The Miami Dolphins have put together early plans for how to host fans in its stadium during the 2020 NFL season amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
During a Monday segment with Good Morning America, Dolphins CEO/president Tom Garfinkel revealed mock ups of new entrances into Hard Rock Stadium that would help adhere to social distance guidelines.
“We would have times to come in for security at different gates so people would be separated out in terms of when they enter the stadium,” Garfinkel said. “We would exit the stadium much like a church environment where each row exits so people aren’t filing out all at the same time in a herd.”
The mock up including colored spots on the ground leading up to entrance gates to designate the distance needed between fans as they file into the stadium. It’s a plan not unlike some restaurants have done for customers picking up takeout orders during the pandemic.
Hard Rock Stadium can hold approximately 65,000 fans for a football game, but the Dolphins said they might be down to 15,000 fans for the next season as the adjust to a different set up.
Hard Rock Stadium became the first public facility to earn the GBAC STAR accreditation. This is the standard being used for facilities to implement cleaning, disinfecting and infectious disease prevention work practices to control risks involved with infectious agents like the coronavirus pandemic.
The accreditation paves the way for Hard Rock Stadium to re-open and host fans for events once the NFL season begins.
“When our fans, players and staff are able to return to Hard Rock Stadium, we want them to have peace of mind that we’re doing everything we can to create the safest and healthiest environment possible,” Garfinkel said. “We didn’t want to create our own standard, we wanted to be accountable to the most credible third-party standard that exists. Working with the GBAC (Global Biorisk Advisory Council, a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association) ensures compliances with critical guidelines for the highest standard of cleanliness and it is our hope that other venues will follow suit as we navigate through these unprecedented times.”
The NFL is planning to begin its season September 10 with a 17-week, 16-game schedule and a Super Bowl on February 7 in Tampa as originally planned but they have discussed contingency plans like pushing the season back to October or playing in empty stadiums. The NFL schedule will be released this week, and the league says it will adjust its plans if the pandemic calls for it.
The league is evaluating when players can reenter team facilities. The NFL and NFLPA — both of which have a Covid-19 task force — have agreed to keep buildings closed until every state in which a team resides lifts its stay-at-home mandate. Teams are prepared to conduct offseason workouts and June minicamps virtually. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will not accept a salary during the pandemic. The league raised more than $100 million for coronavirus relief during the NFL draft.
Source : ESPN
