49ers say no fans can attend the season opener due to the coronavirus pandemic
The 49ers on Tuesday announced what many have been expecting: There won’t be fans allowed to attend the Sept. 13 season opener against the Arizona Cardinals because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team, which previously offered season ticket holders a full refund for the season, released a statement.
“Through ongoing dialogue with State and Santa Clara County officials, and in accordance with public health guidelines, we can confirm that we will begin our season on September 13th against the Arizona Cardinals without fans in attendance. We will continue to work with State and County officials regarding the potential to welcome the Faithful back to Levi’s Stadium later this season.”
Many teams throughout the NFL have followed suit, though other teams, such as the Miami Dolphins, will try to have fans in the stands with social distancing protocols in place.
That doesn’t appear likely to happen in Santa Clara, which has been one of the most restrictive areas in the country when it comes to returning to business as usual amid the pandemic.
From a football standpoint, playing a stadium capable of hosting 65,000 fans with no one in attendance will be an odd feeling for players and coaches. It’s likely there will be crowd noise pumped in through the speakers to provide a semblance of atmosphere and keep everything players and coaches say from being caught on television microphones.
“It’s disappointing, but I also understand it. There’s a lot of adjustments that everyone’s got to make and how the world is right now,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I totally understand it, but it’s not going to be that fun. We love having the fans in there. They pump you up. You hear the noise, whether you’re watching on TV or in there in person.”
The lack of fans will certainly hinder the 49ers’ chances at building on the home-field advantage the team created by having the first winning season since moving to Levi’s Stadium in 2014. It might remind players of what it was like in their more formative years.
“Playing with fans, that’s how I grew up playing football. That’s how I grew up playing sports,” tight end George Kittle said. “If they say there’s not going to be fans, we’re just going to have to play with it and we’re just going to have to work on it. I played in JV games on Saturday mornings where my mom was the only person in the stands. So I could play then. That’s what football is. You can play wherever you are no matter what the time is, no matter the location.”
There haven’t been fewer than 4,000 reported new coronavirus cases per day in California since mid-June and cases in Santa Clara County have remained steady for most of the summer.
The team has not ruled out fans being allowed to attend games at some point later in the season.
