49ers’ next two ‘ home’ games will be in Arizona.
49ers being forced out of Levi’s by virus rules
The 49ers, a franchise born in San Francisco that now resides in Santa Clara, will play temporarily in Arizona.
On Monday, in an unprecedented announcement in the midst of an unprecedented season played during a pandemic, the 49ers revealed they will play their next two home games at the home of the Arizona Cardinals, State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
In Glendale, the 49ers will host the Bills next Monday night and Washington on Dec. 13. The 49ers still are scheduled to play their final regularseason home game, against the Seahawks on Jan. 3, at Levi’s Stadium.
Next week’s game will mark the first time the 49ers haven’t played a home game at their own stadium since they hosted the Patriots at Stanford Stadium on Oct. 22, 1989, because Candlestick Park was unavailable after the Loma Prieta earthquake.
“The Cardinals organization, State Farm Stadium and League officials have been supportive and accommodating as we work through the many logistical issues involved in relocating NFL games,” the 49ers said in a statement.
On Monday, 49ers CEO Jed York, via Twitter, thanked Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill.
“Very appreciative of Arizona welcoming us during these unprecedented times,” York wrote.
Monday’s announcement came two days after the Santa Clara County Public Health Department banned contact sports and issued a 14day quarantine for those traveling into the area from 150 miles or more away. Those directives started Monday and are to end Dec. 21, though they could be extended based on the spread of the coronavirus in the county.
The 49ers have yet to anThey’ll
nounce where they will practice while the ban remains in effect. It’s possible they will train at a facility in Arizona. The 49ers won’t practice again until Thursday.
On Sunday, after the 49ers’ 2320 road win against the Rams, head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated the 49ers would create bubblelike conditions wherever they stay between games.
“We need a place that we can feel safe and stay, because we’re not going to be able to go to our homes anymore that are safe,” Shanahan said. “So we are going to have to stay in a hotel, or somewhere. So that’s where it would start. Second thing is we need a practice field to play on.”
Playing home games in Arizona was a logical option for the 49ers after the county’s directives were announced Saturday. The 49ers and NFL explored such an arrangement before training camp, when Santa Clara County was under a stayathome order. The league wanted the 49ers to have an NFL stadium ready for games this season, in the event they couldn’t play at Levi’s Stadium.
The NFL schedule facilitated such a partnership because the 49ers and Cardinals do not have home games on the same date in 2020.
California and Santa Clara County have been more restrictive in dealing with the coronavirus than Arizona and Maricopa County, which includes Glendale.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced in midMay that professional sports could resume in the state when the stayathome order expired. California welcomed back pro sports about a month later.
The 49ers did not have fans in the stands for their five home games this season while the Cardinals had 4,200 fans for two games in November and 1,200 fans on Oct. 25. The Cardinals will not have fans when they host the Rams on Sunday because of an increase in coronavirus cases in Maricopa County.
According to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, there were 1,669 confirmed coronavirus cases Sunday in Maricopa County, which has a per100,000 population rate of 4,655 cases. In Santa Clara County, 560 positive cases were reported Sunday, and the per100,000 population rate is 1,770.
The arrangement to share State Farm Stadium required cooperation between NFC West rivals who are separated by one game in the standings and could be battling for one of the conference’s final playoff spots. The Cardinals ( 65) will host the 49ers ( 56) in Glendale on Dec. 26.
The 49ers are the only team that has had to relocate this season, but the surge in coronavirus cases throughout the country has been reflected in the league.
On Sunday, the Broncos played with all four of their quarterbacks on the reserve/ COVID19 list. They lost 313 to the Saints with a rookie practicesquad wide receiver, Kendall Hinton, playing quarterback. Hinton completed 1 of 9 passes for 13 yards with two interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Ravens and Steelers are scheduled to play their thricepostponed game Wednesday night with 20 Baltimore players on the COVID list. The Ravens, who initially were scheduled to play Pittsburgh on Thursday before the game was pushed back to Sunday and then Tuesday, haven’t practiced since Nov. 21 due to their outbreak.