INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Health Department issued a notice of violation to the Indianapolis Speedrome late Monday afternoon. The violation was filed in court and is seeking a $1,000 fine.
The health department says they have determined during the event, the facility violated the public health order by greatly exceeding its 25 percent capacity for attendance. The health department says the order also calls for proper social distancing of six feet and that the face covering requirement for guest was not properly enforced.
They say they got numerous complaints about an "over-capacity crowd" at the southeast side race track on Saturday night.
One concerned fan, who's enjoyed races at the track for years, captured the crowd on camera.
The scene in the stands shocked her and several others: what appears to be a packed house during a pandemic.
"Lots and lots of people," she told 13News. "People not wearing masks, sitting elbow to elbow, people standing because there's nowhere to sit, the food service people, none were wearing masks. As a matter of fact, there was a woman that worked there that said it was ridiculous. She said that they were going to get in a lot of trouble."
The Marion County Health Department says it did receive numerous complaints.
We're protecting the identity of the fan who shared video with WTHR because others who shared videos from Saturday have gotten threats on social media.
This fan is immuno-compromised and says she only took her grandchildren to the race because the track said crowds would be limited.
They all wore masks, expected to sit socially-distanced from others and expected to be safe.
"I just took the video to show my friend's mom how many people were there and she was like 'oh my gosh, leave. Please leave,'" she said.
"There was no safety that night. It was very unsafe for everybody."
At the end of July, the Marion County Health Department and the Indianapolis Mayor's office restricted sports venues just like this one to 25 percent capacity. Some spectators say on Saturday, it was well beyond that at the Speedrome.
"If they would have kept their capacity like they're supposed to, it would have been fine," the fan told 13News. "There was plenty of seating for people to sit six feet apart. But with the people they had there, there was no way to keep everybody six feet apart."
We talked with a representative at the Speedrome office Monday, who didn't want to talk on camera.
He told us it "wasn't as bad as the pictures seem," that they turned hundreds away and believe they did have proper capacity.
He says they're now working with the health department moving forward.
There is another race at the Speedrome this weekend.
But after capturing crowds on camera, at least one fan won't be back until the pandemic is over.
"It'll be bad if they happen to spread this," she said. "We've already got millions of people with this virus."