The stands won’t be empty at some Pennsylvania high school sporting events this fall.

If you haven’t seen or heard, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration updated their COVID-19 sports guidelines to allow spectators at sporting events, but they must count toward the state gathering limitations.

The state gathering limitations for sporting events are 25 or fewer people for indoor events and 250 or fewer for outdoor events. Also, facilities “may not exceed 50% of total occupancy otherwise permitted by law,” per the guidelines.

The guidelines also require that spectators and everyone else in attendance at games including coaches, officials, athletes and staff must wear face coverings “unless they are outdoors and can consistently maintain social distancing of at least six feet.”

Now the fact that spectators such as parents will have the opportunity to attend games is a good thing, but there are both positives and negatives to this.

It’s also important to point out that there are still a lot of questions and logistics that need to be answered and fast with fall competition within the four-county bubble of McKean, Elk, Potter and Cameron counties set to begin on Sept. 14. Football games within the bubble will kick off on Sept. 18.

Let’s start with the current guidelines and how these will affect spectators.

The current guidelines from Wolf’s administration limit outdoor sporting events to 250 people and indoor sporting events to just 25 people.

With that being said, the possibility of fans being at indoor events like volleyball games under these guidelines are pretty much zero with the 25 people or less capacity.

Regarding outdoor events and the 250 or less limit, it may vary by sport and perhaps each game of a certain sport.

For varsity football, the amount of spectators allowed per game will depend on the size of the football rosters of each team competing in a game as well as their coaching staffs. After that, you have to factor in officials, clock operators, chain gang, etc.

For the four-county bubble, you’ll also have to factor in band members as well as cheerleaders of home teams only.

When it comes to sports like soccer, there’s a better chance of more spectators being allowed in considering soccer rosters typically have less players than a varsity football roster, but the exact number will still vary depending on the aforementioned factors for each game.

In theory, other outdoor sporting events like golf and tennis also shouldn’t really be affected by the 250 limit.

Now along with how many spectators can be allowed in, another big question that needs answered is who exactly will be allowed in. Will it be parents of players only? Parents and grandparents? Close friends? What about the parents of band members and cheerleaders? Will home teams allow visiting teams to bring a certain number of fans?

Whatever is decided, how the number of people allowed in and COVID-19 guidelines (masks and social distancing) will be enforced is another question that will need to be answered. However, there’s a possibility that school districts may be able to avoid the indoor and outdoor limits, according to Chris Harlan of TribLive.com. The state House of Representatives passed House Bill 2787 by a 155-47 vote on Wednesday which would allow school districts to make decisions regarding fall sports and spectators.

According to Harlan, the Senate Education Committee voted 10-1 on Thursday to advance the bill to the Senate floor for a vote.

Again, a positive is that after it was long expected spectators weren’t going to be allowed at games, now they will be. Some parents will get to see their kids play, but maybe not all parents. And that again will depend on what is decided as far as how many spectators will be allowed in sporting events and who they’ll be.

For those who are unable to attend sporting events in person, hopefully there will be some streaming options.

The timing of all of this with the Sept. 14 start date for fall competition in the bubble less than two weeks away adds more to the plate of superintendents and athletic directors who now have to figure out the best and safest solutions possible for everyone involved.

It’s good to know that some of these student athletes will get to not only play this fall but do so in front of a crowd, but here’s to hoping those making the call regarding spectators being at games make the best and safest decisions possible.