Not ’100% foolproof’: KC health director on decision to allow Chiefs fans this season
The plan to get Chiefs fans back into Arrowhead Stadium amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic developed over months of back and forth with the team along with city leaders and health officials — but it still won’t be foolproof.
The Chiefs announced Monday they will have a reduced capacity of 22% when they kick off their season Sept. 10 against the Houston Texans. With a seating capacity of approximately 76,000, the reduction would equate to about 16,700 fans.
The plan was refined throughout the spring and the summer with input from the team, physicians at the University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas’s office and the Kansas City Health Department.
“Is it a 100% foolproof from the disease spreading? No,” said Kansas City Health Department Director Rex Archer. “Do we think we’ve taken a lot of precautions? Yes. Should folks that are high risk for hospitalization or death be attending? Probably not.”
Tickets will be sold in “pods” of up to six seats.
Archer said pods will be staggered throughout the stadium, with some rows being left empty. Pods will be limited to two per row so fans can exit to an aisle without coming into contact with people outside their pod.
“We did the math, went through and figured out how many blocks of seats could be filled and that’s what we came up with,” Archer said.
Other precautions include limiting the number of people in the indoor restrooms and requiring masks be worn when not “actively eating or drinking,” the team said in a news release.
The complex will continue to allow tailgating, though guests can only tailgate with those who also have tickets in their pod. Every other parking space will be available.
Archer said he had some concerns about tailgating activity.
“I’m hoping that folks won’t be crossing over and visiting a lot of other tailgaters,” he said.
As the season progresses, the team and officials could alter the permitted capacity, the Chiefs said.
“We’ll be watching it very carefully,” Archer said. “With these procedures, the outbreak should be confined to the six people in these groups because they’re being social distanced from the others and that’s at a level that’s easier to contact trace.”
According to the Kansas City Health Department, 7,963 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the city and 87 people have died.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 7:18 PM.
