Georgia reverses decision, joins other SEC schools in banning tailgating for 2020
By Dante Pryor
Georgia football fans will not be allowed to tailgate at home football games this season.
In a reversal of an initial decision reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, just five days ago, the administration at the University of Georgia has decided to reverse course and ban tailgating this season. Seating at Sanford Stadium was going to be limited to approximately 23,000 fans due to COVID-19, now Bulldogs fans have the bad news they are not going to be able to tailgate.
Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity told the AJC, “Tailgating is not something the board will vote on.” Georgia President Jere Morehead will make the final decision.
“We’re still in the discussion stage,” McGarity told Chip Towers. “There’s nothing finalized yet. We’ve still got three-plus weeks.” They decided not to wait and canceled tailgating two weeks before the Bulldogs home opener against Auburn on Oct. 3.
What led to the final decision to ban tailgating?
According to a statement released by Georgia, the administration consulted public health guidelines and their health officials and ultimately decided to ban tailgating this season.
Texas A&M is the only school in the conference to allow tailgating this season officially. South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Missouri have not declared, but it does not look likely. Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida and now Georgia have officially banned tailgating this season.
Despite some fan’s disappointment, their ruling seems to be the standard around the SEC this season. The ban could also be due to a spike in COVID-19 cases at the University. The University of Georgia has had 1,400 new cases in the last week and 2,600 in the previous month. Georgia has seen the sharpest rise of cases of any school in the state.
In addition to the spike in cases at the University, there has also been a sharp spike of cases in Athens-Clarke County. Georgia opens its season on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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