While decision is not yet final, Dallas ISD considering not allowing fans at basketball games this season

With COVID-19 cases starting to rise again in Dallas County, and with the county’s perceived risk level raised back to red last week, Dallas ISD is considering not allowing fans at its basketball games this season, DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.

A final decision won’t be made until closer to the first games, Hinojosa said, but the district is starting to explore the impact of potentially having no spectators. UIL girls basketball teams start practicing Wednesday, and they can begin games Nov. 6. The boys start a week later.

“We’re trying to figure out whether we’re going to allow any fans or not,” Hinojosa said during a meeting with The News' editorial board. “You’re in an enclosed arena. ... At least football is outdoors. If it’s just the players and the coaches, that may give us a better chance to contain that.”

Dallas County had reported 90,318 confirmed COVID-19 cases through Monday, the second-most of any county in Texas, behind only Harris County. After 18 straight days with at least 1,000 new cases in July, then hitting a record-high 1,850 cases on Aug. 17, Dallas County saw a dramatic decline and went 29 consecutive days (Aug. 22-Sept. 19) with fewer than 400 cases.

But the numbers have started to climb again, and the county has reported more than 500 cases six times this month. There have been 14 football games involving Dallas ISD schools that have been canceled or postponed since DISD schools started games the first week of October, most for COVID-19 reasons.

Hinojosa has been monitoring the county numbers closely and speaks to superintendents from Dallas County school districts on a weekly basis. For now, he sees no reason to pause fall sports for Dallas ISD schools or to delay the start of the season in basketball.

“As long as we stay under 500 [daily cases], we’re probably good,” Hinojosa said. “But if we creep back up to 1,000, then that’s a different story. Right now we don’t have a reason to shut the season down.”

The UIL has allowed a maximum of 50% seating capacity at football games and volleyball matches. UIL deputy executive director Jamey Harrison said Monday that the UIL hopes to increase that to more than 50% at some point, as long as safe social distancing can be maintained.

A few Dallas County school districts placed tougher restrictions on attendance this fall and plan to continue that in basketball. Garland ISD will allow two spectators for each participant only, and Cedar Hill and Richardson ISD plan to limit basketball attendance to 35%.

Mesquite ISD will allow 25% to 30% capacity, as it has done for volleyball. Mesquite ISD live streams matches from its main gyms to allow additional fans to view the action.

Coppell ISD athletic director Kit Pehl said the District 6-6A athletic directors have a basketball meeting scheduled for Thursday that “should shed a little more light on what we will be considering or not considering.”

“At a minimum, we would look at participant family-only options before we went with no fans,” Pehl said.

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