The City of Philadelphia currently isn’t dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak. And it wants to keep it that way.
Per multiple reports, Philadelphia officials are expected to announce on Tuesday that all large events and gathering will be canceled, through February 2021.
Some of the reports are confusing, creating an impression that only private facilities are exempt. Even though Lincoln Financial Field is owned by the city, the rule will not apply to Eagles games, but to public events like parades, festivals, and road races.
It’s hard to reconcile this new rule with the notion of a full or mostly full stadium for Eagles games. It suggests that, ultimately, the Eagles will (like plenty of other teams) have dramatically reduced capacity or no fans at all for 2020 home games.
UPDATE 2:48 p.m. ET: The Eagles thought they’d be exempt. They aren’t.