Iowa State plans to allow some fans to attend its season opener at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 12.

The Cyclones are expecting approximately 25,000 fans with social distancing and mitigation strategies implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If our mitigation actions are successful, we will allow all season ticket purchasers to attend the Oklahoma game Oct. 3,” Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said in a letter to fans Monday. “However, if we determine that mitigation measures were not followed adequately at the first game, we will have no fans at future games (beginning with Oklahoma).”

The announcement comes the day Ames was identified as the country’s worst “hot spot” city by the New York Times. Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, was second while the state of Iowa was tabbed as the worst “hot spot” state.

Story County’s 14-day positivity rate is currently at 21.3 percent, according to data provided by the state. Eighty percent of those cases are from individuals aged 18-to-40. The country reported a record 167 positive tests Wednesday, Aug. 26. The previous pre-August high was 59 on June 15.

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