Early Wednesday evening, the New Orleans Saints announced they will not host fans for their home opener against Tampa Bay on September 13th. This report comes from the Saints official website. This is, of course, due to COVID-19 pandemic which has been particularly hard on the city of New Orleans.
Saints President Dennis Lauscha said, “Mrs. Benson has appointed an internal management team that oversees all elements of our business relative to our Covid-19 planning, protocols and responses,” He went on to say, “Each morning she is briefed on the latest programs and plans and on our daily communication with ASM Global. Her overriding directive and priority is the health and safety of our fans, our employees, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome staff and all of the coaches and players.”
Saints team officials met with safety experts and city and state governing officials to discuss their comprehensive health and safety plan to allow fans inside the Mercedes Benz Superdome this fall. The team’s official website reports “Unfortunately, at this time, the trends across our state and region do not meet the standards of health and safety we have established with our healthcare and government partners to host fans in the stadium for the first home game.”
Buccaneers fans will have to wait to see Tom Brady and the rest of the 2020 Buccaneers in person. With no official word as of yet as to the percentage of fans that will be allowed inside Raymond James Stadium, the hope is that 15%-20% can attend. As opening day for the NFL inches closer, each team and the NFL hope to have as much fan interaction on game day as possible respecting the COVID-19 protocols.
