of the few schools that even has a 2020 season.”
The Power-Five conferences that are on track to play this season are the Big 12, ACC and SEC. Each will play under a new format consisting of 10 games against conference opponents.
The Tigers are scheduled to kick off the football season by hosting Mississippi State on Sept. 26.
Students will be able to enter through any gate, but the student section will remain in the north end zone.
LSU Athletics and LSU Student Government are coordinating ticket plans, and students should expect to receive an email with updates sometime within the next week.