Syracuse athletics to end food, alcohol sales at Dome due to COVID

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — If you plan to attend a basketball game at the Carrier Dome soon, you can forget about getting a beer and a hot dog.

Syracuse athletics on Friday announced no food or alcohol will be served at Dome games, effective immediately.

It was part of a series of enhanced public-health protocols for athletic events at the stadium announced by John Wildhack, director of athletics, and Pete Sala, VP and chief facilities officer. They cited “the sudden and sharp increase in COVID cases on the Syracuse University campus and in the Central New York community” as the impetus behind the changes.

The other new or enhanced restrictions on Dome events, which already require masks to be worn, include the following:

• All fans age 5 and up are required to provide proof of vaccination or negative COVID test. Proof must be shown at the gate to secure entry to the stadium. (Newborns to age 4 do not require a vaccination or a test result to enter the facility.)
• The Courtside Lounge will be closed.
• Club 44 will be closed.
• No food or alcohol will be served at the stadium, but water, soft drinks, and coffee will be available for purchase at the cashless registers in the concourse.
• Pre-game courtside gathering will be prohibited.

The new Dome constraints were announced on the same day that the athletics department said its next two men’s basketball games will not be played as scheduled due to COVID protocols in the Syracuse program. The Orange were scheduled to play Lehigh Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Dome and then host Cornell next Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 9 p.m.