How arenas work to keep fans safe attending indoor sports

Allen Hershkowitz won't use the word “safe” because there is no certainty in life sciences. But the 65-year-old Ph.D with decades of environmental science experience says he would feel comfortable going to an socially distanced indoor sporting event with one of his children.

“Given the protocols, I would feel OK about it,” he said.

Arena by arena, venue by venue, fans are returning to watch live sports indoors amid encouraging signs in the pandemic. Plenty of safety rules are in place for the NCAA Tournament that opens in Indiana this week with limited attendance in the stands, just like the NBA and NHL. Experts say attending is relatively safe because of how big arenas with high ceilings work to move and mix air — as long as capacity limits allow for physical distancing and masks are still worn properly.

“If we’re talking about reduced capacity, people wearing masks most of the time and making use of that large volume, I think the risks are probably very low,” said Dr. Richard Corsi, dean of Portland State's college of engineering and computer science. “If you’re sitting with your family and you’re distanced from others and people are wearing masks except for when they’re eating a hot dog or whatever and you’ve got this large volume and you make use of the volume, my guess is that the risk is pretty low. Doesn’t mean it’s zero.”

The reduced risk of contracting the virus has to do with how much space surrounds each person when venue attendance is capped at 25%, as it is for the tournament, and how often fresh air from outside is refreshed into a venue.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) sets standards for everything from homes to restaurants to office buildings of how many cubic feet per meter of air space is required. Limiting...

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