Stephen Ross: NFL will definitely play, only question is if we’ll have fans

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 26, 2020, 9:46 AM EDT
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Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has no doubt that the NFL will have a season this year.

Ross said today on CNBC that the games themselves are not even in question anymore, and the only issue is whether stadiums will be full.

There “definitely will be a football season this year” and the “real question is will there be fans in the stadium,” Ross said, via Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.

Ross said the Dolphins do expect to have fans in attendance, but that’s not something he can guarantee will be feasible in three months.

The NFL has conducted business all offseason as if the season will start on time. Free agency, the draft and the schedule release all proceeded in a manner that suggests the league thinks it will be ready to go in September. Ross is echoing that, while allowing for the reality that full stadiums will be the hardest thing to pull off.

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41 responses to “Stephen Ross: NFL will definitely play, only question is if we’ll have fans”

  2. Seems that there should be consideration to get the games confirmed to play and then to assess how many fans (if any) could be in the stands.

    And I want the players to feel their share of the financial pinch from lost revenues. They always have their hands out when there is lots of money – it is time their wallets feel the lack of fans too.

  4. The billionaires aren’t the slightest bit concerned about fan safety.

    If people get sick from going to games they will hide behind lawyers and make sure there is tiny print on the back of each ticket that says any exposure to covid19 is the fan’s own responsibility that the NFL has no liability for.

    The problem in this country is not the needy, its the greedy

  5. Minnesota has some of the most onerous restrictions in the country and June 1 churches can be open at 25% capacity. Every church will have a plan for reopening, including things like every other row blocked off and three seats between families. There is no way in three months NFL stadiums can’t be open at least to that extent.

  6. Why not – look at the beach pictures in Jersey, Maryland, California – seems to me everyone is cool with getting back to living. More people at the beaches than at football games. If you have health probs, stay home – this shouldn’t be hard.

  7. its funny, taxpayers pay for these expensive stadiums that are now just landmarks. based on the fact that everyone is scared of other people now, i cant see the stadiums ever being required again. might as well play on a random high school field

  8. Just open it up completly. I will go to games with full capacity stadiums and I wont blame those who choose otherwise.

  9. This is what I assumed would happen anyway, season goes ahead, no doubt about that, just with no fans, at least initially.

    maybe, maybe not later in the season, we’ll have to wait and see.

    Empty stadium football is better than no football I guess, it could work…lets ask the Chargers, they’d know 🙂

  10. If the Broadway theaters that hold 1200 people on average for 2.5 hours at a time are closed until Spring (likely), there is no way fans will be at football games or any sport until next year

  12. If there are no fans to start the season, I do hope they have more on field mic’s to pick up the sound and the talk on the field. That would be pretty good vs. artificial crowd noise.

  13. There will be fans.

    NFL will go with social distancing in the stadium. 50% or 25% full.

    That’s my prediction.

  14. “Just open it up completly. I will go to games with full capacity stadiums and I wont blame those who choose otherwise.”

    Sure, go spread the virus around at full stadiums. Then carry it back to at risk groups. Your compassion for your fellow man is overwhelming.

  15. It’s amazing the high percentage of the general public who have been conditioned by the relentless media to now feel being locked inside your home is the best answer in the name of safety. Masks for safety, social distance for safety, report violators for safety, be ready for the fall wave and prepare to hunker down for 3-5 more months alone for safety.

  16. Just open it up completly. I will go to games with full capacity stadiums and I wont blame those who choose otherwise.

    ===
    I’m with you, but you somebody will get sick, die, and the family will try to sue the team. Same scenario with workers in the stadium.

  17. The billionaires aren’t the slightest bit concerned about fan safety.

    If people get sick from going to games they will hide behind lawyers and make sure there is tiny print on the back of each ticket that says any exposure to covid19 is the fan’s own responsibility that the NFL has no liability for.

    The problem in this country is not the needy, its the greedy

    ——–

    If you’re dumb enough to go to a game where you could get covid-19 then you shouldn’t be able to sue.

