Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics unveiled on Thursday protocols that will allow a limited number of fans back into the UTRGV Fieldhouse for most games during the 2020-21 men’s and women’s basketball seasons.
UTRGV Athletics is capping capacity at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 255 fans made up of only current UTRGV students, season ticket holders, corporate partners, and families of student-athletes and coaches.
The UTRGV Fieldhouse has capacity for 2,500 spectators. Limiting capacity to 255 allows for proper social distancing among fans, staff and student-athletes.
Out of an abundance of caution, UTRGV will not be permitting fans into the fieldhouse for the men’s basketball home games on Nov. 28 against UTSA and Dec. 4 against Our Lady of the Lake. This will allow the fall semester to conclude before fans enter campus.
The first games with fans in attendance at the UTRGV Fieldhouse will be on Dec. 21 when women’s basketball faces Incarnate Word and men’s basketball hosts Sam Houston State.
Protocols for home games at Bert Ogden Arena and the South Padre Island Convention Centre will be similar but have small variations due to differences in the venues. For the latest information, visit GoUTRGV.com/game-day.
Fans will be permitted in limited capacities at games taking place at off-campus facilities, including the Dec. 2 men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Bert Ogden Arena and the UTRGV South Padre Island Classic featuring four women’s basketball games involving UTRGV, UT Arlington, North Texas and Prairie View A&M Dec. 18-19 at the South Padre Island Convention Centre.
Single-game and group tickets will not be available for basketball games at the UTRGV Fieldhouse or the South Padre Island Convention Centre during the 2020-21 season. Single-game tickets for the Dec. 2 games at Bert Ogden Arena are currently available while four-game mini plans, which include a pair of men’s basketball games against Grand Canyon on Feb. 5 and 6, will be available Friday by visiting BertOgdenArena.com. UTRGV faculty and staff can enter their email addresses at checkout to receive a 20 percent discount on single-game tickets to UTRGV basketball games at Bert Ogden Arena.
Current UTRGV students will receive an email on Nov. 16 with information on how to reserve their tickets for the Dec. 2 games and a similar email two weeks prior to the Feb. 5 and 6 games at Bert Ogden Arena. Capacity for games at Bert Ogden Arena will be about 1,200.
Current UTRGV students will receive an email on Dec. 3 with information on how to reserve their tickets for the UTRGV South Padre Island Classic.
Additional safety measures at the UTRGV Fieldhouse include:
- Social distancing markers at the entry gate and strictly enforced to allow for social distancing.
- Face masks are required to be worn properly by all fans, media and staff present inside the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The CDC defines wearing a mask correctly as covering the nose and mouth and securing it around the chin, trying to fit in snugly against the side of the face. The CDC does not recommend using masks with an exhalation valve or vent. Neck gaiters, bandanas and similar items are not acceptable alternatives to face masks. Children ages 2 and under are not required to wear masks.
- All fans, media, staff and student-athletes will be subject to a temperature test prior to entry. Anyone displaying a temperature over 100.0°F will be taken to a cooling off area prior to a secondary temperature screening. Employees or guests confirmed to have a temperature over 100.0°F or exhibiting any signs of COVID-19 will not be allowed entry to the property.
- Enhanced cleaning and sanitization procedures will be implemented prior to and during all home games.
- Hand sanitization stations have been installed in all public areas.
- The UTRGV Bookstore kiosk for gear purchases has been relocated to the gazebo at the center of Vaquero Village to allow for social distancing.
- The UTRGV Pep Band will not perform at home games.
- All seats will be assigned. Seating is prohibited in unassigned seats.
- Current UTRGV students will be admitted free of charge on a first come-first serve basis. All seats in the student section will be socially distanced.
Concession Stand
- Face coverings will be required to be worn by all customers and staff at all times.
- Concessions staff will wear gloves.
- Condiment stands will be eliminated. Pre-packaged condiments, wrapped straws and napkins will be distributed upon request by staff with each food order.
- Menu offerings will be limited to the most high-demand, fan favorite items for speed of service and efficiency.
- Food items will be wrapped or pre-packaged and offered in easy-to-carry bags along with packaged utensils.
- Plexiglass shields have been installed at all concession points of sale to protect customers and staff.
- Floor decals have been installed to properly queue lines and maintain social distancing. Fans waiting in line will be asked to maintain at least six feet distance from other customers.
- A regular cleaning schedule with an emphasis on disinfecting commonly touched surfaces with antibacterial spray will be employed.
- Eating and drinking is only allowed outdoors in Vaquero Village. Fans can remove their face masks only while actively eating and drinking.
Restrooms
- The men’s restroom will allow six guests at a time. The women’s restroom will allow four guests at the time.
- Select stalls and urinals will be blocked off to allow for social distancing.
- New paper towel dispensers have been installed for safety.
- A regular cleaning schedule with an emphasis for disinfecting commonly touched surfaces with antibacterial spray is being employed.
Egress
- At the end of the game, fans will be prompted to exit by section by the public address announcer to avoid crowding.
Fans unable to attend the games in person can watch every home game for free online through the WAC Digital Network at WACDigitalNetwork.com. Links to watch road games are available on the schedule pages at GoUTRGV.com.
“Our number one priority is the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, fans, opponents and officials,” UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said. “We have been working hand-in-hand with the University’s coronavirus task force to create these protocols. We feel confident that this plan will allow us to keep everyone safe as we host our first games in over eight months.”
Should any games be canceled, at the end of the season, UTRGV basketball season ticket holders will have the option to either donate the balance paid for those games to the V Club, receive a credit good for 2021-22 basketball season tickets, or receive a refund.
Questions regarding tickets should be directed to the UTRGV Ticket Sales and Operations team of Carlos Munoz and Tiffany Ochoa at tickets@utrgv.edu.
 Department of Intercollegiate Athletics unveiled on Thursday protocols that will allow a limited number of fans back into the UTRGV Fieldhouse for most games during the 2020-21 men’s and women’s basketball seasons.){kind=link}