Elks announce immunization policy
Football club one of last two CFL teams to introduce virus requirements for fans
Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID -19 test will be required by fans to attend an Edmonton Elks game as of Oct. 15.
The football club announced the vaccine policy on Monday morning, becoming one of the last two teams in the Canadian Football League to implement a vaccine requirement.
As of the Oct. 15 home game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, fans will need to provide electronic or paper proof of full vaccination, with the second dose received at least 14 days prior to the date of the game, before entering Commonwealth Stadium.
If a ticket holder hasn't been vaccinated, a negative COVID -19 test — either PCR or rapid — collected within 48 hours of the scheduled game start time will be accepted. Those under 12 will be exempt from the requirements.
But with the new policy only coming into effect mid-october, there will be two Elks home games in September where the rule won't be in place and fans won't need to provide proof of vaccination.
Elks president and CEO Chris Presson said this delay in implementation is in order to give all staff as well as fans the opportunity to complete their vaccinations and also give the team time to organize game-day logistics in administering the new rules.
“We are operating a very large vessel here and trying to turn this large vessel around in the Suez Canal takes some time,” Presson said during a media availability Monday. “We have 1,600 game-day employees and we wanted to make sure that we gave them time to react and act. We also have a large fan base that needs to act and react to that and this gives everyone a chance to get done what they need to get done to become organized.”
All Elks business operations and front office employees will be required to be fully vaccinated. This includes coaches and trainers, Presson said, but not players as they are part of a league union. Game day staff, including stadium and event staff, will be subject to the same requirements as fans by either being fully vaccinated or providing proof of a negative test ahead of each game.
The move comes as the Elks continue to deal with a COVID -19 outbreak among the team with 13 positive cases. There haven't been any new cases reported for four days and the team is on track to end its 10-day isolation period on Tuesday and return to in-person training Wednesday.
One game last week against the Toronto Argonauts was postponed as a result of the outbreak and has yet to be rescheduled. The Elks are scheduled to hit the field next Monday against the Calgary Stampeders in the Labour Day Classic.
The Elks join the Edmonton Oilers in requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test for fans to attend games, with the Rogers Place policy announced last week. With the announcement by the Elks as well as the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Monday, all CFL teams now have a vaccine policy in place for fans to attend games.