NCAA will allow a limited number of fans to attend March Madness
0The NCAA will allow a limited number of fans to attend all rounds of next month's men's basketball tournament in Indiana, where March Madness was relocated in order to reduce travel and exposure to coronavirus. The governing body said Friday it is permitting 25 percent capacity at the venues to allow for social distancing. That figure will include all participants and essential staff along with the family members of team players and coaches.Attendees must wear face coverings, and cleaning and disinfecting efforts will be emphasized at venues in keeping with COVID-19 safety protocols. The NCAA said in its statement it acted in conjunction with state and local health officials. NCAA chief medical officer Brian Hainline said the decision also followed conversations with the organization's medical advisory group and will rely on testing and monitoring services from the Indiana University Health system.'The No. 1 priority for decisions around the tournament continues to be the safety and well-being of everyone participating in the event,' Hainline said. Share this article Share The NCAA had previously announced the 68-team tournament will be played entirely in Indiana because of the pandemic, with most games in Indianapolis. The tournament will begin with First Four games on March 18 at home arenas for Big Ten Conference schools Purdue and Indiana, with those venues located about a one-hour drive - in opposite directions - from downtown Indianapolis.At Indiana, the school said it will allow up to 500 fans for tournament games at Assembly Hall with some seats reserved for local medical workers and first responders who have been vaccinated.Games will be played on two courts inside Lucas Oil Stadium as well as at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena at Purdue and Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Only one game at a time will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium.Championship weekend is still scheduled for April 3 and April 5. Preliminary round dates have not yet been determined. Ball State, Butler, Indiana, IUPUI, Purdue and the Horizon League will co-host the tournament and NCAA officials say most games will be played in Indianapolis. CBS Sports and Turner Sports will continue to distribute all 67 games of the tournament across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV and their digital platforms. 'The 2021 version of March Madness will be one to remember, if for no other reason than the uniqueness of the event,' said NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt in a January statement. 'With the direction of the Men's Basketball Committee, we are making the most of the circumstances the global pandemic has presented. We're fortunate to have neighbors and partners in Indianapolis and surrounding communities who not only love the game of basketball as much as anyone else in the country but have a storied history when it comes to staging major sporting events.'This is going to be complicated and difficult; there's no questio