Texas governor expects 50 percent capacity for football games

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told athletic directors from the state’s Football Bowl Subdivision programs to expect 50 percent capacity at football games this fall, Dan Wolken of USA Today reports.

It stands to reason that the state’s two NFL teams can expect the same.

AT&T Stadium, home to the Cowboys, does not have an official capacity with the team allowing only that it can “seat up to 100,000.” The Cowboys led the league with an average home attendance of 90,929 last season.

NRG Stadium lists its seating capacity as 72,220, and the Texans ranked ninth in the NFL with an average home crowd of 71,793.

It remains unknown what the NFL would do if some states allow fans (or some fans) and others don’t.

Texas plans to open the door to its teams playing in front of at least reduced capacities, Abbott said a teleconference with 12 athletic directors Friday, per Wolken.

Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork and University of Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte both recently had expressed optimism about being allowed to fill their stadiums to capacity. But the state’s seven-day average of new daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 cases continues to climb.

Kyle Field, where the Aggies play, seats 102,733 and Darrell K Royal, where the Longhorns play, will seat 95,594 this season while under construction.

“As of today, we still have time on our side, and we will not make decisions based on incomplete information,” Bjork said in a teleconference Saturday, via Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle. “As we’ve learned throughout this unprecedented situation, everything remains fluid, and there are a number of scenarios for attending upcoming pro and college sporting events.”