COVINGTON, Ga. — A week out from Alcovy and Newton’s scheduled showdown on the gridiron, the Newton County School System announced the protocols for attending football games at Homer Sharp Stadium this fall.
According to the NCSS, Homer Sharp Stadium’s attendance will be capped at 25% capacity in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means the venue, which holds 4,260 seats, will be limited to 1,065 fans for each game.
Marching bands from visiting high schools will be unable to travel to Homer Sharp Stadium for events.
All varsity football tickets for games at Homer Sharp Stadium will be priced at $10. In an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, Newton County schools will be going cashless and instead using GoFan digital ticketing for all transactions.
Additionally, admission to events inside the stadium will be limited to patrons with paid tickets and those in possession of a GHSA pass. County employee IDs and Newton County Gold passes will no longer be accepted for entrance.
Football game tickets will initially go on sale for parents and guardians of football players and cheerleaders, as well as members of the band and drill/dance teams. All remaining tickets will then be released to the public and sold on a first come, first served basis through the schools’ GoFan websites.
Those in attendance will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing, in accordance with the NCSS Event Safety Status. The NCSS is expected to plaster signage throughout the stadium stating the school system’s event safety protocols. These will be communicated via public address announcements throughout games as well.
Spectators will be restricted from entering the area of play before, during or after all events. The NCSS announced that exceptions may be may for parents for homecoming games and Senior Night.
Lastly, the school system stated that concession sales have not yet been cleared, and will be notably limited if permitted.
The first varsity football game at Homer Sharp Stadium is scheduled to take place between Alcovy and Newton on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