  18. Great news! I wouldn’t notice if the stands were full or empty. I’m watching for the action between the lines. Nothing to whine about for me. I’ll leave that for others.

  19. No fans equals the destruction of hundreds of local small businesses that depends on people going to NFL games for their survival.

  20. covidiots says:
    May 26, 2020 at 10:21 am
    The billionaires aren’t the slightest bit concerned about fan safety.

    If people get sick from going to games they will hide behind lawyers and make sure there is tiny print on the back of each ticket that says any exposure to covid19 is the fan’s own responsibility that the NFL has no liability for.

    The problem in this country is not the needy, its the greedy
    ===========================================

    You obviously don’t own a small business near an NFL stadium.

  21. covidiots says:
    May 26, 2020 at 10:21 am
    The billionaires aren’t the slightest bit concerned about fan safety.

    If people get sick from going to games they will hide behind lawyers and make sure there is tiny print on the back of each ticket that says any exposure to covid19 is the fan’s own responsibility that the NFL has no liability for.

    The problem in this country is not the needy, its the greedy

    ——–

    If your afraid then say home. Pretty simple huh?

  22. The Chargers don’t play in empty stadiums. They play in their home stadium which is full with the visiting team’s fans.

  23. > If people get sick from going to games they will hide behind lawyers and make sure there is tiny print on the back of each ticket that says any exposure to covid19 is the fan’s own responsibility that the NFL has no liability for.

    And rightly so. If you go to a crowded stadium you know the risks involved. Nobody is forcing you to go. The crazy thing is the idea that you should be able to successfully sue for something you choose to do and that you fully know ahead of time puts you at huge risk.

  24. “You obviously don’t own a small business near an NFL stadium.”

    You’re correct. But I work in the conferences and concert businesses which are 100% shut down and will likely be among the last things that come back so I would rather things reopen but I doubt that can be done without huge spikes in infections so unlike the selfish people out there I will tough it out without crying about what i can or cannot go to until I can do so safely.

    Americans used to be tough, now its WAAAAA WAAAAAA I can’t get my hair cut and i have to wear a mask oh noes oh noes!!!!!

  25. Until one lineman shows up positive the day after a game and they realize he might have been infectious during the game as well, probably got a false negative to clear him to play.
    Both teams will have to be quarantined, retested, and the ones who caught it – likely quite a few – will be out for weeks at best. One or two might suffer permanent damage to their lungs and that’s it for their career. Hopefully no one dies.
    And the coaches, support staff, cleaning crew, will face the same thing.

    Once the NBA realized how fast this thing would spread they did what they had to do – shut down. They’ve got some fairly questionable testing available – way too many false positives/negatives. Has that really made enough difference?

  26. covidiots says:
    May 26, 2020 at 10:21 am
    The billionaires aren’t the slightest bit concerned about fan safety.

    If people get sick from going to games they will hide behind lawyers and make sure there is tiny print on the back of each ticket that says any exposure to covid19 is the fan’s own responsibility that the NFL has no liability for.

    The problem in this country is not the needy, its the greedy
    ****************************************
    Jealousy will get you right where you are, nowhere.

  27. This idea of having fans at the games is a pipe dream. There is no way to safely do it. People are going to be congregating in crowds in the queue to enter the stadium, to leave the stadium, for restrooms and concessions. What if someone is sitting in the middle of a row and they need to leave to use the restroom? How would they do that without coming into close contact with the other people in their row? It’s not possible.

  28. All of you just saying people can stay home are lacking understanding of the full picture. Yes, I can and will stay home if they allow fans. But, others will go, and some will catch the virus. So far, each choice is independent. But, when I now go to the grocery store because I need food, and pass those that caught the virus (and probably are those refusing to wear masks in the store), you could pass the virus to me (and plenty of others). So, no, in the big picture the choice of some to ignore distancing is NOT only affecting them. It affects everyone who they later come into contact with, especially when they are not man enough (or woman enough) to wear a mask in public to protect the rest of us from their reckless behavior.

