Should Fans Be Allowed to Attend Games?

With the PGA's Memorial Tournament reversing their original decision and no longer allowing fans on site, it seems appropriate to wonder if fans should be allowed to attend any sporting event at all. Of course, a more pressing question might be should sports even be played? In both cases, I believe the answer is yes, with some obvious caveats.

Let's start with the games themselves. Sports are by no means essential, but they are a business and they do provide relief from the tedium of the pandemic, which is still in its early stages and will likely last into late 2021 if not beyond. I expect that most players don't want to lose two seasons of their already short careers, and I can't imagine owners paying players to sit around for two years either. A lot of lower level teams that do not have the luxury of TV money cannot afford to forgo revenue for that long. Already, European soccer leagues have resumed with matches played in empty grounds, while the MLS has just started a tournament in Orlando, although two teams have been dismissed for having several COVID cases among their players. Even the Memorial is still going on, which leads one to wonder how it could be safe for players without masks but unsafe for spectators with masks.

Either way, sports can be conducted safely only if testing for participants is being done properly. MLB has had some issues with their testing protocols, but teams are training at their stadiums and the schedule has been set. It remains to be seen if the NBA and NHL bubbles will work, while the NFL is moving ahead, but with capacity significantly reduced. In all cases, players can opt out if they feel the situation is not safe. So for now at least, games can and will be played.

Which leads to the question about fans. Some independent baseball leagues are in action and admitting spectators, though much below capacity to allow for social distancing, so we know it can be done. But can larger leagues follow suit? For outdoor games, the answer is definitely yes, if protocols are followed. That means masks required for every fan, limited capacity to allow for social distancing, general admission seating per price point, reduced concessions (obviously one must remove one's mask to eat or drink, so a special area for fans who want to take that risk), and hand sanitizer everywhere. We also have to consider ushers and other workers, especially those inside such as concession staff. Protocols must be developed to ensure they remain safe. As cases surge in Arizona, California, Texas, and Florida, it tells us that there should be some criteria in terms of local positivity rate (say less than 3%) that must be met before fans can be allowed in.

Indoor games need a little more thought. I'd be hesitant to spend two hours in a small college gym with stale air, but a larger venue with good circulation would not present a concern to me. For example, Barclays Center will install HEPA filters, which should eliminate contaminated aerosols as air circulates. Of course, if the person sitting next to you is expelling the virus for three hours, even with both of you wearing masks, filters are not going to help much. That is why you need to be able to move away from any situation you deem risky.

Baseball has yet to announce their plans for fans, but sadly, neither Yankee Stadium nor Citi Field will be hosting attendees as Mayor Dipshit de Blasio has prohibited large gatherings through September, except, of course, for protests. Hey Dippy, an outdoor, masked assembly is either safe or it isn't! It is safe by the way, as more and more research is showing transmission takes place mostly in crowded, indoor venues with poor ventilation, while recent protests have not led to a spike in cases in NYC. It is becoming clear that outdoor activities with masks are fine, regardless of their purpose. With New Yorkers testing positive at a rate of about 1%, we can say the curve has been flattened. But no, let's stay scared everyone!

Government overreach is not limited to New York. In Canada, Blue Jays players have been threatened with $750,000 fines for leaving their bubble, which includes the Marriott Hotel at Rogers Centre, at any point during the 60-game season. This assumes the Jays will actually play in Toronto rather than Florida, but misses the point that walking outside, with a mask, is not unsafe. Again, the purpose of masks and social distancing is to flatten the curve, not to ensure that nobody ever catches the virus again. Keeping people indoors for two months over "an abundance of caution" is unreasonable.

Those aforementioned states are surging because they never got the virus under control in the first place. Unfortunately, the lethal combination of incompetent leadership and mask-fearing morons means that the situation will continue for far longer than it ever should have here in America. Still, there are places where things are under control, and for those fortunate fans, attending games is something that can and should be allowed. I am looking forward to my first live event, a collegiate wood bat game next week in Virginia. Check back then to see if I made it.

Best,

Sean