Jacksonville Jaguars Reduce Stadium Capacity for 2020 NFL Season
The Jacksonville Jaguars have alerted season ticket holders to a change in stadium capacity for the upcoming 2020 NFL season. TIAA Bank Field, home of the Jaguars, can hold just over 67,000 fans (67,164 total). This fall though, stadium capacity will be reduced to 25%, which comes to 16,791.
In a statement sent to season ticket holders, the Jaguars spoke of a desire to have been able to welcome a full crowd this fall.
“The health and safety of the entire Jaguars family, including our fans, remains our highest priority. Alongside our stadium partners and national and local healthcare experts, we have and will continue to work diligently to develop new protocols to ensure our team can return to the field with a clear focus on winning and our fans can return to the stadium with peace of mind.
It was our sincere hope to welcome a capacity crowd to TIAA Bank Field this fall and celebrate together with the First Coast community. However, with the health and well-being of everyone in mind, the Jaguars anticipate reducing capacity this season.”
The Jaguars made the decision due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. It is in keeping, the organization says, with local, state and CDC guidelines. If developments arise that make it safe, the Jaguars will look into increasing capacity as the season progresses, the team said Friday.
For now, the Jaguars are going to start over. All season tickets will be returned and any payments made thus far can be refunded or credited to season ticket holders' accounts for tickets this season or next. Asking for a refund and opting out of this season will not affect status for the coming seasons.
For now, the Jaguars are going to start over. All season tickets will be returned and any payments made thus far can be refunded or credited to season ticket holders' accounts for tickets this season or next. Asking for a refund and opting out of this season will not affect status for the coming seasons.
In August, a new plan will be revealed under which season tickets holders can begin purchasing tickets for games. According to the release, “access to tickets will be based on a variety of factors including account tenure.”
If numbers allow, single game tickets will then be made avaliable to the public.
Will sight's like this—DJ Chark interacting with fans after a game—be gone in 2020? Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Those same local and state guidelines will require those in attendance to wear a face mask. The front office is also working with Ticketmaster to plan a new seating chart that will allow for six feet between fans, abiding by proper social distancing. Nearly all transactions will be cashless and additional hand sanitizer stations will be provided throughout the stadium.
The Jaguars join a growing list of NFL teams who have announced such changes this week. The preseason games have already been cut in half and the NFLPA has asked the NFL to cut the remaining two preseason games as well. Of the two still on the schedule, the Jags have one at home, against Washington on August 29. This would come two days after the proposed RNC at the stadium, a move being considered, ironically, for the larger seating capacity.
The NFL and NFLPA also announced on Tuesday that fan events during training camp would be limited to two. During those events, fans will not be allowed on the field or allowed to interact with players as would normally be allowed (autographs, pictures, etc.).
The reduced stadium capacity is the second major change to be made to the regular season format. The other is that players, coaches and staff will reportedly not be allowed to interact in post-game and players will not be allowed to conduct jersey swaps. Many players have pointed out the ironic platitude in such a rule, considering they will have touched, grabbed and sweated on each other’s jersey’s all game.
As of now, the league and the Jaguars are planning to play the full 16-game schedule as normal.
