University announces postponement of September 17 Polo G concert

The University of Rhode Island regrets to announce the postponement of the Polo G Concert, subject to future availability of the artist. This concert was scheduled to take place at the Ryan Center Friday, Sept. 17.

When the concert was booked in June, the outlook was that normal activities such as this concert would resume. Unfortunately, conditions have changed and we find ourselves needing to revisit guidelines for large campus events to reduce risks of infection in our community in light of current data about COVID-19 transmission. This postponement will give URI time to implement these revised guidelines for large campus events, which we will be reviewing and updating, as appropriate, throughout the semester.

Faculty, staff and students have worked extremely hard to deliver a comprehensive and dynamic in-person experience this fall. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by this postponement and disappointed that we had to take this step but, ultimately, we need to do our best to safeguard that in-person experience and the health of our community.

All tickets for the Friday, Sept. 17 show at the Ryan Center will be automatically refunded in full. See directions for receiving your refunds.

Modifications to the University’s Campus Event Policy

URI students and employees may not participate in campus events unless they comply with applicable requirements for proof of vaccination and/or surveillance testing. Events are as defined by the COVID-19 Task Force.

Attendees who are not URI students or URI employees at large indoor events on URI campuses, or managed by URI, must show proof of full vaccination before entering the event venue unless they are ineligible due to their age. Full vaccination and acceptable proof thereof are as defined on page 2 of the University’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy. For purposes of this policy, indoor large events are those involving more than 250 attendees and exceeding 35% of venue capacity as configured for the event in question.

General admission seating will not be permitted for ticketed indoor large events, other than for URI students.

The URI COVID-19 Task Force will promulgate requirements and guidelines as needed to implement the above policy and may, when necessary, adjust the threshold of large events in response to changing pandemic conditions in the community. Applicability of this policy to campus events will be determined through the Task Force’s existing COVID-19 event review and approval process. The requirement may be suspended for certain events where the risk of virus transmission is mitigated by other considerations.