The vast majority of season ticket holders weren’t comfortable going to games at Lambeau Field during the 2020 NFL season.
Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy revealed that, given the opportunity, over 80 percent of season ticket holders decided to opt out of tickets for this season, a factor that contributed to the Packers beginning the season with at least two home games without fans.
“We had sent a survey out to all our season ticket holders. and just over 80 percent of them opted out of their season tickets this year,” Murphy told Larry McCarren of Packers.com. “In my mind, the fact that that high a percentage of our fans were not comfortable coming to games was a factor that weighed into my thinking,”
In July, the Packers asked season ticket holders to opt in or opt out of tickets in 2020. The decision did not affect ticket-holding status in future years and gave ticket holders an opportunity to receive a full refund for 2020 or have this year’s payment credited to the 2021 season.
The majority opted out.
The questionnaire mentioned the possibility of no fans or significantly reduced capacity at games, plus all the various new protocols in place to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The Packers announced they won’t have fans at games against the Detroit Lions (Sept. 20) and Atlanta Falcons (Oct. 5). Murphy said the team will reevaluate the situation before the team’s third home game, which is scheduled for Nov. 1.
“It was a tough decision. Here in Green Bay, we know how much our home games mean to the local economy and the local community,” Murphy said. “At the end of the day, in my mind, the most important thing was protecting the health and safety of our community and our fans.”
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