NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies will play their home games in 2020 without fans. This is the result of Philadelphia city officials’ decision to ban all large public gatherings due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The ban is expected to be in place until February 2021.
“The Eagles are still going to be allowed to play, although without crowds. The Phillies will continue to be allowed to play, although without crowds,” said managing director Brian Abernathy via Philadelphia Inquirer.
According to Abernathy, the city has been communicating with teams and told them about their expectations. The Eagles previously allowed their season-ticket holders to defer their tickets to 2021.
This decision shouldn’t affect other NFL teams, as the league previously said the fans’ attendance at the stadium would depend on local and state guidelines.
“Decisions on the number of fans at stadiums will be determined on a market-by-market basis,” said NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy.
NFL remains optimistic that the health situation will get better in the coming months and that the fans will be able to return to stadiums, although in a limited capacity. However, a number of teams started preparing for the worst and have followed Eagles’ example in deferring the season tickets for next year.
