Report: Jags attendance levels could be left up to local authorities in 2020

With the state of Florida in Phase 2 of reopening from COVID-19, the Jags could be a team that allows more fans to attend games than others.

If there is a 2020 NFL season, the Jacksonville Jaguars could be at an advantage over other teams when it comes to home games. The reason for that is because the league could be leaning towards allowing local authorities to dictate how many fans can attend each home team’s games, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

“What it sounds like, from my understanding, the league is leaning towards right now, is to allow the local authorities to determine how many fans can be in the stands,” Rapoport said Wednesday. “If you’ve been following the coronavirus coverage. . . as far as health goes, the states and the circumstances in the states vary so greatly, it does make sense if the NFL lets local authorities determine this.”

The option of letting state and local officials control attendance is only under consideration at the moment. However, if it happens, it would then be on fans to decide if they would want to risk their health or not.

As many are aware, the state of Florida is currently in Phase 2 of reopening and has been since the first week of June. Under Phase 2, bars, pubs, bowling alleys, night clubs, movie theaters and other entertainment establishments are allowed to operate at 50% capacity. Restaurants are also allowed to be open for customers who want to dine-in with social distancing rules.

Since moving into Phase 2, Florida has been one of several states hard hit with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Per NPR, Florida’s cases have gone up by +205% compared to two weeks ago. Additionally, they’ve reported over 5,000 cases over the last two days.