Florida’s oldest professional American football team, the Miami Dolphins, have announced they are ready to welcome fans back to their home ground Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami Dolphins CEO, Tom Garfinkel, advised that safety provisions include social distancing measures, staggered entry times, mandatory face masks for staff and spectators, upgraded air conditioning filters, and touchless entry and food ordering.
The Hard Rock Stadium is the first venue to receive certification from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, and the plans have also been approved by Florida’s Governor and the mayor of Miami-Dads County.
The stadium is shared with the University of Miami Hurricanes, who will be the first to open to fans when their season starts on 10 September in a game against University of Alabama at Birmingham. Ten days later, on 20 September the first Dolphins game with spectators is set to take place, playing against Buffalo Bills.
Season ticket holders will be given priority on tickets or an option to rollover payments and benefits to 2021. Suite ticket sales are on sale with general public ticketing to be announced in the future.
The decision to open to fans has drawn criticism from some corners amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Miami Dolphins are certainly not the first hosts to be trialling a return for spectators with announcements from other NFL teams including the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys, as well as an array of other sports teams and venues around the world. However, the crowd size of 13,000 people is one of the largest publicised even with the Hard Rock Stadium having a capacity of 65,000 people.
Supporters of the decision highlight that overall infection rates in Florida have been consistently falling since their peak on 12 July. Garfinkel also added that they would be monitoring the impact of the early games and would reverse the decision if necessary.
Whatever the opinion, it is certain that all eyes will be on the Hard Rock Stadium to see if the measures they have put in place are successful in safely welcoming back large crowds to sports events, and paving the way for more venues to follow.