A $149.4 million budget was approved, is there a Plan B if games are canceled? Will ticket money and donations be refunded ?
Greg McGarity: (On the alternative budget issues)it’s all dependent on the definition of mass gatherings, if it’s 50 percent occupancy (at the stadium), or 25 percent, or everybody can come.We just don’t know. We’ll know more at the end of this month, and we’ll know a lot more by August 1st. At some point in time, we know we have to be very clear in communicating what our plan will be.
“But that’s not important today. That will come into play in the next couple of months. We don’t really need to go in that direction right now because our first home game is not until September.
“(On the ticket refund question), Yeah, I think it’ll be consistent with baseball (refunds) as far as that, though we were into the (baseball) season. We would honor those requests in the event we had to go in that direction. That’s included in our projections and everything, the what-ifs and what might happen, so we can at least have an idea what to look for when and if that happens.”
He’s right that there’s no reason to make a final call this far in advance. And I expected that football ticket cancellations would be treated the same way B-M handled baseball. But notice that nothing was said about Hartman Fund contributions in the event there isn’t a way to allow for full capacity at Sanford Stadium this season.
It’s kind of a big deal, too.
Georgia reported Thursday it already has sold more than 56,000 season tickets, a school record after expanding the number available after last season.
No wonder Morehead said, “Personally, I’m hoping that we don’t have to put any restrictions on at Sanford Stadium.”
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UPDATE: I haven’t been able to find a direct quote about a refund for donations if seats are doles out on a piecemeal basis, but, to be fair, I’ll post what I could find on it from Seth Emerson ($$):
McGarity, asked if fans would be refunded the full ticket cost and their donation if not allowed to attend this year, appeared to say they would.
“Yeah, I think it’ll be consistent with (college) baseball as far as that, though we were into the season,” McGarity said. “We would honor those requests in the event we had to go in that direction. That’s included in our projections and everything, the what-ifs and what might happen, so we can at least have an idea what to look for when and if that happens.”