Around the country and world, sports leagues have tried to move toward a return to action.
In Europe, professional soccer is being played in empty stadiums. Closer to home, the NBA is set to return to play in a modified way at the end of July in Orlando, Florida. Baseball has plans and procedures related to the coronavirus pandemic, but monetary negotiations between the players union and ownership have stalled discussions.
One of the overarching questions, naturally, is when will fans return to stadiums? What will it look like? What changes need to happen? Where and when is the risk of disease transmission highest?
There are three steps required to return to competition in the Big Ten. Step One is underway. Let a UNMC doctor explain.
College football is unique in the conversation. There is not one commissioner, no one set of rules to be implemented or followed even at the conference level. Attendance decisions will largely occur on a campus-to-campus basis in conjunction with local and state governments.
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even before sports are ready to return. at Ross-Ade Stadium this fall, though athletic director Mike Bobinski later said that number could change.
Schools don't need to reach final decisions for a couple of more months. . Plans and policies could also evolve over the course of a 13-week regular season.
“I get really frustrated when I see my colleagues across the country making predictions and giving insights that are nothing more than guesses,†Stricklin told the Orlando Sentinel. “We don’t want to be guessing. We want to make sure we have really good information.â€
The Task Force for Emerging and Infectious Disease, chaired by University of Nebraska Medical Center vice chancellor of clinical research Dr. Christopher Kratochvil, is in charge of providing the Big Ten with as much information as possible.
The group is only at the outset of working through what fans returning to stadiums might look like.
“Not only bringing in the fans, but bringing in the support staff, the officials, the medical staff, the security, the event staff, the volunteers, the vendors,†he said. “There’s just so many groups and a range of individuals as well as the number of individuals. So if we do decide to move forward with the competition, helping schools understand: ‘What is a safe capacity?’ and that may vary based on, really, what’s happening in that community at that time, what’s the availability of that arena to have safe physical distancing?â€
Physical distancing isn’t only about how far one person is sitting from the next person in the Memorial Stadium bleachers, though. In fact, that’s only a small part of the equation.
“If you just visualize an individual all the way from the parking lot, the crowds to get to the stadium, the lines to get into the stadium, the potential for a physical ticket or even (getting) close enough for the individual to have their ticket scanned,†Kratochvil said. “Then the crowds going up to the restrooms, the stalls and urinals, the distancing between the sinks.
“If you get into the stadium, then there’s not only the distancing between individuals, but does the individual remove their mask if they’re eating or drinking things.â€
There is ongoing research on what actually increases the risk of transmission of the coronavirus. Researchers believe being outside is safer, given the respiratory disease is most likely to be transmitted through the air, but Kratochvil cautions that activities that increase exhalation — physical exercise, sure, but also things like yelling and singing — are risk enhancers.
“The kinds of things that you would anticipate at a game,†said Kratochvil, noting that such activities may mean extra distance is needed between people.
Football has the outdoor aspect going for it across the Big Ten, but indoor sports such as volleyball in the fall and basketball in the winter have even more complicated sets of issues when trying to mitigate risk in an arena.
“Really a lot of what we’re focusing on is core principles and approaches that will be relevant and important regardless of sport,†Kratochvil said.
At Nebraska, AD Bill Moos expresses confidence that fans will be able to attend Cornhusker football games this fall, but has stopped short of assuring it.
“If it was permissible, I wouldn't doubt that we would fill up the place,†Moos told the Journal Star in late May. “The spirit of Nebraskans and their passion for our university and for the program, I could see people saying, 'Hey, I haven't missed a game in four decades, and I'm not going to start now. Give me the mask! Let's go!'
"I'm of the belief that if the state says we're good to go, if it's permissible within our locale, let these fans come enjoy the Huskers and major college football. They're adults. If they're worried about the prospect of getting this virus, that can be a personal decision."
NU athletic director Bill MoosÌýknows he and his staff will be judged on how they handle their business during the pandemic. So far, so good.
Nebraska, through its partnership with Learfield IMG and Sidearm Sports, is exploring uses for a mobile commerce company called VenueNext, which enables contactless payment and more, though an NU official told the Journal Star recently that the school is early in the stages of determining how and how quickly it might be able to implement its use.
In the meantime, more and more is known about the coronavirus with each passing day.
“We didn’t even know this virus existed until the end of December. So each day, we’re learning more and more about the spread of the virus, the viability of the virus, how we can mitigate the risk of transmission, and all those things are going to help inform us about what needs to happen within the arena of competition,†Kratochvil said. “That’s why many of us are having conversations daily and teleconferences multiple times per week, thinking through, ‘What are the potential risks, how can we mitigate the risks and what is that going to look like?’
“While we’re thinking through these, we have a long way to go before we make a decision that this is, in fact, a safe way to do it.â€