For the first time in over a year, Ohio Stadium is welcoming fans to watch the Buckeyes.
Ohio State's spring game will kick off at noon on April 17 with a public audience in the stands for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Attendance has been capped at 19,180 due to the pandemic.
Football Spring Game Attendance Details Announced
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) April 8, 2021
Capacity just under 20,000; 10,000 seats will be appreciation seats for front line personnel#GoBuckeyes https://t.co/PU8KV9XuM8
Ohio State expects approximately 4,500 tickets will be available to the general public at $5 each. Those tickets will go on sale at 11 a.m. Monday online at ticketmaster.com.
A total of 10,000 tickets will be given to the Wexner Medical Center and select entities on campus whose staff worked on the front lines during the pandemic. An additional 2,500 tickets – in the south stands – will be reserved for students at no charge. The remaining tickets will be held for the families of players and coaches.
“On behalf of the university and the Department of Athletics, I want to sincerely thank Gov. DeWine, Dr. Mysheika Roberts and Columbus Public Health, and Mayor Ginther and the City of Columbus for their collective leadership throughout this pandemic,” athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement. “We are not through this health crisis yet, but the collaboration among all of these entities has enabled us to safely return fans to our venues and, in particular, Ohio Stadium next week for the spring game.”
The 2021 spring game will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network. The band and cheerleaders will perform in person. Tailgating will not be allowed. Mask-wearing will be required.
The last time fans were welcomed to the Horseshoe was Feb. 15, 2020, when the Ohio State men's lacrosse team hosted Massachusetts in Ohio Stadium. Before that, the previous time fans were in attendance for a home football game was Ohio State's win 28-17 win over Penn State on Nov. 23, 2019.
