State gives ok for fans in stadiums
Pro sports: But Santa Clara County says no to 49ers and Earthquakes.
California continued to loosen its COVID-19 restrictions Oct. 20, announcing that counties in the moderate and minimal risk tiers on the reopening system could hold outdoor professional sports events with a limited number of spectators in attendance.
But not in Santa Clara County, which criticized the state’s guidelines in announcing that no spectators will be permitted at San Francisco 49ers and San Jose Earthquakes games this year. Santa Clara and Alameda counties are in the orange tier (Tier 3), while San Francisco on Oct. 20 moved into the yellow, or minimal, risk level (Tier 4).
Here is what it means to each of the Bay Area’s professional sports teams for the moment:
49ers: The 49ers welcomed the state’s decision that would have allowed about 14,000 fans to watch games at 68,500-seat Levi’s Stadium. But Santa Clara County public health officials said it was too risky to allow any fans into games. County chief executive Dr. Jeff Smith called sports events “super spreaders” that could potentially lead to an outbreak.
“Without some kind of other treatment besides social distancing, having
these large congregations is a great risk no matter what,” Smith said in a news conference. “That was the very first activity that was precluded because it was such a high risk. It will be the last one that the county would consider opening.”
Earthquakes: The county’s response also spoiled hopes for the Quakes, who could have 3,600 fans in its 18,000 -seat stadium according to state guidelines. The MLS team has two regular-season home games left: Oct. 28 against Real Salt Lake and Nov. 1 against Los Angeles FC. But the Earthquakes also could
host playoff games this year. All of the games — regular season and beyond — will be played in an empty Earthquakes Stadium.
Sharks: The NHL season is expected to start Jan. 1, but the state’s guidelines released Oct. 20 apply to outdoor events only. Based on Santa Clara County’s reaction Tuesday it is doubtful public health officials w ill permit fans inside SAP Center anytime soon. Smith, the county executive, indicated Oct. 20 that until the country has an effective treatment or vaccine for the novel coronavirus, large gatherings will not
be allowed in the county.
Warriors: San Francisco public health officials have some time before deciding what to allow for the Chase Center and Golden State Warriors games. Like the Sharks, the Warriors’ indoor facility poses a more challenging situation for health officials. The NBA season is expected to start in January or February. As we’ve learned this year, a lot can happen in three months.
Giants: The San Francisco Giants have even more time before learning the fate of their 2021 season. They would not play at Oracle Park until the end of spring training, perhaps late March. San Francisco public health officers have plenty of time to decide if they will follow the current state directive — if it even applies in the spring.
Athletics: The Oakland A’s face a similar situation as their cross-Bay MLB team.
The major difference is the Athletics w ill follow guidelines from Alameda County public health officers. County officials did not immediately respond to questions about how they might handle outdoor pro sports events should the situation be the same next spring.
But the public health officers and the A’s have plenty of time to deal with whatever happens.
The state’s directive Oct. 20 addressed only outdoor professional spor ts and amusement park s. T he California department of public health prev iously issued specific guidelines for c ol leg iat e at h le t ic s. The Pac-12 Conference already has ruled out spectators for the foreseeable future so Cal and Stanford do not need to worry about what their local health officials say on the issue. Cal opens the season Nov. 7 at home against Washington while Stanford plays at Oregon. The conference said it will re-evaluate its plan involving fans in January.
San Jose State opens its football season Saturday at home against Air Force. A lthough the Mountain West Conference has not ruled out allowing spectators, Santa Clara County’s Smith did not sound optimistic.
“I can’ t clarify” the state’s guidelines for colleges “because it doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “They are saying they are allowed without attendance. I don’t understand how that protects the students, the actual people who are playing the game.”
High school sporting events are tentative ly scheduled to resume in January and run through the spring semester, but the financial incentives are much smaller to have students and fans attend games.