City commissioner to UF: Restrict fans at football games

A Gainesville city leader is asking the University of Florida to bar fans from attending football games this season, calling game days in Gainesville potential COVID-19 “super-spreader events.”   

“The Gator Nation is known nationally for its ability to gather in Gainesville to support the Gators before, during and after their victories on the gridiron,” City Commissioner David Arreola said. “This is my source of concern.” 

In a letter addressed to the university's Board of Trustees, Arreola urged top UF administrators not to allow fans inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during games out of concern for Alachua County seeing the highest surge in COVID-19 cases in months. 

In the past two weeks, the county has reported 50-200 new cases of the virus daily, and 19 deaths have been reported in the past 20 days. Friday, Florida entered its third phase of reopening under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ direction, lifting capacity restrictions on bars and restaurants. 

UF is scheduled to host its first home game this weekend to potentially 17,000 people. 

“We must have a shared understanding of how a home game can turn into a COVID-19 super-spreader event within the Gainesville community and other communities where spectators travel from, no matter what protections are taken,” Arreola wrote.

UF has limited capacity at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to 17,000 fans, or about 20% of its usual attendance. Masks are required throughout the entire game, and tailgating on campus has been nixed. 

University officials said they’re “relying heavily” on medical experts from UF Health and the Southeastern Conference to ensure its game day plans are safe. 

“What we’ll do is keep monitoring what kind of impact our plan has, and we’ll continue to rely on the experts and look at the experiences of other campuses, to decide if any changes need to be made,” said UF spokesman Steve Orlando. 

Arreola said Tuesday he’s concerned with behaviors off the field, such as after parties and pre- and post-game bar gatherings. He contends that if UF no longer allows fans inside the stadium, many won’t make the trip to Gainesville. 

“I want the Gators to have a successful and safe season,” he said, his tone becoming more exasperated. “But who am I supposed to go to when I have 20 people dead over the last 19 days and they want to play football with 17,000 people with full bars and restaurants and no mask enforcement? This is the 'Twilight Zone.'” 

Orlando said UF can only encourage people to behave themselves off campus, while having control over what happens at the football stadium and campus grounds, such as requiring masks upon entry to games.

He said the "overwhelming majority" of students are abiding by UF's safety protocols, while pointing to the downward trend of daily COVID-19 cases the university is currently seeing after a mid-month spike. 

“Obviously there is a degree of individual responsibility,” he said. “(Fan attendance) is still on. But as with any good plan, it’s also subject to change depending on any new information we get.”