UM Athletic Director Provides an Update on Griz Football
On Tuesday, Riley Corcoran sat down with University of Montana Athletic Director Kent Haslam and they discussed the future of fall sports. Haslam said they plan on playing fall sports and they are moving forward with that goal in mind.
“We do recognize that things will look different,” Haslam said. “The fan experience will be different. How that will look, there is still a lot to be determined and there is still a lot to play out. We want to make sure that we are doing things as safely as possible. The game day that we have all come to love will be back eventually, but it just might be a little bit altered this year.”
Haslam said large scale tailgating at Washington Grizzly Stadium probably won’t happen this year, but smaller gatherings might be possible.
“We will most likely have some form of health screening to be able to check or understand the symptoms of those coming to our games,” Haslam said. “We are working through that process and have looked at doing temperature checks when you come in. We have looked at various technology pieces that we could use. I could see us in groups within the stadium. That is kind of what we are plotting towards right now, containing ourselves within groups of 50 people.”
Haslam said they really need season ticket holders to renew their seats as soon as possible so that they can get an idea of how the stadium will look this upcoming season.
“I don’t foresee us being in a stadium that is just shoulder to shoulder with people,” Haslam said. “I could see it being below capacity. When we get below capacity, that allows the flow within the stadium, the flow to the restrooms, and the flow to concession stands to be better. We want to make sure we don’t have any more mingling than we have to. That is where the containment has to come.”
If you are opting out of your season tickets this year because of concerns surrounding COVID-19, please let UM know because the season ticket deadline this year is July 3.
“We are not going to clear out your season ticket and move them on to the next people, we will push you to 2021,” Haslam said. “Those that renew, if for some reason the season is altered or we don’t play games, we will have a refund policy so you can get your money back. You also have the option to donate it. We would love to have folks donate it, there is no doubt about that, but we will work with people. It is not going to be like you buy your tickets and you are just stuck with it.”
According to Haslam, they are still trying to determine if fans will be required to wear masks to the games or not.
You can listen to the full interview with Haslam right here.