Ohio State football stadium could house up to 50,000 fans 'if guidelines are relaxed' by fall: athletic director

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Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith is optimistic that Buckeyes fans will be in the stands this fall, so much so that believes the stadium will be at nearly half capacity “if guidelines are relaxed.”

Smith told reporters on Wednesday that the university has run several social distancing models that would allow at least 20,000 fans in the stands and up to 50,000 if state and federal guidelines lighten up by the start of the season, according to ESPN.

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“We've played with that a little bit as a framework to start as we move forward and think about what we'd ultimately be allowed to do," Smith said of Ohio Stadium which seats 102,780.

Nov 23, 2019; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young (2) fires up the home fans during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium. (Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports)

"We're fortunate, with 100,000 seats in the stadium," Smith continued. "So could we implement the current CDC guidelines, state guidelines around physical distancing, mask requirements and all those types of things in an outdoor environment and have obviously significantly less fans than we are used to? I think it's possible.”

But Smith thinks if any athletic program can pull it off -- its Ohio State’s.

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“I just feel like we have the talent and skill and space capacity to provide an opportunity for a certain number of fans to have access to our particular stadium. Of course, that wouldn't be true across the country because of capacity. But I think we can get there."

So if the university is forced to run with a model on the low end of the capacity estimates, who gets priority seating? Smith said there’s already a points system in place but that after that, the university will look at the athletes families, students and faculty first.

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"Our point system has held the test of time, so that would probably be one. Then, of course, the parents and the guests of our student-athletes and coaches would be a high priority. We'd come up with a strategy, but we haven't nailed that down."