Athletes, fans rejoice as mayor lifts ban on spectators at UH football games
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - After nearly two years of artificial crowd noise, a limited number of fans will be welcomed back to the stands at University of Hawaii football games following the mayor’s decision to loosen restictions on Friday.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said outdoor seated events can be held starting Wednesday with up to 1,000 attendees or no more than 50% of a venue’s capacity.
This new rule comes just in time for the Rainbow Warriors next football game against New Mexico State on Oct. 23.
In order to watch the game, all spectators must be fully vaccinated and masks must be worn. No food or alcohol will be allowed, and seats must be reserved in advance to account for social distancing and contact tracing.
UH officials said tickets will not go on sale for the upcoming game as the athletic department will invite mostly family and friends.
“Right now our focus is to do a really good job with 1,000, and I am optimistic if we do that if things trend in same direction, I’m optimistic those numbers can go up and will go up,” said UH Athletic Director David Matlin.
“We’re looking forward to having fans for our student athletes, especially their parents. As you know, its been difficult for them, so we’re excited about.”
“To be able to have them at the games, I feel like would be special to have my teammates have their families come,” said UH defensive lineman Pita Tonga.
“I feel like there’s a lot of love for the people here and especially, you know, people who support the team and people who support the players, having that crowd to perform for and feeding off each other, I feel like would be something special.”
Along with the cap on spectators, Matlin also clarified that the UH band is not included in the count as they are in a different section of the field.
Furthermore, UH said children 12 and under will not be allowed at the upcoming game because they are not eligible for the vaccine.
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