Inside the new Allegiant Stadium, new home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Credit: Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday that in an email sent to Raiders season ticket holders, owner Mark Davis said there would be no fans allowed at games this season. More as we hear more.
There’s still no guarantee that any games will be played at all due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but in case college football does return the SEC announced Thursday that it would play a conference-only schedule starting Sept. 26.
A release from the Southeastern Conference said “The 2020 SEC football season will be comprised of a 10-game Conference-only schedule and the SEC Football Championship Game will be played December 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, rescheduled from the original date of December 5. The schedule will include one mid-season open date for each school and an open date on December 12 for all schools.”
The SEC joins other Power-5 conferences that have announced similar plans. Both the Big Ten and the Pac-12 are also proposing conference-only schedules, while the ACC announced this week it would play an 11-game schedule with Notre Dame joining in.
“After careful consideration of the public health indicators in our region and following advice of our medical advisors, we have determined that this is the best course of action to prepare for a safe and healthy return to competition for SEC student-athletes, coaches and others associated with our sports programs,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in a prepared statement.
Could the Major League Baseball season be over before it even really got started? After a dozen players and staff on the Miami Marlins tested positive for Covid-19, MLB canceled two games on Monday and all around the nation sports observers were calling for the league to end its season before things got worse.
Unlike the NBA and the NHL — major pro sports that are trying to finish their seasons in enclosed “bubble” environments — Major League Baseball started up this past week with teams playing in their own stadiums, without fans but with no bubble restrictions.
The Marlins, who played an opening series at Philadelphia, had their home opener against the Baltimore Orioles postponed Monday by MLB. Also postponed was the opener of a planned series between the New York Yankees and the Phillies, set to begin Monday.
The delayed Indianapolis 500 has a plan to be able to host fans up to 25 percent of the venue’s capacity for the Aug. 23 race, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Penske Entertainment Corp., which owns the track.
According to a report in the Indianapolis Star that percentage translates to a crowd of approximately 87,500 people. According to the speedway, fans will be required to wear masks at all times, and fans will be scanned for temperatures on the way in. More details about the attendance plan are expected to be released Wednesday.
“We will welcome fans back, and we have an aggressive plan in place, which has been developed through collaboration with national, state and local health experts,” said Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles, in the prepared statement.
Also from the statement:
Indy officials have made clear this year’s race will include numerous safety precautions, including the reassignment of seats to provide for greater distancing; the issuance and required use of masks, distribution of hand sanitizer to all who enter; temperature checks in order to enter; and changes throughout the facility to minimize lines and gathering spots, including limiting options from concession stands to mostly pre-packaged foods. Numerous other changes will also be in place.
Add the New York Jets and the New York Giants to the list of NFL teams that won’t have fans in the stands if games take place this season.
In a joint announcement the teams said that due to restrictions set by N.J. Governor Phil Murphy to deal with the Covid-19 crisis, a limit of 500 people at outdoor gatherings would apply to any games being held at MetLife Stadium. To comply with those restrictions the Jets and Giants said “we support Governor Murphy’s decision in the interest of public health and safety and, until circumstances change, we will play our games without the benefit of fans in attendance.” The teams also said that fans would not be allowed at 2020 training camp or practice sessions.
Rutgers University also said it would comply with the governor’s restrictions, which would limit fans to 500 people at any games that take place. As part of the Big Ten, Rutgers is already looking at a potential season with only conference games. The first game currently on Rutgers’ schedule is a Sept. 26 game at Ohio State.
Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles. Credit: Philadelphia Eagles
According to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia health commissioner Thomas Farley said on Tuesday that while safety protocols being developed for professional events look like they will protect participants from the coronavirus, the city thinks it would be unsafe for fans to attend.
“I do think that games can be played with the kind of safety precautions that they’re proposing. I do not think that they can have spectators at those games. There’s no way for them to be safe having a crowd there,” Farley said, according to the Inquirer report.
But on Wednesday, the city seemed to backtrack a bit, with a mayor’s spokesperson saying fans might be allowed at Eagles games should the city change its rules before the season starts.
The earlier announcement would unofficially make the Eagles the first NFL team to explicitly rule out having fans in the stands this season. Several other NFL teams, including the New England Patriots, have announced plans for significantly diminished attendance numbers if and when fans are allowed to be at games this season. The Patriots, who announced Tuesday plans to cap any games at Gillette Stadium at 20 percent of capacity, joined earlier similar announcements from the Miami Dolphins, the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs.
As Stadium Tech Report predicted in our recent in-depth study of what might lie ahead for venues coping with trying to hold events during a pandemic, it’s not a big surprise that any events taking place for the rest of 2020 will likely be with either significantly diminished audiences or no fans at all. While some best-practices ideas around the use of technology, social distancing and other procedures like timed entries are emerging as ideas that may help to keep fans safe, the continued spread of the disease in the United States, along with no coherent federal plan to combat it, makes the idea of full-house events somewhat unthinkable right now.
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