The 2020 NFL schedule is coming. It will look different than originally anticipated. It may not look as different as fans had feared. But there will be changes, and one team has already offered a virtual glimpse.
Although the NBA, NHL, NASCAR, the PGA, and Major League Baseball have all been forced to dramatically alter their seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Football League was granted the luxury of waiting the longest to make any sort of decision that would require asterisks in the record books of the future. Reports now indicate that the league will release its 2020 regular season slate of games by May 9. The schedule will be for a full 17-week campaign that starts on time on September 10.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be some tweaks to the initial plan.
ESPN is reporting that the league will scrap its International Series games for 2020, relocating the four planned contests to their home teams’ stateside stadiums.
The NFL previously announced the following plans for international games in 2020:
Jaguars: Hosting two London games
Cardinals: Hosting a Mexico City game
Dolphins: Hosting a game in TBD location
Falcons: Hosting a game in TBD location https://t.co/Z7PCz4tf0q— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 4, 2020
As for the stadiums themselves, at least one is already thinking ahead to the logistics of hosting NFL games under current social distancing guidelines. The Miami Dolphins have released a mocked-up look at how the Plexiglas barriers, floor dots, and altered foot-traffic patterns that have suddenly become commonplace at the local grocery store might work on a much larger scale at Hard Rock Stadium on Sundays this fall.
Are plans being made for “social distancing” at AT&T Stadium for upcoming Cowboys games?
The Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium already have their wheels in motion (H/T @GMA)
(@1053TheFan @1053SS @RJChoppy) pic.twitter.com/KXpEPzoPhe
— T̷R̷O̷Y̷ ̷H̷U̷G̷H̷E̷S̷ (@TommySledge) May 4, 2020
As per ESPN:
“Hard Rock Stadium became the first public facility to earn the Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s STAR accreditation, the standard used for facilities to implement cleaning, disinfecting and infectious disease prevention work practices to control risks involved with infectious agents like the coronavirus. (The GBAC is a division of the ISSA, a worldwide trade association for the cleaning industry.)”
No official plans or standards from the league have been announced; the Dolphins sought help in crafting their plan early.
“When our fans, players and staff are able to return to Hard Rock Stadium, we want them to have peace of mind that we’re doing everything we can to create the safest and healthiest environment possible,” Dolphins president/CEO Tom Garfinkel said. “We didn’t want to create our own standard, we wanted to be accountable to the most credible third-party standard that exists. Working with the GBAC ensures compliances with critical guidelines for the highest standard of cleanliness and it is our hope that other venues will follow suit as we navigate through these unprecedented times.”
Such a strategy would also necessitate a reduced capacity for fans in attendance. Hard Rock Stadium seats approximately 65,000 fans for a Dolphins game, but may be able to hold just 15,000 or so under these guidelines.
AT&T Stadium’s normal setup for a Cowboys game accommodates 80,000. The same math used in the Miami scenario would equate to a home capacity of under 19,000.
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