Santa Clara County rules against fans at 49ers games
New state guidelines open stadiums to limited fans; county says it’s ‘dangerous’
Less than two hours after the state of California opened the door to Levi’s Stadium for 49ers fans Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department slammed it shut.
Santa Clara County, one of the country’s most restrictive when it comes to public activities during the pandemic, went against state guidelines for professional sports and amusement parks.
Under new coronavirus guidance announced Tuesday by the State Department of Public Health, pro sports teams and amusement parks such as Disneyland were aproved to begin selling a limited number of tickets.
As far as the state is concerned, teams in the counties of Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco can hold outdoor events with spectators at reduced capacity. The 49ers, for instance, would be allowed to let about 14,000 people into their 68,500-seat stadium. State officials loosened restrictions for counties that fell into the orange or yellow tiers in the four-tier system for reopening.
But within 90 minutes of the state’s announcement Tuesday, Santa Clara County put an end to any plans the 49ers might have had for their next home game, issuing a statement that said “audiences at professional sporting events will not be allowed anytime soon.”
Later, at a news conference, county executive Dr. Jeff Smith said it would be
“dangerous” to open stadiums.
“This is the worst thing in the world to be doing,” Smith said. “At a time when California is beginning to see some light, this amounts to another step backward. We’ve already done steps backwards in California that have cost tens of thousands of lives and this is another risk to
do this.”
The county’s statement came after the 49ers had praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom for loosening the restrictions. The team had added that it expected to work with county health officials to create a plan that “protects the health and wellness of all San Francisco 49ers and Levi’s Stadium employees, patrons and our community.”
The team declined to comment after the county’s ruling.
The 49ers’ next home date is Nov. 5, a Thursday night game against the Green Bay Packers. But don’t expect county officials to change their decision any time soon.
“The fact is that throughout the nation, the virus is spiking,” Smith said. “All of the health experts in the nation that are respectable have predicted another spike in November and December. It’s going to get worse. It’s going to get a lot worse. Right now is not the time to be relaxing regulations.”
California assigns each of its 58 counties to a tier based on its adjusted coronavirus case rate and the rate of positive tests in the county. Tiers 1 and 2, the most “distressed” counties, have an adjusted seven- day case rate of more than four people per 100,000 residents and a positivity rate above 5% over a seven- day period.
Santa Clara and Alameda counties have been upgraded to Tier 3, which represents “moderate’ spread of the virus in the county. San Francisco County is now Tier 4, which represents “minimal” spread of the virus.
Neither of the state’s two other NFL teams — the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers — is permitted to host fans because their stadium is in Los Angeles County, which is Tier 1, indicating the virus is “widespread” in the county.
Like the 49ers, the San Jose Earthquakes experienced a short-lived moment of joy Tuesday. The Major League Soccer team also had a statement praising Newsom after the state’s ruling, only to get the county’s directive 90 minutes later.
The state guidelines do not apply to the San Jose Sharks and the Golden State Warriors because they play in indoor arenas. But the directive could create a framework for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics when they open the 2021 season next spring.
T he g u ideline s a nnounced Tuesday do not involve colleges. California’s Public Health Department two weeks ago released guidelines for the return of collegiate athletics. San Jose State is scheduled to open its football season Saturday night at CEFCU Stadium without fans. Cal opens Nov. 7 against Washington
while Stanford is at Oregon. The Pac-12 Conference announced last month it would not allow any fans at its games.
It is unclear if the state will allow fans at collegiate sporting events or high school sporting events, which are scheduled to begin again in January. Regardless of how the rest of the state proceeds, Smith warned fans at every level of sport in Santa Clara County not to get their hopes up.
“It’s just unconscionable,”
Smith said of opening sports venues. “They’re putting lives at risk. People who think that they’re safe are going to be at risk. People at home, not just the people who attend the games, will be at risk. We haven’t even opened schools, we are still worried about businesses being able to survive. It makes no sense whatsoever to have audiences at stadiums.”