COVID-19 has done quite the number on America this year. We have to wear masks in stores, restaurants - if they've opened back up - are operating at much lower capacities, Zoom and other virtual conference services have become the norm...and I could go on.

But, a truly eye-opening change has come across the sports world. The MLB is playing a much shorter schedule, with no fans in attendance. The NBA is also playing a much shorter season with every game taking place at Disney World in Florida. There will also be no fans in attendance at these games.

So then, the question becomes: What are the plans for the NFL? ESPN answered that question this morning. Instead of going through all 32 teams and their COVID-19 plans, I'll just focus on our two local teams here in Texas. Also, keep in mind that these are the plans IF the NFL decided to allow any fans at all into the stadiums.

Houston Texans:

  • NRG Stadium in Houston holds just over 72,000 people, when it's at full-capacity. If they go strictly off of Governor Gregg Abbott's order for 50% capacity, that would drop it down to 36,000. However, if you check out the article, it says that they will be limiting attendance to about 14,000 seats, which means about 19% capacity. Plus, the seats in the first eight rows of the seats won't be sold.

Dallas Cowboys:

  • AT&T Stadium in Arlington holds 80,000 people at max capacity. According to the ESPN article, they plan to have fans at the games, but haven't released any exact numbers, much like the rest of the league. The did say that Dallas will not be using field suites and, just like in Houston, the first eight rows of seats will not be sold. In addition to these changes, Dallas did cancel all season tickets for this season. They've given the ticket holders the option to buy tickets on a per-game basis, and choose to get a refund or use that money towards next year's season tickets.

These are just the Texas teams, but the other NFL teams are facing these same challenges, with some teams already saying that fans aren't permitted in the stadiums. This year continues to be a year of firsts, but I'm ready to see things move back to normal...

You can read the full article from ESPN here.

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