• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Buffalo Sports News

Buffalo Sports News

  • Bills
  • Sabres
  • Colleges
    • Canisius
    • Syracuse
    • University at Buffalo

No fans will be allowed at New Era Field during COVID-19 pandemic, per new guidelines

July 3, 2020 by Buffalo Rumblings Leave a Comment

New York Governor Cuomo Holds Briefing In Manhattan

Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images

If you were holding out hope for a game in Orchard Park.

In guidelines released Wednesday, New York State has forbidden fans from being in attendance at large sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic. This would obviously apply to New Era Field and the Buffalo Bills and seriously put in doubt the ability for the team to host fans during a game in the 2020 season.

The six-page document outlining the state’s plan for sports is very clear on the subject of fans. Teams must:

“Ensure that no live audience, fans, or spectators are allowed to attend or permitted to enter any professional sports venue, even if an outdoor venue.”

The state takes it a step further, as well, noting that inside the stadium isn’t the only place being regulated. Teams must:

“Prohibit fans from congregating outside the venue and implement a security plan to safely disperse any individuals that gather outside of the venue.”

So fans won’t be allowed outside the stadium to tailgate, either. This is devastating news to most Bills fans, where tailgating is a central part of the game-day experience.

A host of other guidelines were issued for how the team can operate, including daily health screenings, when they need to be tested for the virus, physical distancing in the venue for players and essential personnel, masking guidelines, disinfecting protocols, and much more.

It should be noted that the start of the NFL season is still more than two months away. On May 1st, two months before these guidelines were released, nearly 1000 New Yorkers per day were being hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms. On July 1, fewer than 900 were in the hospital TOTAL. A lot can change in two months.

In late April, Bills’ owner and team president Kim Pegula was named to the governor’s task force for reopening along with owners and higher-ups from every major sports team in the state.

Filed Under: Bills

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • NABP | First look at the WR room
  • 2021 Best Buffalo Bills values: No 6—DT Ed Oliver
  • Four Downs: Under-the-radar roster candidates for the Buffalo Bills
  • Billieve: Best Bills Wall of Fame candidates
  • Bills Wall of Famer Ed Abramoski passes away at 88

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • WIVB 4
  • WGR 550 SportsRadio
  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • ESPN Rochester
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today

Football

  • Buffalo Bills
  • Bills Gab
  • Buffalo Rumblings
  • Bills Wire
  • Buffa Low Down
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Total Buffalo Bills

Hockey

  • Die By The Blade
  • Elite Prospects
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Sabre Noise
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • The Hockey Writers

College

  • Busting Brackets
  • College Sports Madness
  • Forgotten 5
  • Hustle Belt
  • Inside The Loud House
  • Orange Fizz
  • Saturday Blitz
  • UB Bull Run
  • The Daily Orange
  • Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician

Copyright © 2022 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in