Much like the rest of the United States, California is experiencing a new surge in COVID-19 cases and local governments are acting to limit the spread ahead of what could be a deadly winter in America. Some of those rules, it seems, may impact where the San Francisco 49ers play home games.
Santa Clara County, where the team practices and plays, reportedly banned contact sports even played outside.
Santa Clara County (Stanford, San Jose State, 49ers) announced contact sports will be temporarily prohibited until at least Dec. 21. pic.twitter.com/rVEI6gO2kK
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) November 28, 2020
Today’s directive will "temporarily suspend activities that require direct physical contact or interaction in Santa Clara. So that means that for those teams, they will not be able to play games or have practices where they have direct contact within the county,” per Williams.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) November 28, 2020
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, that may mean the Niners do need to find a new place to both play home games and practice, at least until the new restrictions end.
49ers now are going to need to figure out where to play and practice….. https://t.co/bkZuxAJecY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 28, 2020
The easy answer could be simply playing home games in opposing team’s stadiums, though if those games have spectators there’s a competitive advantage that could be at play. It’s another wrinkle in what’s been a very odd NFL season. And though the moves are a new complication and may be frustrating for some fans, it’s far from the only way the coronavirus pandemic is currently impacting the NFL. Another pair of games were moved this week due to infections on both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. More positive cases were reported on Saturday, putting even the Tuesday rescheduling of that game into some doubt.
There’s also the matter of the Denver Broncos and their quarterbacks, who may have also been exposed to COVID-19 ahead of their Week 12 matchup.
49ers now are going to need to figure out where to play and practice….. https://t.co/bkZuxAJecY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 28, 2020
Later on Saturday, the 49ers Twitter account admitted the rules would likely force the team to make changes and said they would be announced soon.
Statement from the San Francisco #49ers: pic.twitter.com/KbH6kcxYD2
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 28, 2020
In not orchestrating a bubble and playing in home stadiums and the larger country as a whole, the NFL invited a slew of potential problems in actually pulling off a full season in a pandemic. As the weeks go on, it seems more and more like the league is running out of ways to deal with them all without significantly impacting its schedule and the way seasons play out.
