Fans will be limited at Idaho’s girls basketball state tourney. Here’s how to get in.
Fans won’t be able to pack the upcoming Idaho girls basketball state tournaments like they have in years past.
On Tuesday, Idaho’s high school sports governing body announced restrictions for the state championships that are designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Rules for the Feb. 17-20 tournaments in the Boise metro area include:
Fans must wear masks at all times
A limit of 1,800 fans (or 900 per school) at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa
A limit of 200 to 300 fans (100 to 150 per school) at other tournament sites
Gyms must be cleared and cleaned after each game
The Idaho High School Activities Association has not yet released restrictions for the boys basketball and wrestling state tournaments.
The cap on fans falls short of the 40% capacity limit allowed for high school sports under Gov. Brad Little’s latest exemption to statewide coronavirus rules. But Mike Federico, an assistant director with the IHSAA, pointed out that the state governing body doesn’t own the gyms.
Federico said the Idaho Center offered to fill its arena to 27% capacity. The IHSAA tried to install similar limits for the high schools hosting the 4A to 1A Division II tournaments.
“It’s what our schools and our board felt comfortable with,” Federico said. “We want to be good stewards. We’re going to do what we’re asked to because we want to use those facilities.”
Mountain View (4A tournament host), Middleton (3A), Bishop Kelly (2A), Columbia (1A Division I) and Ridgevue (5A consolation games) will all allow up to 300 fans into their gyms. Nampa (1A Division II) has a smaller gym and will cap attendance at 200 fans.
Cheerleaders, dance teams and band members will count as part of a school’s fans.
HOW TO GET A TICKET
No tickets will be sold at the gate of any tournament. Instead, fans must purchase all tickets ahead of time.
Tickets will be sold on the GoFan app. Each team that makes the state tournament will have a private link it can send to its fans. That allows the state to split tickets evenly between schools.
The only exemption is for games at the Idaho Center. Fans will need to obtain a paper ticket from their school for those games.
The Idaho Center hosts all championship games, as well as the 5A first-round and semifinal games. The 5A consolation games will move to Ridgevue this year. That move allows the 1A Division I and 1A Division II championship games to tip off Friday at the Idaho Center. The IHSAA will start those tournaments a day early to prevent a slew of games all day Saturday at the Idaho Center.
Cleaning protocols would extend the traditional championship Saturday several hours, Federico said, a tough ask for teams traveling from other parts of the state.
The Idaho Center will use only its built-in box seats for the tournament. It will not install the bleacher seats closest to the floor. It will also open the full arena and seat fans in groups of four, Federico said.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 4:43 PM.
