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Sports Jan 22, 2022
| Photo courtesy of JR/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
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USC and UCLA fans once again will be allowed into home basketball games, the schools announced this week.
The general public will be able to resume attending USC’s indoor home athletic events Sunday after they were closed for the past two weeks in alignment with the university beginning the spring semester with remote instruction.
However, capacity will be limited to 50% and no additional single-game tickets will be sold for the next three Trojan men’s basketball home games – – Monday against Arizona State, Thursday against Stanford and Jan. 29 against California.
The limited capacity will be sufficient to accommodate men’s and women’s basketball season ticket holders, and all fans who had already purchased tickets to upcoming athletic events at the Galen Center, according to the university.
For events with general admission seating, fans will be encouraged to be seated with appropriate physical distancing.
Students attending men’s basketball games will be divided into lower and upper levels; students will be seated in pairs with appropriate physical distancing.
The first event at the Galen Center the general public will be allowed to attend is Sunday’s women’s basketball game against UCLA, the university announced Friday.
Only the families and guests of team members had been permitted to attend USC’s indoor home athletic events since Jan. 12.
In-person instruction at USC will resume Monday after the classes for the first two weeks of the spring semester were held on a remote basis due to locally rising COVID-19 cases.
The UCLA men’s basketball team is scheduled to play before a substantial number of fans at Pauley Pavilion for the first time since Dec. 1 on Tuesday when it faces Arizona, ranked third in the latest Associated Press poll, six spots ahead of the Bruins.
The university announced Jan. 11 that attendance at all home indoor athletic competitions — including men’s basketball — would be restricted to team members’ families through Jan. 21 due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
UCLA let the ban against the general public attending home indoor athletic competitions expire Friday.
“While we’re excited to welcome fans back, all spectators must continue to wear a face mask when not actively eating or drinking,” the university announced. “Failure to comply with wearing a face mask may result in future competitions without fans.”
Since their 73-61 victory over Colorado at Pauley Pavilion Dec. 1, the Bruins have had two home games postponed and two others canceled because of coronavirus issues with their team or their would-be opponents.
The team has played at Pauley Pavilion three times in January before crowds announced at 236, 119 and 141.
