Some fans cheer for vaccination proofs for sporting events. Others demand a refund

A team official even says the rule will increase attendance by assuring fans that they are safe to crowd, shout and sing together.

Ninety minutes south at Racer Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon State, the same policy is receiving a very different response. A new university rule requiring vaccination or testing negative to participate in home football games starting September 11 has so far led to requests for refunds or future credits for about 250 football season tickets.

“I haven’t heard from anyone from that perspective,” said Scott Barnes, OSU VP and athletic director, for those happy with the extra measures.

COVID-19 screening requirements for sporting events are expanding nationwide to include proof of vaccination, as the highly contagious Delta variant fills ICU beds even in states such as Oregon, which had the worst infection rates previously in the pandemic. It was far away.

The small but growing list of teams requiring vaccination or testing negative includes the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers in college football, the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints, and LSU, Boston College, Oregon and Oregon State. Some teams are acting on their own initiative, while others are following changing rules from parent-company or public-health officials as infections escalate.

Last Friday, the US Open of Tennis announced that it needed proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to enter the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, NY Play in the tournament’s main draw beginning Monday. would be required.

“I think this is where it’s going to go,” said Mike Golub, president of business for Portland Timbers & Thorns, which announced its wax/testing policy in mid-August. “We thought it was the right thing to do. “

As new policies emerge, reactions to them often follow the politics of the region, with Democrats expressing more confidence in COVID-19 vaccines than Republicans. In the three counties that comprise Democrat-controlled Portland, between 66% and 74% of the population is fully vaccinated, far higher than the national rate of 53%.

Golub said of Timbers & Thorns, “We carefully track the number of tickets that are sold in the secondary market. And we carefully track the tickets that are not redeemed, which means that Tickets are not used.”

Both numbers, he said, are “materially higher” than they were before the pandemic. With stricter Covid-19 entry rules, Golub said with “very confident”, that attendance at the Games would increase.

A total of 14,299 in a Thorns game against NJ/NY Gotham FC last Wednesday, when the policy took effect, was nearly 2,000 down from the first home game in August. A team spokesman on Wednesday attributed the decline to the game and said the need for the vaccine was “widely acknowledged by our fans.”

Oregon State and Oregon, adjacent counties, sit 90 minutes and two hours south of Portland, respectively. Schools’ athletic departments, which attract fans from cities as well as rural counties with absolute vaccination rates below 50%, have seen a mixed reaction to the recently announced mandate.

11-ranked Oregon football season began on Saturday against Fresno State in Eugene, the first time in 22 months that Oetgen Stadium has hosted Ducks football fans after last year’s pandemic-shortened, fan-less season.

Late last week, Oregon alumnus Stephanie Penrod said she was told the athletic department was not issuing refunds, and was waiting to hear back on her request to postpone her season tickets to next year. .

An Oregon Athletics spokesperson said fan response to the vaccination policy has been very positive and officials talk to concerned customers about their options, including credits and refunds.

Penrod, a 43-year-old mother of three who lives in Portland, said: “One of the main reasons I’m upset is that I feel like they’re targeting people who aren’t vaccinated, so that we’re going to have a red letter. Can wear it too.” Area. She said she thinks Covid-19 vaccines are unproven without long-term studies.

He said it would be more appropriate to require everyone to test negative rather than vaccinate, but added that it is difficult to achieve routine test results at low turnaround times.

“Most places are booked,” she said.

Athletic director Barnes said that in Oregon State, soccer season tickets lost so far because of fan objections to the new restrictions represent less than 2% of the 13,900 total.

“Things that are not clearly known are: Has this announcement slowed new season-ticket purchases in any way?” Barnes said. “What will happen to single-game — we rely on single-game buyers as well. Will this impact what? Has yet to be determined.”

Nationwide last spring, some teams set aside some sections for vaccination fans, starting with the NBA’s Miami Heat. The New York Knicks later stated that they would need to vaccinate fans in order to participate in the second round of the playoffs—then lost in the first round. The Knicks have not announced a policy for this season starting in October.

Rule-making teams urge fans to arrive early and prepare their documentation: usually a vaccination card, a negative test result, or a photo of one within 48–72 hours after the start of the event. Policies generally apply to people 12 years of age and older.

The rules in the game come as more large businesses require employees to be vaccinated and the world’s largest concert promoter, Live Nation Entertainment Inc., to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for admission to all of its owned venues and festivals. -19 test will be required. In October.

Susie and Charlie Duggal, New Orleans Saints season-ticket holders for 23 years, said the August 23 crowds for Jacksonville at the Caesars Superdome were less than usual for a preseason game. Sports officials, implementing a new city rule, required fans to test negative or show proof of at least one COVID-19 shot that fans could receive outside the stadium.

Dugal has both been vaccinated and was happy to be back at the stadium that day. Both had COVID-19 a year ago, with Susie spending two months in the hospital. After that transition, she uses a small oxygen tank that Charlie usually carries.

“I just have to be close to him,” she said.