Changes taking place at Dumas football games to help prevent spread of COVID-19

DUMAS, Texas (KARM/KCIT) — Friday is the first night of Friday night football for Dumas ISD, but there will be some changes for fans, players, and coaches.

Some of the changes DISD Athletic Director Stan Stroebel spoke about were the reduced capacity of fans, new online tickets this year for both home and visiting sides, and the requirement of wearing masks throughout the game.

“We’ve gone to online ticking, which is something brand new to us here in Dumas. We’ve run a few trial runs with our volleyball matches. Tonight, with the big numbers, we might be a little slower getting into the game than usual, but I think we got a good plan in place, said Stroebel.

Stroebel said additional seating has been set up with portable stands, and the band has been moved on to the field to better accommodate social distancing.

“That’s been the whole goal. We are so thankful to the UIL. During the summer, we weren’t sure if we were going to have a season and when the UIL said we had to do this, we are going to make it happen.,” said Stroebel.

The concession stand will remain open, with changes such as condiments on request.

Another change will be to timeouts. Getting water to players may take longer, so timeouts could be extended.

Stroebel said the gates will open a few minutes earlier to help with the new ticketing process.

Stroebel said the fans in Dumas are excited for the game tonight against Seminole.

“You can just feel it, up and down the halls in school today, you can just feel that excitement of what was fixin’ to happen tonight,” said Stroebel.

To see scores and highlights later tonight, click here.