The New Orleans Saints and city mayor Latoya Cantrell have agree to a phased approach to allow more fans at the Superdome.
According to a statement from the Saints, 3,000 season-ticket holders will be able to watch this weekend's game, a number that could grow to 15,000 by the time the team hosts Kansas City on December 20th.
The release adds that the city will strictly enforce crowd limits through the Central Business District and French Quarter on game days.
The Saints sought alternative options last week as city Mayor Latoya Cantrelle held firm on her fan policy. The team looked at playing its home games at LSU, something Cantrelle supported. On Monday reports suggested that the team and city made progress in discussions leading to Tuesday's news.
You can read the full statement from the team below:
Mayor LaToya Cantrell in partnership with the New Orleans Saints have agreed to a phased and deliberate pilot approach allowing fans to attend Saints games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, beginning with this weekend’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Season Ticket Holders will have access to 3,000 tickets that will be distributed for the October 25th Carolina home game to be played at noon CT.
Barring any change in local health & safety guidelines as any additional changes to crowd size are only possible if current trends continue to remain stable then and only then will capacity increase to 6,000 fans for both the November 15th San Francisco and November 22nd Atlanta home games.
Capacity would then increase to 15,000 for the December 20th Kansas City and December 25th Minnesota home games, again barring any change in local health and safety guidelines. In addition, a limited number of tickets to satisfy player, team and other required NFL obligations was additionally approved for the remaining games.
In addition to monitoring compliance with all health and safety protocols at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Mayor Cantrell’s office will also be strictly enforcing crowd gatherings throughout the Central Business District and French Quarter on game days to ensure all city regulations are being observed.
The Saints and Mayor Cantrell’s office encourage all of our fans to wear your mask while in public, practicing good hygiene and maintaining social distance. It is imperative as noted that everyone do their part to make sure all of the progress made by our community in our fight against Covid-19 is not lost and we have no setbacks, this plan is based on creating a healthy and safe environment for our fans to arrive, enjoy and depart Saints home games safely.
The Saints want to thank the tremendous teamwork of Governor Jon Bel Edwards, the Louisiana Stadium Exposition Board, Scott Woodward and the LSU Athletics Department, ASM Global for their collaborative design of Venue Shield - the best stadium reactivation plan in the NFL, Ochsner Health, the National Football League and of course - Mayor LaToya Cantrell and her entire health and safety team.
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