We were just given an informational tour at Death Valley by Associate AD for Communications & Strategic Initiatives Jeff Kallin, and I’ll have video and photos for you, along with some game day info for those attending, shortly. Tailgate spots will have ample space between them in order to allow social distancing. Tailgating is discouraged, but they understand that fans are going to want to enjoy some refreshments before the game. Tents and large gatherings (i.e., groups of more than 6-8) will be prohibited. As I've reported earlier, there will be designated times for entering the stadium, and fans with tickets will know what gate and what time they are supposed to enter the stadium. The entrance times begin 2 hours before kickoff and occur every 30 minutes in order to prevent large numbers of fans at the gates. There will be no temperature checks at the gates because it just isn't practical for 19,000 fans, but every worker at the stadium will be temperature checked before entering the stadium. There are hand sanitizers littered throughout the stadium and stickers on the ground at concessions to show people where to stand as they wait. There will be no hot food served at concessions. All the food will be pre-packaged. Drinks will have lids and straws to encourage drinking beneath masks. There will be crews of sanitizers that will be cleaning and sanitizing the restrooms throughout the game.
Inside the stadium, you can see from the photos that the "pods" are mostly two-seaters. I am told that 95% of the pods are two seats, 5% are four seats and 1% are six seats. There is ample space between each pod. Every fan in the stadium is given a seat cushion with back this season. Those fans who had already purchased seat cushions will be refunded for this season. The student section will be located in the upper deck this season, directly above where it is traditionally located. I was told that they determined the student ticket allocation using a weighted lottery system, with upperclassmen having a stronger probability of winning the lottery. The Tiger Band will be situated on The Hill for the first time, and the team will run down The Hill, as Dabo confirmed to me on Tuesday. There will be no gathering at the Paw after games this season, of course. As for myself and the rest of the media, we will be restricted to the press box this season, so I will not be able to bring you front row coverage of The Hill entrance or photos/video from the field like I normally do. Everything will be from the press box this season, including post-game interviews, which will be conducted via Zoom as all of the interviews we have had since the pandemic.
Finally, there will be a new feature this season called Death Valley Live, which will enable fans to experience enhanced coverage at home via streaming video. It will be available before, during and after the game. Info on that is HERE.
125 is painted on the field, signifying the 125th year of Clemson Football
The 2020 CFP logo is going up on the facade
This will give you an idea what the simulated crowd noise will sound like in Death Valley on Saturday. Of course, 19,000 fans will be providing much more additional noise!
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