KU to allow fans into Jayhawks games at Allen Fieldhouse this season. Here’s the plan
The total capacity for Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball games at 16,300-seat Allen Fieldhouse this season will be approximately 1,500 fans per game, KU athletic director Jeff Long said Monday in an email to season ticket holders.
Long said KU had allotted approximately 850 tickets per game for Williams Education Fund donors with the rest going to faculty and staff, students, coaches’ families and player guests and visiting teams.
The athletic department will be changing from a season ticket to a single-game ticket model this season.
“This change,” Long said in the email to fans, “will allow us to maximize the number of fans that can attend each game and provide ultimate flexibility in the ever-changing world of COVID-19.”
Long said each Williams Fund donor will be provided a specific date and time to purchase tickets based on their membership level and priority points. Donors at the Hall of Fame & Champion level can order six tickets per game; those at the Olympian, All-American & Legend category can purchase four tickets per game and all other donor levels can buy two tickets per game.
Long said single-game ticket prices will be adjusted based on the opponent and seating location within Allen Fieldhouse. Parking will be free on a first-come, first-served basis.
“The previous payment for season tickets and parking will be held on each account as a credit to be used for purchasing single-game tickets and hospitality (as applicable),” Long said in the email, adding that donors at the end of the season will be offered three refund options for any balance remaining on their account: convert to a donation towards the Jayhawk Relief Fund, apply as credit towards next season or a prorated refund.
Long said the seating layout (and ensuing conclusion that 1,500 fans was the right number) was prepared “with six-foot social distancing between groups in the seating area as well as additional Big 12 Conference mandates.”
“While this is not what any of us had hoped for this season, it is imperative that we implement these changes for everyone’s safety, as well as the safety of our student-athletes,” Long said to fans. “Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we continue to navigate these challenging times. We appreciate your support of Kansas Athletics.”
KU coach Bill Self recently said this about the prospect of playing home games before very few fans: “The NBA obviously gave us some unbelievable basketball in the bubble. They played with about the same number of fans or less than what our guys will be playing in front of. We know it’s possible.
“The mature teams will handle it well. We didn’t win games because we played in front of a packed house all the time. We won games because we had good players. We still have good players. We have to somehow rise and play to that level and energy and feed off each other. In the past we always had our fans to feed off of.
“It’s doable. It’s different. This doesn’t need to be a year to get worked up about any of that stuff. It will be so different this year. The team that can roll with it and I’d say not be hampered by the things that happen unnaturally will be the teams that do the best.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 5:22 PM with the headline "KU to allow fans into Jayhawks games at Allen Fieldhouse this season. Here’s the plan."
