USC to allow 5,000 fans at spring football game at Coliseum

USC to allow 5,000 fans at spring football game at the Coliseum

Football players, aligned in rows, walk through a stadium tunnel.

Staff Writer

April 12, 2021 9:49 AM PT

After more than a year of empty stadiums, USC will soon play football in front of fans.

Spectators won’t be packing the 77,000-seat Coliseum just yet. But USC will open its spring showcase to about 5,000 fans Saturday after state and county health officials approved limited crowds for the university’s remaining home spring-sport events.

The spring showcase at the Coliseum is the only event open to the general public, with season-ticket holders offered the first opportunity to purchase tickets. Other spring sports, including baseball, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s water polo, and women’s lacrosse will be open only to “a limited number of family members and guests of student-athletes and coaches.”

Fans at the USC showcase will still be subject to the state’s updated public health protocols. All spectators must be California residents, and seating will be limited to six seats per viewing group, which can consist of no more than three different households.

The policy will go into effect Tuesday.

The Coliseum hasn’t welcomed football fans since Nov. 23, 2019, when USC beat UCLA, 52-35, on its way to earning a Holiday Bowl invite. The bowl, held less than a month later, was the last time the Trojans played in front of fans.

Campus was shut down soon after due to the pandemic, and has yet to fully reopen. In October, families of USC and UCLA football players petitioned local health officials for the right to attend games but were unsuccessful. The decision left many local families frustrated.

“We understand the situation, that we’re very fortunate to even be playing considering what’s happened in L.A. and the community spread problem,” Horace McCoy, father of USC wideout Bru McCoy, said in October. “But I don’t think it’s too much to ask for their parents to be there to support their kids, man. I really don’t.”

Six months later, they’ll finally be able to offer that support. At a safe distance, of course.