Chiefs will institute increased COVID-19 protocols at home games, including a mask requirement GETTY IMAGES
The Chiefs "announced plans for a reduced capacity of 22%" when they kick off their season Sept. 10 against the Texans, and with Arrowhead Stadium's capacity of 76,000, the reduction "would equate to about 16,700 fans," according to McDowell & Moore of the K.C. STAR. The Chiefs said that as the season progresses, the team and officials "could alter the permitted capacity." The Chiefs "will institute increased COVID-19 protocols" at home games. Anyone attending "will need to wear a mask, unless they are 'actively eating or drinking,'" and fans "will be required to bring their own mask." Tickets for the initial three home games "will go on sale on Aug. 24, with season-ticket members having the first chance to buy them based on tenure." The stadium "will continue to allow tailgating," but guests "can only tailgate with those who also have tickets in their pod." Throughout the stadium, fans "will be greeted with 'new physical distancing measures.'" The venue also "will move to a completely cashless system" (K.C. STAR, 8/18). THE ATHLETIC's Nate Taylor reported if tickets are still available for the first three Chiefs home games after they have been offered to season-ticket holders, "people in Jackson County (Mo.) will have a chance, followed by the rest of the public." Fans inside Arrowhead "will be divided into zones to help minimize interaction" (THEATHLETIC.com, 8/17).
NOT 100% SAFE: The K.C. STAR's McDowell & Moore write the plan to get Chiefs fans back into Arrowhead Stadium was "developed over months of back and forth with the team along with city leaders and health officials -- but it still won't be foolproof." The plan was "refined throughout the spring and the summer" with input from the team, physicians at the Univ. of Kansas Health System, K.C. Mayor Quinton Lucas' office and the K.C. Health Department. KCHD Dir Dr. Rex Archer said of the plan, "Is it a 100% foolproof from the disease spreading? No. Do we think we've taken a lot of precautions? Yes. Should folks that are high risk for hospitalization or death be attending? Probably not" (K.C. STAR, 8/18).
