While everyone in America has been settling into an approach to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, NFL teams have been doing the same.
As decisions are being made concerning fans at the stadiums, all 32 teams have made an announcement about how they plan to manage stadium capacities when the regular season begins in less than two weeks. Most teams have left open the option of returning fans to games in a some capacity.
The Raiders, however, have not.
This was the statement the team issued last month regarding fan attendance at Allegiant Stadium:
“After intensive consultation with healthcare officials and state and community leaders, we have made the difficult decision to play the Las Vegas Raiders 2020 inaugural season at Allegiant Stadium without fans in attendance. This decision is based on our commitment to protect the health of our fans and the entire community in response to the coronavirus pandemic affecting us all.”
Raiders owner Mark Davis also said last month that if one fan couldn’t go, he didn’t don’t know if any fan should be able to go. Davis will not be attending games this year, but said he is considering hosting small watch parties in groups of 25 or less.
To this point, only the Raiders and Washington Football Team have committed to having no fans at games for the 2020 season. Some teams intend to allow fans right away in a limited capacity but most seem to be in wait-and-see mode. Then there are the Cowboys, who are apparently considering allowing as many as 40,000 fans into the stadium.
Thankfully for the Raiders (and Washington Football Team), commissioner Roger Goodell recently formed a committee which determined that fans do not give teams a competitive advantage. Of course, there’s also a chance that the league only cares about revenue and couldn’t care less if certain teams are getting a competitive advantage.
twitter: @raidersbeat