    I realize this is probably way too logical and based too much on science for many of those who post on this site.

  29. Stadiums should not have fans in stands until we have tested enough to know who has the covid 19 virus, and who they have been in contact with. Testing and contact tracing can reduce our infection rate. Unfortunately, current political leaders seem incapable of grasping this or getting us to that point, so stadiums will likely be empty in the fall.

  30. “Jealousy will get you right where you are, nowhere.”

    Yeah you know nothing about me. I mange a successful small company, or it was before covid hit, and I’ve toured for almost 40 years designing and operating concert lighting. I’ve done the latter now in 58 countries, seen the world and been highly successful. I also volunteer extensively in animal rescue and put a lot of time into that.

    What have you done with your life?

  31. That will be a distinct advantage to those teams that are used to playing without fans in the stands.

  32. Nothing to see here folks….we the NFL owners will open our doors without delay because we will not dare lose a dime of revenue from the TV contracts. We will let everyone back into the stadiums by Oct 1st so we only lose 1 months of paid attendence.

  33. covidiots says:

    Americans used to be tough, now its WAAAAA WAAAAAA I can’t get my hair cut and i have to wear a mask oh noes oh noes!!!!!
    ===============================================

    Ironic coming from someone afraid to go outside.

  34. I personally do not believe that there will be a football season, BUT, if there is, how long will it last if players start infecting one another? And keep in mind, it’s not restricted to players only, anyone on any team that has access to the coaching staff, locker room that has the virus will pretty much shut that team down. They will have retrace who all that person came in contact with and for how long and those players would have to be isolated for up to 14 days. Imagine, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady and the like, not being able to play. It would chaos, at best.

  35. covidiots says:
    I’ve toured for almost 40 years designing and operating concert lighting. I’ve done the latter now in 58 countries
    ____
    Watching Backstreet Boys videos on YouTube doesn’t count.
    You certainly picked the correct screen name for yourself.

  36. “Ironic coming from someone afraid to go outside.”

    I’m not the slightest bit “afraid”

    What I am willing to do is take the precautions needed to make someone else sick with a deadly disease if I happen to be an asymptomatic carrier.

  37. Not safe for fans to attend the games, but safe for players and coaches?

    Makes perfect sense, NOT.

  38. covidiots says:
    May 26, 2020 at 12:56 pm
    “Jealousy will get you right where you are, nowhere.”

    Yeah you know nothing about me. I mange a successful small company, or it was before covid hit, and I’ve toured for almost 40 years designing and operating concert lighting.

    Sure Skippy, we all believe you! LOL

  39. Vladimir_Trump says:
    May 26, 2020 at 3:22 pm
    Not safe for fans to attend the games, but safe for players and coaches?

    Makes perfect sense, NOT.
    _______________________________

    You do realize that if all those at the game(players, coaches, refs, cameramen, etc) test negative for the coronavirus and everything is sterilized then there’s no way anyone can contract the virus, the virus has to be present before it can be contracted!

    Makes perfect sense huh?

  40. People that want to stay inside after 3 months are the same people that never would come out and spend their own money before. The same people saying to not let fans in stadiums would be the 1st one’s one line if tickets to games were offered free.

  41. Even if the “all clear” is given before the season starts or even if the NFL comes up with the best stadium safety protocols on the planet, there’s one key thing that can not be known until we actually get there; the fan psyche.

    I’ve been, and remain, a season ticket holder to a team for the past 20 years and look forward to going to games. But I’m not sure I’m willing to risk things until i can be as absolutely certain as possible; such as with a readily available vaccine.

    Even if every single fan in the stadium takes every precaution possible, the NFL does a great job at the stadiums, you simply can’t account for all the people that the fans have encountered during their normal lives in the days, week, hours, prior to the game.

    I luv the game of football but I can’t enjoy it if Covid-19 takes me down.

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