Which NFL stadiums will allow fans in for the new season? what are the covid restrictions?
The 2021/22 NFL season gets underway next Thursday with reigning champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers facing Dallas Cowboys.
The 2021/22 NFL season gets underway on Thursday night as Dallas Cowboys play reigning Super Bowl Champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first game with the action starting on Thursday, 9 September in Florida. This season will feature a new 18-game schedule, with every team playing once a week and the classic Super Bowl taking place in Los Angeles a week later than usual, on 13 February, 2022.
NBC will be broadcasting the match-up at Raymond James Stadium between the Cowboys and the Buccaneers, which starts at at 8:20 p.m. with a bumper crowd expected to watch the champions in action at home.
Fans back, packed stadiums?
Speaking recently, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was confident that fans will be back in NFL stadiums this season.
"Given the spread of the Delta variant, changing conditions can always change outlooks. But for now, that confidence must be combined with a willingness to adapt Goodell told NFL Network.
"This year, we're comfortable that local regulations are going to allow us to have fans at all 32 stadiums. We'll still be smart. We're still going to be willing to adapt. We're still going to do everything to make sure our fans are safe when they're there," Goodell said. "We expect full stadiums. You know, the fans want to come back. That's the No. 1 thing we hear. We're seeing that in our ticket sales. Fans just want to be a part (of) and have that collective experience. Doing that around an NFL game is fun."
All 32 teams in the league have received approval for full capacity at their stadiums this season
Game day hygiene protocol
As well as the league testing players regularly, fans too will be asked to play their part in ensuring that stadiums do not become areas of mass spreading. Fans suffering with symptoms of who have tested positive should or who have been in contact with a positive individual have been told to avoid attending games. Fans should have received their full vaccine compliment and face coverings will be used in those states who have re-introduced the ruling (such as California) and hand sanitizer stations will be dotted around the concourse of each stadium.