Santa Clara County’s health order forces 49ers to move two home games to Arizona
The 49ers have a new home, at least for their next two home games.
The team on Monday announced its next two contests against Buffalo and Washington will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., home of the Arizona Cardinals, after Santa Clara County on Saturday barred contact sports in an attempt to stem the spread of COVID-19.
“The Cardinals organization, State Farm Stadium and League officials have been supportive and accommodating as we work through the many logistical issues involved in relocating NFL games,” the team wrote in a statement. “Information regarding the 49ers future practice arrangements will be shared at the appropriate time.”
The 49ers are scheduled to host the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football” Dec. 7 and the Washington Football team the following Sunday, Dec. 13. They are the first and only NFL team to have to change home venues this season.
Santa Clara County officials said the restrictions will last through the next three weeks, indicating the team might have to remain outside the Bay Area throughout December and the rest of the holiday season. The team’s last home game is Jan. 3 against the Seattle Seahawks and it’s currently planned for Santa Clara, but that could change.
“We’re all humans just like everyone else and it’s a big deal to leave your family for the whole month of December,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday.
The 49ers were blindsided by the county’s decision on Saturday as they found out the county moved to prevent professional and college sports teams from practicing and playing games. The team was boarding its plane to fly to Los Angeles for Sunday’s game against the Rams when the announcement was made.
County health officials made the move because of a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and the decreasing number of available hospital beds within the region. The 49ers had maintained contact with Santa Clara County throughout the process and worked closely with officials dating back to the summer when the team was allowed to hold training camp despite the county restricting mass gatherings.
“Are we going to be gone for the entire month of December? Are we going to be quarantined for 14 days when we come back? That’s all we could talk about for the last 18 hours,” Shanahan said Sunday after his team’s 23-20 victory over the Rams. “Because we got no answers from (county officials). Just very disappointed.”
The 49ers have been working with Santa Clara County since the summer when they came to an agreement to allow training camp to go on amid the pandemic despite the county limiting public gatherings and, at the time, allowing only essential workers to be exempt from restrictions.
Since then, all players, coaches and important members of the organization have tested for COVID-19 daily while the team has used trackers for everyone in the building for contract tracing, and followed strict social distancing guidelines, which included setting up makeshift meeting rooms to allow at least six feet between seats.
“All we’ve done for our entire season is wake up in the morning, go get tested, wear our masks, trackers throughout the whole day, finish, go straight home, don’t travel, don’t go outside in public,” Shanahan said.
“Everyone’s been so committed to this. The biggest thing for me is us all leaving our families. We’re all humans just like everyone else. It’s a big deal to leave your family for the month of December.”
The 49ers are still working to determine where they will practice in the meantime. There’s a chance they will be able to stay in the Bay Area and practice outside of Santa Clara County, though other counties might follow Santa Clara’s lead if COVID-19 cases continue to spike. In that case, finding a location in Arizona might be the best bet.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 10:33 AM.
