NFL considering reduced capacity for Super Bowl due to coronavirus
Plan would see just 20 per cent of seats filled in Tampa Bay stadium
The NFL said on Wednesday it was exploring the possibility of reducing seating capacity to 20 per cent at February's Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., because of COVID-19.
The home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which had been expected to have a capacity crowd of close to 75,000 for the Feb. 7 NFL championship game, would instead host between 13,000 and 15,000 fans, making one of the most sought-after tickets in sport even tougher to find, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The NFL said it was still refining its plans for the game, a money-making annual media spectacle that attracts thousands of fans to different host cities each year.
"There have been 19 teams that have already or have been authorized by public authorities to host regular-season games," a spokesman said. "The average has been around 20 per cent with fans seated in pods and everyone wearing face coverings.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc with the NFL calendar with positive cases forcing a reshuffling of the schedule and leaving open the possibility of adding an 18th week of games to the regular season.
Teams have largely been left to decide for themselves whether to allow fans on game days, as long as they adhere to local and state regulations. By Week 6, more than half of weekend games had spectators.
The United States has had a surge in COVID-19 cases recently with the death toll reaching more than 227,000.
