NFL Announces Plan For Full-Capacity Games in 2021
In an interview Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the league would be expecting full capacity in all games in the upcoming season. This topic was likely brought up during the same meeting that resulted in a new 17-game schedule.
Per Pro Football Talk, Goodell expressed his interest in full-capacity stadiums.
“All of us in the NFL want to see every one of our fans back,” Goodell said. “Football is simply not the same without the fans and we expect to have full stadiums in the 2021 season.”
Later in his statement, Goodell explained the need for fans in games.
"Football is simply not the same without the fans, and we expect to have full stadiums in the 2021 season."
During the entire 2020 NFL season, none of the 32 clubs were able to boast a full-capacity game. The NFL showed, though, that they are moving in the right direction earlier this month when Goodell announced fans in attendance at the upcoming NFL Draft.
In fact, this decision for full stadiums is “surprisingly optimistic,” according to NFL analysts.
In CBS Sports’ story covering this news, reporter Cody Benjamin commented that this stance might not be set in stone.
“It remains to be seen if the NFL will be permitted to host full stadiums across the country, as different states offer different restrictions pertaining to COVID-19,” Benjamin said. “With coronavirus vaccines becoming increasingly available nationwide, however, it's clear Goodell and the NFL expect restrictions to be significantly loosened come fall.”
While the 2021 regular season is set to kick off on September 9th, the upcoming NFL Draft is now less than a month away- occurring from April 29 - May 1.