Packers preseason home games, training camp will not include fans this summer
GREEN BAY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Green Bay Packers announced Wednesday, July 15 that there will be no fans in attendance at 2020 training camp practices, Packers Family Night and any home preseason games.
The announcement from Green Bay coming as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Packer’s president and CEO Mark Murphy saying they made the difficult decision after consulting with local health officials.
“The tremendous support of cheering fans at Lambeau Field motivates all of us in the Packers organization,” Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said. “But after consulting with local health officials and reviewing League and CDC guidelines, we felt we needed to make this difficult decision. We will miss seeing so many of our fans, particularly the young ones, during this exciting time of year. We will continue to work on the protocols and logistics in the hope that we can welcome fans back to Lambeau Field for the regular season without jeopardizing the health of our players, team personnel and fans"
According to a news release, Packers Family Night will still take place in Lambeau Field and will be televised to a statewide audience. The date and time of the event will be announced soon. The Packers had already announced that regular season home games would have a significantly reduced capacity-if any fans were allowed at all.
Plans for regular season ticket holder attendance are also being finalized with details to be announced in the near future, according to officials. Season ticket holders have the option to “opt in” or “opt out” on the chance to reserve tickets. New policies and safety measures will be implemented for the games.
#Packers 2020 training camp practices, Family Night & any preseason home games will not include fans this summer. https://t.co/WgWA9jFSXO
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 15, 2020
“It’s a bit of a bummer,” Packers fan Dale Stevens said. “It’s part of the whole experience, especially if they’re going to have fans at the regular season games. Preseason is kind of a warm up to the games, why not warm up towards what it’s going to be like for the fans and get used to it.”
Another fan expressed his feelings.
“I mean, we’ve already missed out on a lot of things the last few months, i guess we’re kind of getting used to it somewhat. And it feels more normal,” said Dan Stetzer, another Packers fan.
Other fans say they will miss the Packers community.
“Football, tailgating, all of that is just amazing,” said Packers fan Jesse Cox. “So we’ll absolutely miss it.”