PFT reported earlier this week that NFL teams that will allow limited capacity this season aren’t doing it for the revenue. The revenue -- roughly $2.4 million in extra money for the year based on 15,000 fans for eight home games -- is a drop in the bucket.
Teams are doing it for customer relations.
Chiefs team president Mark Donovan confirmed that Wednesday.
The Chiefs will host the Texans with a limited capacity for the first NFL game of the 2020 season.
“The numbers don’t pencil out,” Donovan said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “You can’t really make the numbers work when you’re talking about that amount of tickets. So this isn’t about that. This is about creating an experience and continuing the experience at Arrowhead, giving our fans the opportunity to be there for some really special moments. To some it may sound a little bit contrived, but honestly, we’re raising a banner on Sept. 10. We want our fans to be a part of that. We’re really struggling with the fact only 16,000 are going to be a part of that live and in person. That’s a lifelong memory.
“It’s going to be different. It’s not going to be exactly what we wanted. But it is something that was really important to us as a franchise, and I will speak for the Hunt family on that. That was a big driver: Figure out a way to get our fans in safely because they need to be a part of this.”
The 16,000 seats the team will sell are 22 percent of the stadium’s capacity. The cheapest seats to the season opener are going for $195. Club level seats are $800.
NASCAR has run some of its races with limited capacity and Major League Soccer also has welcomed some fans. The NBA, Major League Baseball and the NHL are playing without fans.
Only a handful of NFL teams will start the season with fans.
“We take the responsibility very seriously,” Donovan said. “We understand that we’ve got to get this right and that we’ve got to be very diligent in our processes, in our protocols, in order to be successful, in order to have another game with fans. We know that other teams and other leagues are going to be looking at us.
“What makes us comfortable is our plan. We are very confident in our plan, [but] our plan is only as good as compliance and the following of directions, the following of protocol for our staff, for our players, for our coaches, for our fans. It’s critical that everybody follow protocols. If they do, we feel pretty confident that we can do this.”