UF officials respond to Gov. Ron DeSantis lifting attendance restrictions in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted attendance restrictions at stadiums around the state this week, and that includes Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. But that doesn’t necessarily mean The Swamp will be packed anytime soon.
Andy Slater of FOX Sports 640 reported that a DeSantis spokesperson made it clear that after the governor recently dropped COVID-19 restrictions, all Florida stadiums were able to go to full capacity.
In response to DeSantis’ announcement, University of Florida officials released their own statement about the stadium attendance plans.
“We will continue to follow the guidance provided by our experts at UF Health as well as campus officials,” the statement read, per Kassidy Hill.
At least for the South Carolina game, Florida fans did not buy up even the allotted tickets. Florida made 17,000 seats available for the Gators’ home-opener against South Carolina, though it did not sell all of them. The normal capacity for The Swamp is more than 88,000.
The Gators’ next home game is scheduled for Oct. 17 against LSU.
Last month, DeSantis said he “very much” supports fans at Tampa Bay Bucs games because it will show that the region is ready for Super Bowl LV, which is scheduled for Sunday, February 7, 2021 at Raymond James Stadium, FOX 29 reported.
“We’re going to be able to host the Super Bowl in February. We expect to do a full Super Bowl. We’re going to show that we’re going to be able to do that,” DeSantis said.