The Kansas City Chiefs have announced plans to open Arrowhead Stadium for the start of the 2020 season. The team said in a press release on Monday that it will open the stadium to 22% of its original capacity, or about 16,000 fans.
Season Ticket Members will have the opportunity to purchase single-game tickets for the first three home games next Monday, Aug. 24. The purchasing order will go in order of tenure, and the organization will contact the Season Ticket Members with more information.
Otherwise, the team will sell tickets in a grouped “pod” system, according to the release. The team will allow fans to purchase as many as six seats in the same pod. However, fans must remain with “known guests sitting within their purchased pod,” per the release.
Fans must purchase their tickets online.
At the moment, the Chiefs are leaving tickets to the latter five home games unsold, in case of future changes in protocol.
“As the season progresses, the club will follow the guidance of local officials and public health experts, with the potential that local regulations will allow for different capacities at different points during the season,” the team said in the release. “Future on-sale dates and details will be communicated once confirmed throughout the season.
“The club will utilize the same purchasing process for the remaining games in hopes that all Season Ticket Members will have an option to purchase at some point this season,” the team added.
The Chiefs will have “enhanced cleaning and sanitization measures in addition to physical distancing protocols” throughout the stadium. Fans will be required to wear masks at all times, except for when eating and drinking. The organization said it would give fans a “commemorative mask” before games.
The Chiefs have also prohibited bags — including clear bags — inside the stadium to minimize contact during the security screening process. They also said they are prohibiting smoking, vaping and spitting in Arrowhead.
Will this work? I don’t know. But most people who go to football games eat while they’re there. And multiple people will be eating at once. It seems like the Chiefs have attempted to account for this by implementing social distancing policies. I am very pessimistic about the return of sports anyway, but I think we, as a society, need to accept fan-less games as the norm for the rest of 2020.