Syracuse Basketball: Hard to imagine the Dome at full capacity for hoops

Given the current state of the pandemic, it’s highly unlikely that the Carrier Dome will operate at full capacity for Syracuse basketball games.

SU athletics director John Wildhack says that it’s too early to know whether the Carrier Dome – or whatever it is called these days – will operate at full capacity or not for Syracuse basketball men’s and women’s games in a few months’ time.

Wildhack is correct in that the 2020-21 hoops campaign is multiple months away, so it makes sense for him and other Orange sports officials not to speculate at this juncture.

However, due to the present state of the novel coronavirus pandemic, with tens of thousands of new cases being reported daily around the country in recent days, unless the situation drastically improves, it’s difficult to envision a scenario where the Dome is anywhere near full capacity for basketball contests starting in November.

Frankly, I’m just crossing my fingers that a 2020-21 term is played at all. If it is, I would expect that the Dome would have attendance limitations, much like is being anticipated – and getting planned for – by Wildhack and his colleagues as it pertains to Syracuse football’s 2020 stanza. Wildhack said as much in a letter published on cuse.com in late May.

Fast-forward to today, and Wildhack has written a similar letter surrounding hoops. He says that, much like in football, Syracuse University is putting a pause on seat upgrades and the parking process for men’s and women’s basketball season-ticket holders because of the pandemic.

"More from Wildhack’s letter. “We are continuing to review many potential plans for attendance at our home events this fall. The University is working closely with public health and government officials to create and deploy a public health strategy that protects and safeguards the well-being of our fans, student-athletes, and the campus and Central New York communities. As we shared in May, at this time we are anticipating and planning for reduced capacity to some degree for football season. For men’s and women’s basketball it is simply too early to tell.”"

I believe that Wildhack and other university administrators are, appropriately, acting with extreme caution as it relates to Orange sports for the fall and winter seasons.

If fans can sit in the stands at the Dome, it wouldn’t surprise me one iota if they have to wear masks and have their temperatures checked when arriving at the facility.

Time will tell how this all shakes out. Everyone’s safety is the only priority. That being said, it will prove most unfortunate if upcoming sports campaigns are canceled, and we don’t have Syracuse teams to cheer on in the near future.