The bleachers may not be empty after all.

The state Senate approved legislation — House Bill 2787 — by a 39-11 vote Wednesday that would empower local school districts to make decisions on whether spectators will be permitted at sporting events.

The House of Representatives approved the bill Sept. 2. It now goes to Gov. Tom Wolf's desk.

The current state mandate allows only 250 total people (teams, coaches and game personnel included) for outdoor events and 25 for indoor events.

Wolf has 10 days to veto the bill before it becomes law. If he vetoes the bill, the House of Representatives and state Senate could override that veto with a two-thirds majority vote.

Lyndsay Kensinger, press secretary for Wolf, said the governor plans to veto the bill.

“I hate to predict what the governor is going to do,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said. “I'm not a fan favorite of his right now.”

Mylan would not rule out the possibility of the public being permitted to attend games as early as Friday's high school football openers.

Seneca Valley athletic director Heather Lewis hopes more people will be allowed at athletic events this fall, but added, “If this bill passes (Thursday), I feel for the athletic directors at schools that are hosting a football game Friday. There would be a lot of work involved and not much time to do it.”

Mars is hosting a game Friday against rival Hampton.

“If we had to, the school board could hold a meeting (Thursday), even if it was a Zoom meeting, to vote on it,” said Mars athletic director and football coach Scott Heinauer. “It is different from school to school. Some stadiums have seating on just one side, others on both sides. The same goes indoors with seating in a gym.”

The current mandate of 250 people allowed for outdoor events affects schools differently.

“I can't speak to smaller schools with smaller football teams,” said Lewis, “but at a school our size, our first home game is Sept. 25 against Norwin. That's two Class 6A schools. There's no way we'd be allowed to have any fans.

“I don't know the conversations Wolf is having, but I hope he signs it. At least let parents in to watch their kids play. If the bill is signed, we should have the opportunity to do this in a safe manner.”

“If he (Wolf) looks at the bill and approves it right away, it could happen,” Mylan said of fans being allowed at Friday's football games. “The longest we'll have to wait, it looks like, is Sept. 21.

“I can see a mandate or a PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) directive allowing 50% or 25% of the venue to be filled. Even if it's 25%, we can seat 2,000 in our gym, so I could allow 500 people in. At least I could hold a volleyball match then.

“Right now, we have to have our subs sit in the hallway. It's crazy,” Mylan added.

Line judges are not a necessity for high school volleyball matches this year. Moniteau is opting not to use them.

“We can get a couple more people in the gym that way,” Moniteau athletic director John Stoughton said. “I'm totally in favor of this bill passing.

“I hate having to decide what six parents to let in to a game and what six to keep out. With our football stadium, we could easily social-distance people. There's plenty of room there.”

Moniteau's gym has a new air conditioning system that would “easily enable people to come in, wear masks, sit 6 feet apart and be perfectly comfortable.”

Stoughton said Moniteau's first priority this fall was getting its student-athletes back on the field and in the gym competing.

He added that the second priority — enabling parents and the community to support those athletes — isn't far behind.

“We all remember how devastating it was to those kids who couldn't compete in the spring,” he said. “And parents have a right to watch their kids grow.

“When these kids are out there competing ... where's the sense of accomplishment if there's nobody there to watch them?”

Slippery Rock Area High School athletic director Dan Follett believes House Bill 2787 would be particularly helpful to volleyball.

“I used to coach boys volleyball and I had 40 boys on my team my final year,” Follett said. “That limit of 25 isn't very effective.

“Our football stadium can hold 3,000, so allowing only 250 people in there makes it feel pretty empty. Most schools around here have big, beautiful gyms. We can adhere to social distancing measures and still get plenty of people into these games.”

Eagle staff writer Derek Pyda contributed to this report.