Giants to Play Home Games Without Fans in Stands "Until Further Notice"
The Giants, who were hoping to welcome fans to their home games this fall despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will no longer be able to do so, at least for the time being.
That's because New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who signed an executive order earlier this month capping crowd sizes for outdoor events to 500, announced that he will not make an exception for sporting events
NJ Advance Media was first to report the development, citing a statement released by the Governor’s office which read as follows:
My Administration has been working in close coordination with professional sports and college teams to determine how to proceed safely with games at their stadiums amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While we look forward to the day we can return to games as normal and cheer from the stands, continued concerns for the health and safety of fans, team members, and staff dictate that our executive order limiting outdoor gatherings does apply to sporting events, including training camp.
Last month, Murphy, in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, expressed hope that conditions would allow some fans to attend outdoor sporting events.
“In New Jersey folks have been overwhelmingly, unbelievably responsible. There are always some knuckleheads who do something silly or stupid, but folks have been overwhelmingly doing the right thing," Murphy said during the interview.
“Secondly, the virus—which is why I still hold out some hope for fans in football—the virus indoors is a lot more lethal than it is outdoors.”
After further discussions with the Giants and Jets and college teams who are contemplating how to handle their sporting events this fall, if they're indeed played, the decision was made to play it safe "until further notice."
The Giants and Jets issued a joint statement acknowledging the Governor’s decision, saying, "We support Governor Murphy’s decision in the interest of public health and safety and, until circumstances change, both the Giants and Jets will play our games without the benefit of fans in attendance. Although we would prefer to have fans at MetLife Stadium for our games, we will continue to work with Governor Murphy's office and will provide updates if necessary."
As part of the joint statement, the Giants and Jets, who at one point had been contemplating holding joint training camp practices before the NFL banned those for this year, confirmed that there would be no fans admitted to this year’s training camps, set to start July 28.
That also means that any proposed fan events that the NFL was considering allowing fans to have, such as for an intrasquad scrimmage, will now be scrapped.
The Giants had given their season ticket holders the option to opt-out of purchasing tickets this year if they didn't feel comfortable doing so. With this latest news, the team is urging its season ticket holders to update their account preferences regarding either applying any players already made toward next year's invoice or requesting a refund.
