On Friday, Stanford Athletics announced that they will allow fans back at indoor winter sporting events starting January 28th, which will be a week from today. Below is the official release:

STANFORD, Calif. - In alignment with Stanford University's policies governing large group gatherings on campus, Stanford Athletics has announced that it will welcome back spectators at all athletics events, beginning Jan. 28. Stanford had previously announced that spectator attendance at indoor events was to be limited to the families of participating student-athletes due to a recent spike in Covid cases. In accordance with policies prior to the attendance pause, spectators at indoor events will need to provide proof of Covid vaccination or a negative PCR or LAMP test administered within 48 hours of the event for entry. Information on entry requirements can be found at GoStanford.com/attendance.

Additionally, the state of California has changed its parameters around "mega-events," which will now require spectators attending events at Burnham Pavilion (men's gymnastics, men's volleyball, wrestling) to provide proof of vaccination or negative test results prior to entering. Outdoor events will also return to full capacities.

The Cardinal's first indoor event back with full attendance will be Stanford's women's basketball game vs. Arizona State on Friday, Jan. 28. Attendance at indoor events prior to Jan. 28 (men's volleyball vs. Vanguard and women's basketball vs. California on Jan. 21, men's volleyball vs. UC Santa Cruz and men's basketball vs. Arizona State on Jan. 22) will remain limited to student-athlete families.

Fans who held tickets to events impacted by the spectator pause will receive communication from the Stanford Athletics Ticket Office.

This is obviously good news for Stanford Athletics across the board. No team wants to play at home with no fans in the stands. While Stanford did allow for family to attend games during this period without fans, that’s hardly a substitute for having a filled up arena.

Touching quickly on the hoops side, this is welcomed news for both Stanford men’s and women’s basketball. Getting to face the Arizona schools at home will be nice for women’s basketball, with Sunday January 30th’s game against Arizona having a Tara VanDerveer Bobblehead Giveaway. As for men’s basketball, this means they’ll have fans in the stands for an important rivalry game against Cal on Tuesday, February 1st. Maples Pavilion has historically been a tough place to get a win and the fans in attendance are a major reason why. It’ll be interesting to see how both teams respond to getting fans back in the stands.

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