Shanahan disappointed in Santa Clara’s decision
Kyle Shanahan is disappointed with Santa Clara County’s decision not to allow fans at Levi’s Stadium.
“Not having fans in your stadium is a huge deal,” Shanahan said on his Wednesday Zoom video call. “Our fans are a huge part of this.”
On Tuesday, shortly after California’s Health and Human Services Department announced that professional teams in orangetier counties could begin selling 20% of their tickets at outdoor stadiums, Santa Clara County executives shut down the plan, calling it “unconscionable.”
“It’s really disappointing,” Shanahan said. “I’m disappointed for ( the fans), for our families. I understand the issues. I just hope eventually we can figure something out.”
Shanahan sees some inconsistencies with the ruling, pointing out that people are allowed to go to indoor restaurants, socially distanced, to watch 49ers games in Santa Clara County.
“Hopefully, we can figure out a way to do that in our outdoor stadium,” he said. “Worst case, at least for our families. It’s a long season and people want to be a part of it bad, and I know how bad we want them to be a part of it.”
During the baseball playoffs, A’s players’ families were allowed to attend games, sitting in suites. However, those family members already had been placed in a bubble in order to attend the games.
Linebacker Fred Warner, who spent time during training camp on the COVID19 list, also said he wanted fans.
“I’m going to let the county and state handle all that,” he said. “We miss the fans very much; I always feed off them.
“I know they’ll do the right thing and make sure they come back when it’s safe to do so.”
Shanahan said there is no doubt that having fans is a competitive advantage.
“That’s a fact,” he said. “The feeling they brought our team last year, it really changed this building. It’s tough not having them.”