Seat covers have traditionally been a stadium signage staple. Whether being used to adjust the venue seating capacity or for coverage to protect seating areas from the elements when not in use, seat covers can also serve a dual purpose by providing a perfect space to display organization branding or sponsor logos for additional inventory. With constantly changing guidelines and capacity requirements for in-person events, seat covers have proven to be a valuable signage option as sports organizations and college athletics return to operations.
The first thing to consider when thinking about seat covers for your facility is what is your overall goal? Are you looking to cover a whole section, a single row, or just a few seats? Secondly, check for any requirements that might be mandated by participating teams or leagues that may specify the quantity of sections covered close to the field, among others.
Section Seat Covers
Section seat covers are just that – large banners designed to cover all or most of a section of seats. This type of seat cover is a great option for facilities to shrink the seating capacity of a facility, to provide prime sponsor exposure for televised games, or to distance allowed fans away from the playing area.
When looking to add section seat covers to your facility, two main pieces of information are necessary, in addition to measurements, in order to ensure that your seat covers look and perform the best they can: how long the seat covers are going to be in use for and if the chosen artwork is contained by section or continued across multiple sections. We need to know whether the seat covers will be installed and left up for the duration of the season or whether the seat covers would be removed and installed for each event or easily changed out from event to event. Depending on how the seat covers are going to be used, there are two different installation methods that are typically used. One option is for the seat covers to be finished with reinforced edges and high wind grommets that are used to bungee or tie down the covers to the seats. This option could be used for either a short-term or long-term installation. For an installation that would be intended to be up for a longer period of time, the seat covers can be finished with pole pockets and installed with conduit and ratchet straps for a more taut and permanent appearance.
Another consideration for full section seat covers is whether the seat covers will each feature individual logos and graphics or if the graphics will need to continue across multiple sections. If the artwork will continue across multiple seat covers, the width of the stairwells will also need to be provided to ensure proper graphic spacing.
Individual Seat Covers
With social distancing protocols in place as fans are allowed back into sporting and entertainment venues, ticketing has adjusted to leave spaces in between ticketing parties. However, that is not a guarantee that attendees will stay apart. Individual seat covers offer the most flexibility of all seat cover types. Constructed of a cloth or vinyl banner with an adjustable hook and loop closure designed to cover only one seat at a time, this renders the seats unable to be used but in a visually pleasing way compared with zip-tying or belting the seat shut. Individual seat covers can be used on various seating types and are easily moved throughout a facility depending on expected attendance or seating configurations. As with section seat covers, individual seat covers can feature team, facility, or sponsor logos.
While individual seat covers do offer flexibility to wrap around seats of multiple sizes, we recommend testing one first before producing your whole order to ensure proper fit.
Row Seat Covers
Depending on the type of seats, row seat covers are an option that allows any number of seats in the same row to be covered with a branded or sponsored custom fitted cloth or vinyl banner. Row seat covers are also a perfect solution for marking bleacher style seating for social distancing as well.
As with the individual seat covers, we recommend testing one out first to ensure proper fit.
Thinking about adding seat covers as your facility gets back into action? Contact us today and one of our signage experts can help determine the best seat cover signage solution for your needs.
