OT: Largest Sports Crowd Test tonight - 25,000 fans NASCAR All-Star

[ScarletDave]

Tonight at 7:30 on FS1 will be the NASCAR All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee ... there will be 25,000 fans at the event, the largest sporting event crowd yet in the US since COVID. The stadium seats 162,000 people, and so the crowd will still be well spread out throughout the venue, but it will be interesting to see I’m sure lots of sports organizations will be watching to see how they handle fans in/out of the parking lots, spacing of tailgate parties in the lots, concession and bathroom distancing and the like.

If there are any new cases or deaths/outbreak from this it may be the nail in the coffin for fall sports. On the other side, if they show there’s a way to put on an event with partial capacity and still remain safely distanced, it may provide a path for other venues to follow.

 

[T2Kplus10]

Tonight at 7:30 on FS1 will be the NASCAR All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee ... there will be 25,000 fans at the event, the largest sporting event crowd yet in the US since COVID. The stadium seats 162,000 people, and so the crowd will still be well spread out throughout the venue, but it will be interesting to see I’m sure lots of sports organizations will be watching to see how they handle fans in/out of the parking lots, spacing of tailgate parties in the lots, concession and bathroom distancing and the like.
If there are any new cases or deaths/outbreak from this it may be the nail in the coffin for fall sports. On the other side, if they show there’s a way to put on an event with partial capacity and still remain safely distanced, it may provide a path for other venues to follow.

As long as they designate separate ins and outs of the grandstand, everything should be fine.

 

[RU#1fan]

Yes... many other Sports will be watching.
Hopefully social distancing inside and outside the venue will be enacted by all.
Otherwise if the virus spreads from this not good for all.

 

[RUJohnny]

Do people yell and cheer at races the way they do at football games?

 

[ScarletDave]

Do people yell and cheer at races the way they do at football games?

Yes especially with lead changes late in the race. Though the loudest I’ve ever heard was at Bristol a couple years ago when Kyle Busch (the most hated driver) who dominated the race got hit with a few laps to go and had a tire going flat .. his car smoking, people started to see what was happening, standing up and cheering, and then it finally popped and he hit the wall and spun around, 160,000 people it was the single loudest roar of a crowd I’ve ever heard. Was high-fiving complete strangers all around, people tossing beers and popcorn and throwing hats around the stands. It was incredible.

Another great one at Bristol was during Matt DiBenedetto’s interview last year where his team announced they were hiring a new driver for his car this year before last season ended, so he was basically racing for his job at the end of the season, went to Bristol having never won a race and had the lead at the end but got passed with a couple laps left and finished 2nd, but the fan support was amazing at the end of the race and afterwards everyone cheering him on even in heartbreak

 

[DJ Spanky]

So we'll have to wait 2-3 weeks to see if this causes an increase in cases, and another 2-3 weeks if it causes the death toll to rise.

 

[RU848789]

Or just call it an inequality protest :Wink:

 

[DJ Spanky]

Good to know what you play at the Melody Reunion!

 

[newwavedave1]

I predict that this will not go well. Just another large gathering sure to increase the spread.

 

[Tango Two]

All looked spaced apart

 

[RutgHoops]

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[rutgersdave]

All looked spaced apart

Are they wearing masks?

 

[ScarletDave]

Do people yell and cheer at races the way they do at football games?

The fans have been pretty loud tonight on TV!

 

[RU848789]

More seriously, most experts suspect that several European soccer matches with closely packed in spectators were at least partly responsible for the huge outbreaks in Northern Italy (after the Atalanta - Valencia UEFA match on 2/19 in Milan that drew 40K from Bergamo, the hardest hit area in Italy), Spain and England. The story of the Italian outbreak in Bergamo is below. Most of the research on outdoor significant spreading events (showing extremely low transmission outdoors) has come from China, from when it was cold, but they did not have equivalent outdoor events there. Luckily, for the US there were not many large outdoor events in Feb/March (football is over by then and the other major sports are indoors), other than Mardi Gras, which was also a known spreading event. I

t's great that they're only letting so many in and achieving distancing, but requiring masks would be better (and a must for any place more than half full), but they're not. Pictures from the event make it look like the only people are close probably came together, so they've probably already been exposed to each other, so hopefully few new cases will result.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...ons-league-italy-crisis-bergamo-a9448541.html

 

[mikershoein]

25k?

thats a lot of people to show up to watch cars turn left

 

[King of S]

Masks required?

 

[Tango Two]

Are they wearing masks?

Not too many fans are

 

[MADHAT1]

25k?

thats a lot of people to show up to watch cars turn left

 

[rutgersdave]

Not too many fans are

I read that masks were mandatory in common areas like bathroom and elevators but not when seated.

 

[e5fdny]

Not too many fans are

Not sure of the final gate but remember the place normally seats over a 160K. ~25K spaced out will not look so good for TV.

 

[Section124]

If you have never attended a NASCAR race or want to, definitely try to hit Bristol at some point. 1 mile track and a lot of action. Great environment and was great before they created the "stadium" seating.

 

[Joey Bags]

I'd class this as very low risk of transmission. The hundreds of thousands of protesters were packed like sardines with only 50-70% mask compliance at best and health officials stated there were no spikes attributed to the protesting. This is a spaced out, regulated environment which is an exponentially better set of circumstances than a mob based protest. Masks were required where social distancing couldn't be maintained. The fans were spread out more than enough in the stands to where outdoor transmission would be highly unlikely. If you have issues with this, then by extension you would need to have issues with outdoor dining as the spacing there is much closer than at the track.

 

[coloradoknight]

Had a friend that was there. He said even with the small crowd it was hard to social distance properly. Also, there were not many masks to be seen.

 

[e5fdny]

Had a friend that was there. He said even with the small crowd it was hard to social distance properly. Also, there were not many masks to be seen.

So lettuce see what happens...

 

[JMORC2003]

25k?

thats a lot of people to show up to watch cars turn left

I used to think that but have been told from people who’s opinions I trust that nascar is a pretty darn good time live, even for families.

 

[mikershoein]

So lettuce see what happens...

 

[mikershoein]