It’s been a rough week or so, for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. Not only did a federal judge rule portions of his coronavirus mitigation strategy unconstitutional, a high school in Western Pennsylvania have apparently ruled his limits on fan attendance, nonessential.
The current rules set the crowd limits for outdoor gatherings, such as football games, at 250.
While several high schools in Western PA have either kept the numbers at that level, or gone under. One high school has decided that 250 just won’t do.
At last Friday’s season opener, West Mifflin High School estimated as many as 400 people in their 7,000-seat stadium. Though, fans were frequently reminded to observe social distancing guidelines.
“People are going to show up anyway,” West Mifflin Athletic Director Scott Stephenson said via KDKA. “There were people threatening and called us and said, ‘I don’t care if you’re not having fans because we’re coming anyway.’ What do we do at that point?”
“A state bill that would give schools the freedom to decide how many fans are allowed at sporting events is at Governor Tom Wolf’s desk, but he has said he will veto it,” KDKA reports.
As for NFL stadiums, teams are optimistic that restrictions on attendance can be lifted in the coming weeks. However, for nearly all teams, the stands will continue to look as empty as they did last weekend.