The status of fans attending NFL games across the league has been an area of focus in recent weeks. With the NFL’s testing protocols for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic keeping the league’s number of cases stable, the question has seemingly shifted from “will the NFL play” to “will the NFL play with fans?” For many teams, the answer is no — at least not early on. That includes Miami’s Week 1 date with the New England Patriots, who will have no fans in attendance at Gillette Stadium on September 13th.
Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 in South Florida broke the news that the Dolphins will have fans in attendance when the team welcomes the Buffalo Bills to town on September 20th for their home opener. Slater is reporting that Hard Rock Stadium will be open at 20% maximum capacity this season, which will accommodate 13,000 fans.
SLATER SCOOP: Fans will be allowed at Hard Rock Stadium this season for Dolphins and Hurricanes games, multiple sources tell me.
Capacity will be 13,000 people, which is 20%.
There’s a 46-page plan for social distancing.
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) August 24, 2020
The report has since been verified by the team, which released a statement and declared that all fans in attendance at Hard Rock Stadium will be required to wear a mask.
For our home opener against the Bills at @HardRockStadium we will have a maximum of 13,000 fans. All fans will be required to wear a mask.
Read More: https://t.co/pkfOJozy8q pic.twitter.com/Mp3MVA7vnP
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 24, 2020
How the NFL finds a competitive balance with some fans allowed to attend some stadiums and others not allowing fans at all is a bit of an unknown — but for the Dolphins, they’re likely thrilled to be boasting a home-field advantage now that the likelihood of the 2020 NFL season feels more probable and less of a hypothetical.